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More than 600 faculty and staff members joined the September town hall to hear updates on SFU’s priorities and engage with leadership.

President Joy Johnson, Provost and Vice-President Academic Dilson Rassier, Vice-President Research and Innovation Dugan O'Neil, Vice-President Finance and Administration Jon Harding, and Vice-President People, Equity and Inclusion Yabome Gilpin-Jackson were in attendance to answer questions and discuss SFU's direction for 2025 and beyond.

President Johnson opened the event by highlighting recent institutional milestones, including SFU’s 60th anniversary celebrations and the opening of the First Peoples’ Gathering House and the Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum. She also welcomed new members of the leadership team and shared progress on the School of Medicine, which plans to welcome its first class in 2026.

Dugan O’Neil presented on the upcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy and answered several questions on what this will mean for SFU.

• SFU aims to be a global center for AI for the greater good, emphasizing responsible and human-centered AI.
• The AI Strategy will be launched soon and focuses on four pillars:

1. Learning & Teaching
2. Research
3. Operations
4. External Engagement

• Draft classroom guidelines have been released to key stakeholders with the finalized version to be shared later this fall. Guidelines for staff are coming soon, along with AI literacy events at each campus. Partnerships continue to be another focus area and one with Bell Canada was announced recently. More information will be shared soon.

Additional updates provided by Dilson Rassier focused on the following areas:

• Academic Plan (2025-2030): The plan will be shared with Senate for approval soon and is structured around six pillars, including curriculum renewal, research excellence, Indigenization and decolonization, and institutional effectiveness.
• Budget: Budget decisions are now being made in alignment with the academic plan. The Budget Office now reports to the Provost to align financial decisions with academic priorities. SFU remains under financial pressure but is on track to balance the 2025–26 budget. A multi-year budget process has been introduced to strengthen planning.  The annual budget information session will take place in November. 

A Q&A session followed, where the discussion primarily focused on the use of AI at SFU, workload/hiring freeze and financial sustainability. Leadership acknowledged these concerns and spoke to SFU’s efforts to manage financial pressures, support staff and faculty well-being and align future planning with academic priorities. 

See below for a summary of information shared in response to questions asked during the session:

• AI in teaching: The guidelines for faculty are not about mandating practices but designed to be flexible across disciplines and support instructors in using AI effectively.
• Environmental impact of AI: SFU recognizes the impact of AI and is being careful about how we use it. SFU has also built Canada’s most sustainable data centre.
• Hiring freeze and layoffs: Updates on additional layoffs or the hiring freeze cannot be provided until the budgeting process is completed by units across the university and budget projections are finalized. It was noted that the hiring freeze has supported the university in balancing the budget, however leadership continues to assess it. It applies to all administrative groups and exceptions continue to be granted on a case-by-case basis. 
• Staff well-being: Leadership acknowledged workload stress and shared that they are developing a well-being strategy and workforce planning process.
• Procurement and tariffs: SFU continues to follow the evolving guidelines provided by the B.C. government.
• International student recruitment: SFU has expanded efforts in international student recruitment. It was noted that SFU was among the few universities to successfully utilize all allocated provincial attestation letters (PALs). 
• Administrative efficiency: Projects are underway to streamline administrative and financial processes for faculty and staff and reducing barriers for researchers.
• Pension: 91ÅÝܽ committed to ensuring all employees have a strong pension. The focus is currently on collective bargaining and afterwards, the team will focus on supporting the staff pension plan discussions with the employee joint pension committee.  
• Financial reporting: Clarification was provided on the note in the Budget and Financial Plan from the Auditor General about how the surplus was recorded. This is a standard auditor note for BC government entities who are subject to the balanced budget mandate. SFU’s accumulated surplus is cumulative (includes past years and this year). This is typical of post-secondary institutions with long-term future funding commitments because we recognize the revenue year-by-year instead of altogether. This accounting treatment is in compliance with provincial accounting standards. See the financial framework resource.
• Social media (X): SFU supports units/faculties who want to leave X, but will continue to have our institutional account right now to support as a channel for alert messaging and other institutional priorities.

As the town hall came to an end, there were a few questions that were not answered. See below for brief responses provided by leadership and links to additional information where available.

• Nous: SFU currently works with UniForum, which is part of Nous. See information about UniForum at SFU
• Campuses: In support of a multi-campus model, campus administration teams are working closely with the Provost and VPA to develop new academic visions and plans for each campus. A recent review of space has highlighted how post-pandemic shifts—such as hybrid work schedules, online instruction, and evolving technologies—have changed how we use spaces across all campuses. In response, our long-term plan focuses on optimizing and revitalizing our campus by fostering stronger connections across programs and faculties and consolidating underutilized areas. Last spring, a space audit was conducted at the Vancouver campus and existing leases were reviewed. Both processes have helped inform discussions with stakeholders across the Vancouver campus. These discussions are ongoing. 

At SFU we have two Faculty and staff townhalls a year, one each in the fall and winter terms. The next faculty and staff town hall is scheduled for late January 2026.