Roger Barnsley, President, TRU
"Education for the Real World"
Thompson Rivers University
A New Mandate ~ A New Vision
Guest Speaker: Roger Barnsley, President
Nowhere in Canada has the evolution of post-secondary education been more dramatic than in Kamloops, BC. The last two decades have seen a transition from community college to an innovative university-college, and now to a full provincial university with a unique mandate. Thompson Rivers University really is a different kind of university.
TRU offers a unique educational experience that can support a student through Adult Basic Education (upgrading), to one year certificates, two year diplomas, four years Bachelor degrees and selected Master degrees. Programs are developed to smoothly 'ladder' into the program of the next level, allowing students to exit and work at any point in the process. In 2005, Open University became a part of TRU and moved from Burnaby to new premises on the TRU campus.
With a 'real world' focus, TRU offers a variety of learning experiences that include:
- Co-op Education
- Study Abroad (8 students currently studying in China)
- Research & Directed Studies
- Service Learning (student and instructor negotiate the service levels and measurement outcomes, ie: research paper)
- International Field Schools (Mexico, Social Work; Slovakia, Anthropology; Chile, Tourism)
The new Strategic Plan for TRU was adopted in May 2007 after over two years of university and community consultations and commits TRU to becoming "The University of Choice" for:
- Student Engagement
- The Integration of Research and Scholarship with Teaching and Learning
- Aboriginal Students and First Nations
- Open Learning
- Environmental Sustainability
- International Opportunities
- Choice for Career Success
Roger retires in August 2008. He plans to stay in Kamloops, golfing and skiing.