With projections of about 16,000 students — graduate and undergraduate, domestic and international, and full-time and part-time — the University of Windsor is expecting one of the highest enrolments in its history, interim president Douglas Kneale reported in a communiqué sent to faculty, staff, and students Monday.
“Many thanks to our colleagues in all aspects of recruitment and admissions for their hard work in bringing these students to our door,” he wrote.
In the second such message since he assumed the presidency, Dr. Kneale noted that the four campus residences: Alumni, Cartier, Laurier, and Macdonald halls, are at full capacity.
Kneale has appointed law professor Richard Moon to chair a committee to develop a policy on free speech, in accordance with direction set by the Ontario government.
“The task force will have broad representation by stakeholders and will undertake campus-wide consultation as it develops our new policy,” Kneale said, promising details in future.
Other topics addressed in his message include:
- the provincial election and implications for university mandates and funding;
- progress on capital projects and the new student information system;
- the completion of programs to hire 50 tenure-track and five Indigenous faculty;
- publication of the first University of Windsor Student Mental Health Strategy; and
- a note of thanks to outgoing chancellor Ed Lumley for his 12 years of service.