There is a familiar question that most people have heard. It goes something along the lines of: If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? The answer is that if someone was there to hear it, it surely did.
If no one was there to hear it, we can’t be sure. In the same way, the changes that the University of Windsor is forging will be undeniable if the community around us feels them. Without the community, there would be less certainty about whether we are having an impact, and whether we are on the right track for the future.
The University has many, many connections with Windsor and Essex County, and in this issue of View you will discover a sampling of what they are. Through our legal clinics that serve those in the community who otherwise would not have access to legal assistance, our social work programs that support people living in community housing, our medical students in hospitals, and our athletics programs and facilities that are available to other organizations, the connection between the University and the community is one of our indisputable strengths. Our research into strategies for saving energy, into understanding the complex physical and biological nature of the Great Lakes, into critical cross-border issues, and into the best practices for protecting intellectual property is relevant right here and now.
However, the real greatness of these connections lies in the extraordinary contributions that our students make. Undergraduate and graduate students are putting much of the vitality into our local outreach. Without our students, far fewer people would “hear” the University of Windsor. They are not only involved in community change – in many cases they are leading it.
Many of our alumni remain in the region and are a vital part of the fabric of Windsor and Essex County. Currently, there are in fact more than 30,000 local UWindsor grads. Alumni who are further afield, across Ontario, Canada and beyond, are often an integral part of their communities. Together, they are all our greatest ambassadors for the kind of university we are, a university of academic excellence where commitment to community is one of our greatest sensibilities. It is a sensibility that underscores the future of the University of Windsor.
Alan Wildeman
President and Vice-Chancellor
VIEW Magazine is produced by the University of Windsor Office of Public Affairs in tandem with the Office of Alumni and Donor Communications. Our goal is to connect and inspire the UWindsor community through news and stories that build pride in our alumni, current students, faculty, staff, donors and friends.
