Interim Report Long Range Planning Committee on Boarding and Residential Life Version February 25, 2009 Presented to the Board of Governors 200 Lonsdale Road Toronto, Ontario M4V 1W6 Long Range Planning Committee on Boarding and Residential Life In September 2008, the Board of Governors appointed the following individuals to a sub‐committee charged with overseeing the development of a long‐range plan to revitalize the College’s Boarding Program. The Committee is chaired by Board Vice‐ Chair Stuart Lazier ’70, who was also a member of the original LRP Boarding Review Committee; a former boarder in Wedd’s and parent of Michael ’98, Adam ’96 and Sanders ’06. Other members: Lincoln Caylor ’87: Partner in the law firm of Bennett Jones, LLP, he is President of the Barbara Barrow Foundation, member of the 2007 Boarding Task Force, parent of current students Jack 2014 and Sam 2012, and former boarder in Seaton’s. David Hadden ’71: CEO of the Lakefield College Foundation, former Principal of Lakefield College School, former UCC faculty member and boarding housemaster. Fred Singer ‘ 81: former Governor, President & CEO of U.S.‐based Anystream, Inc; past member of the 2001 Communications Task Force and the Information Technology Advisory Group. Adam Markwell ’92: Investment Advisor, CIBC Wood Gundy Securities. Currently ’92 Class President; former Seaton’s’ boarder. Ryerson Symons ’85: Partner in New York law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett based in London, England; was Head Steward and Herbert Mason Medal winner; former Seaton's boarder. J. P. Mackay 2002: Asset Manager, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust; Trustee of the Barbara Barrow Foundation, former Wedd’s boarder. Simon Leung: parent of current boarder Ryan Leung and Aaron Leung, Class of 2005. Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Inc, (Greater China Region) and current Board member. Patricia Gouinlock: Current UCC Governor, served on the Communications Task Force, parent of Gordon ’05 and William ’08. Steve Griffin, Head of Upper School Innes van Nostrand ‘82, Vice Principal, parent of Jack 2016 and Alec 2019 2 Also supporting the work of the LRP Committee: Jim Power, Principal Andrew Turner, Director of Residential Life Steve Thuringer, Director of Facilities Suzanne Heft, Executive Director, Office of Advancement Ellen McDonald, Administrative Assistant to the Head of School Struan Robertson, Executive Director of Recruitment & Enrolment Management The LRP Committee provides oversight on behalf of the Board of Governors. Administrative and Volunteer Operational Teams: The following chart illustrates the administrative operational teams whose work in plan development relates to the LRP. These are the areas of program development, student recruitment, fundraising and facility development. Board LRP Committee on Residential Life & Boarding PRINCIPAL LRP (Stuart Lazier, Chair) Property Committee LONG-TERM Campaign BOARDING REVITALIZATION PLAN Steering (Project Lead: Innes van Nostrand) Committee A. D. Student B. C. Recruitment Boarding Facility Boarding Boarding Redevelopment (Developing a Fundraising Program robust, (Developing a plan to Campaign Development proactive and renovate or retrofit (Raising funds needed to (Creating a aggressive Seaton’s and Wedd’s to support new program, residential life marketing and meet future program capital and scholarship program that meets recruiting developed in C. endowment) needs of all effort) boarders) 3 According to the terms of reference for this LRP committee, it is the role of the LRP to establish: “A comprehensive oversight of programmatic and policy changes as they relate to boarding programming, specifically during the period of revitalization (2‐3 years) and to oversee boarding renewal plan development.” The future long‐range plan for boarding includes several key, inter‐related components and the committee is tasked with providing oversight on behalf of the Board in each of these: 1. Residential life program improvement, which includes a focus on: ‐ Day/boarder integration ‐ Enhanced weekend and extracurricular program development ‐ Academic enrichment and student support programs 2. Student recruitment and boarding marketing, which will focus on national, international, new and emerging target markets. 3. Fundraising, for three key priority areas: capital improvements, endowment (for student scholarships and bursaries) and programmatic enhancements. 4. Facilities renovation and redevelopment, in order to create a first‐class, up‐to‐ date physical plant that meets new boarding programmatic needs and is in keeping with the high caliber facilities of the rest of campus. We are pleased to present this interim report to the Board in February and anticipate completion of a final report by the April Board of Governors meeting. Introduction What should boarding at UCC become? Informed by the report of the 2007 Boarding Task Force and the operating principles set out by the Principal and the Board of Governors in the June 2008 Strategic Plan, the LRP committee has been challenged to answer this question definitively. • We firmly believe UCC can and should have a world‐class all‐boys boarding program. This is primarily achievable, in our view, because of the UCC context itself, our strong national and international reputation, as well as our outstanding track record with regard to educational excellence and university 4 placement, our brand equity in the marketplace, and the unique international niche that our boarding program can occupy: • an outstanding residential life experience; • in a challenging yet supportive all‐boy learning environment; • in a school with 180 years of tradition and achievement in leadership and service; • on a beautiful and safe urban campus; • in the heart of one of the world’s most multicultural cities. There are three key drivers to achieving this objective: 1. UCC’s overall reputation as an outstanding boys’ school. The best lever to achieving a world‐class boarding program is the strength of the overall program UCC offers its students, both academically and in terms of the broader UCC experience. Boarding students choose UCC for the holistic all‐round education the school offers, not just to be a boarder at UCC. Building on that, we need to create a boarding program that is distinct to UCC, unique and ‘our own’; we feel we can do this by claiming our market niche and targeting the best students to whom that niche appeals, and in so doing, we can achieve the greatest expression of what UCC boarding can be. 2. Delivering extraordinary individual attention to boarding students. A large body of evidence, including data gathered during the Boarding Task Force process ₁ and the consultations undertaken by the LRP, suggests that individual attention to boarders – the degree to which one‐to‐one pastoral care is delivered to each boy – is a prime lever to an outstanding boarding experience. This idea correlates with the Strategic Plan imperative that UCC should be a school that, despite its size, offers ‘a small school feel’. This imperative is implicit in the boarding program where size of enrolment creates a distinct sub‐community and offers tremendous opportunity for the fullest expression of affinity among boarding faculty, staff and students. We are therefore convinced that enhanced and increased adult supervision and greater engagement with students through the operation of an enhanced on‐campus boarding faculty and staff model is central to the future success of UCC boarding. 3. Attracting diverse national and international students whose presence strengthens the school. Great boarding schools thrive on great faculty and great students; human capital is the number one asset of any great program. If UCC can become known as the boys’ boarding school where the very best students want to come, we will have developed a foundation for every other element of optimal success in the years to come. In a 5 program that enrols between 80‐120 students, in a day school population of over 1,000, the calibre of each student we admit is of paramount importance. If these students are engaged, committed, well‐rounded high‐achievers, diverse in talent and background – and drawn from across Canada and every corner of the globe – we will have a boarding program that will enrich the UCC experience for all our students. Clearly, financial aid resources, as well as a robust recruitment effort are central to achieving this goal. We believe these three factors are fundamentally essential to creating a 21st century world‐class boarding experience at UCC. Other key elements include: facilities, program, financial aid, supervisory care, international experiences, leadership opportunity, university guidance and counselling. What are the elements of this vision for boarding “future”? The successful long‐term renewal of boarding at UCC will require reconfiguration and reinvestment. Many aspects of current practice demand attention, short and long‐ term. These include but are not limited to: staffing, supervisory care, physical plant, weekend programming (both at UCC and with other schools including local girls’ schools), academic enrichment, academic support, student and faculty recruitment, day student/boarder integration and a variety of safety and wellness initiatives. Our long‐term vision for boarding at UCC includes the following key elements: 1. An excellent, robust set of activities and opportunities (weeknight, weekend, athletic, extracurricular and including co‐ed) specifically designed to engage and support boarding students.