The future belongs at TRU
Note: On March 31, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) celebrates its 20th anniversary. This is the final newsroom article in a series, with previous articles published on March 14 and 21. President Brett Fairbairn and Board Chair Hee Young Chung share their thoughts on TRU’s future path.
By Anita Rathje
TRU is celebrating its strengths and looking to the future as it reaches a milestone 20 years as a full-fledged university at the end of this month.
The greatest of TRU’s strengths? The community itself — its faculty and staff, its students and alumni, and all of the partners who collaborate with and support the university.
“TRU students are special. I am struck by how many of them get involved, engage and support other students, and remain connected to TRU as alumni and employees. This strong student participation and leadership gives TRU a special culture,” says TRU President Brett Fairbairn, who joined the university in late 2018.
“Our faculty are here to make a different kind of university, through high-impact teaching and research that reflect where we are located and the lessons of this land, be those about ecology, Indigenous knowledge, or trades and livelihoods,” he says.
Hee Young Chung, chair of TRU’s Board of Governors and a TRU alum, points to the mandate TRU was given when it came together with Open Learning on March 31, 20 years ago, to meet the diverse needs of students through both on-campus and online learning.
“TRU’s strengths lie in its ability to provide accessible, high-quality education that allows students to choose the path that best fits their circumstances. Whether students are interested in research, professional programs or trades, TRU provides pathways that fit a variety of goals,” says Chung.
“With strong ties to local communities, industry partners and global networks, TRU equips students with practical skills and experiences that prepare them for our interconnected world.”
Adapting and changing together
The TRU community selected the Secwépemc value of Kw’seltktnéws as the centrepiece of its vision guiding the university for 2020 to 2030. Kw’seltktnéws, which means ‘we are all related and interconnected with nature, each other and all things,’ is about belonging. When the TRU vision launched in early 2020, the importance of building community to support student success resonated for Fairbairn.
“Since then we have had the pandemic, the challenges of arbitrary reduction in international student numbers and now the prospect of a trade war with Trump’s America. Each of these developments highlights ever more strongly why we need belonging — to survive as people, as a nation and as a world,” he says.
“We need to honour the ways all of us are related to each other and to nature. That’s the best way to characterize the kind of future that’s truly worth pursuing.”
Alongside belonging comes resilience.
“Resilience, for a university, means our faculty and staff having the experience to adapt and change together. We develop our intellectual collaboration muscles by collectively doing new things,” says Fairbairn.
TRU is flexing those muscles with new programming, learning options and other initiatives. TRU Wildfire is one example of collaboration and innovation for a future in which TRU and the communities it serves will thrive.
“TRU Wildfire, developed in partnership with BC Wildfire Service, positions TRU as a leader in wildfire research, education and training. With six new wildfire-focused programs, we’re creating a comprehensive approach to wildfire prevention, management and recovery,” says Chung.
“The Centre for Wildfire Research, Education, Training and Innovation — the first of its kind in Canada — will drive critical research and policy development in an area of increasing global importance. TRU’s investment in this field reflects a broader commitment to sustainability, climate resilience, and applied research that benefits communities across British Columbia and beyond.”
Flexibility meets more students’ needs
TRU is adapting to the lifelong learning needs of the future by becoming more fluid. One of these adaptations came as result of the amalgamation of B.C. Open Learning with TRU when the university was established two decades ago.
TRUly Flexible marries the best of both worlds: classroom and distance learning. It’s an initiative that meets diverse student needs on a spectrum from asynchronous learning (unscheduled, self-directed) to synchronous learning (scheduled, class-oriented).
“TRUly Flexible will redefine access to post-secondary education by giving students greater control over their learning journey. Building on TRU’s long history of open and distance learning, this initiative expands flexible pathways, including online, in-person and hybrid options,” says Chung.
“It allows students to mix and match learning formats, making education more adaptable to personal and professional commitments. As industries evolve and career paths become less linear, TRUly Flexible ensures students can continue learning throughout their lives.”
TRU is preparing students for the future through collaborative experiences that enrich their primary degrees. The university’s recently announced Honours College, launching in fall, is a four-year program that introduces honours seminar experiences to students in their first year of studies.
“Honours College will give students ways to enhance their learning and credentials with new interdisciplinary, cohort-based experiential programs,” says Chung.
Aimed at students who want to be change-makers, Honours College will foster the critical thinking, intercultural awareness and practical skills future leaders need to confront societal challenges and contribute to their communities.
TRU’s trajectory into the future is driven by its progress as a university over the past 20 years; that progress was built on a foundation of interconnection with the people and communities TRU serves. Grounded in those relationships, the university will continue to evolve and innovate to respond where needed and provide unique opportunities for personal and community transformation.
“We will thrive by locating ourselves at the intersection of knowledge and need, and by developing the skills and practical wisdom of getting new things done by partnership and collaboration,” says Fairbairn.