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Office of the President

Setting the Course: Fall 2025 Community Update

Update on the development of McMaster’s next strategic plan

The first phase in the process to develop McMaster’s next strategic plan took place over the Fall 2025 term. This early work benefited from the expertise within our own community, with faculty members and staff contributing valuable knowledge to guide the process.

The following are highlights from this initial planning phase.

Steering Committee and Coordinating Team

To start the planning process, a Strategic Plan Oversight Committee was formed to provide oversight to the design and implementation of the Setting the Course consultation process.

Chaired by the President, this committee includes representatives from all six Faculties, as well as students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, alumni and members of the Senate and Board of Governors. The membership and terms of reference for the Strategic Oversight Committee are posted online.

To support this work, a Strategic Planning Team was convened to coordinate consultations, gather input and manage the day-to-day work of drafting the plan. The membership and terms of reference for the Strategic Planning Team are also online.

President’s Invitation

On Nov. 24, President Susan Tighe invited the entire McMaster community to take part in the process to develop the university’s next strategic plan in an announcement to students, faculty, staff, alumni, research and community partners, and friends of the university.

“As a public university, we should convert as much of our research as possible into uses that benefit society, both in terms of improving everyday life and building the Canadian economy, starting right here in Hamilton,” Tighe wrote.

Website Launch

A website for Setting the Course was created to serve as a central repository of information and updates for the McMaster community.

It will be continually updated throughout the strategic plan development process to ensure our community is kept up to date and that the process is transparent and inclusive.

Survey Launch

While a number of focus groups, town halls, pop ups and other in-person events are planned as part of the process, there is recognition that not everyone likes to share their thoughts the same way. An anonymous survey was launched as an additional means for members of the our community – both internal and external to McMaster – to add their voices and help shape the plan. The survey will stay open for more than three months, until March 2.

Take the survey.

Senior Leaders Discussion

On Nov. 18, McMaster’s president, vice-presidents and deans met for a discussion on the university’s vision, mission and values. The session was facilitated by Mark John Stewart, Mark John Stewart, Managing Director, Wentworth Strategy Group; Industry Professor with the Master of Communications Management (MCM) program and DeGroote School of Business Executive Education.

Members of the Strategic Planning Team attended the discussion to capture thoughts and insights for the strategic planning process.

Front, from left: Pamela Swett, Dean of Humanities, Katherine Cuff, acting Dean of Social Sciences, Saher Fazilat, Vice-President, Operations and Finance, Gianni Parise, Vice-President, Research, Bruce Newbold, acting Dean of Science, Susan Tighe, President and Vice-Chancellor, Maureen MacDonald, Provost and Vice-President (Academic), Khaled Hassanein, Dean of Business and Mark John Stewart, Industry Professor and Managing Director, Wentworth Strategy Group. Stairs, from left: Lili Litwin, Vice-President, University Advancement, Paul O’Byrne, Dean and Vice-President, Faculty of Health Sciences, David Estok, Presidential advisor and interim CMPA leader, Alex Lawson, Special Advisor, Institutional Initiatives, Clare Mitchell, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the President, and Dina Brooks, Executive Vice-Dean and Associate Vice-President, Academic, Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Impact of AI

On Dec. 3, more than 45 academic and administrative leaders from across McMaster took part in a session to envision the future impact of AI in higher education. The exercise in futures thinking is complementary to strategic planning.

While traditional strategic planning looks at where we want to go, futures thinking helps us understand the range of futures we may have to be ready for. It was facilitated by Sean Park, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Education and Innovation, Shane Anderson, assistant professor and the Director of the Research on Artificial Persons Lab, and Stephanie Verkoeyen, Special Advisor on Generative AI.

Members of the Strategic Planning Team attended the session to record the outcomes for the strategic planning process.

Shane Saunderson speaks about envisioning how AI will impact the higher education sector in the coming years.

Senate and Board of Governors Update

On Dec. 10 and 11, President Tighe presented to members of McMaster’s Senate and Board of Governors respectively. She reported on the activities to date, on the consultations to come, the timeline and invited members to attend the launch event for the strategic plan consultations on Jan. 14.

She challenged all to “imagine what McMaster can become and make it happen, together.”

President Tighe's Setting the Course Presentation