Important dates
| January 14, 2019 | Call for Programs Open |
| January 14, 2019 | Conference Registration Open |
| March 29, 2019 | Call for Programs Closes |
| April 12, 2019 | Program Decisions Communicated |
| April 19, 2019 | Conference Program Released |
| May 7, 2019 | Early Bird Registration Deadline |
| May 31, 2019 | Conference Registration Deadline |
| June 3-6, 2019 | Building Bridges Conference |
Conference Program (subject to change)
| Monday, June 3, 2019 | |
| 5:30pm – 8:30pm | Registration (Goodman School of Business Atrium) |
| 6:30pm-8:30pm | Opening Event and Senior Leaders Panel Discussion (Goodman School of Business Atrium) |
| Tuesday, June 4, 2019 | ||
| 9:00am – 9:30am | Registration (Alphie’s Trough) | |
| 9:30am – 10:30am | Keynote (Alphie’s Trough) | Max Valiquette - Innovation, Transformation and Marketing Expert *See keynote speaker section |
| 10:30am – 10:45am | Break | |
| 10:45am – 12:00pm | Plenary session (Alphie’s Trough) | Intersectional Town and Gown Issues Tanja Curic - Policy Planner, Growth Management, The City of Waterloo David McMurray - Vice-President, Student Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University James Craig - Senior Sales Associate, CBRE Limited Mark Dykstra - Commissioner of Community Services, City of Waterloo Members of the Waterloo T&G Committee will present on relevant “intersectional issues” affecting it, the municipality and universities. A number of priority areas where there is intersection will be identified (e.g. student mental health/wellness, off campus conduct, unsanctioned public gatherings) and discussed. Information will be shared about the topic, including pressures, challenges, along with new ideas, potential solutions and synergies that attempt to make it better for all involved. |
| 12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lunch | |
| 1:15pm – 2:30pm | Plenary session (Alphie’s Trough) | Institutional Responses to Off-Campus Misconduct Darryl Veld - Associate Director, Student Affairs, Brock University Lindsay Winger - Assistant Dean, Support Services and Community Engagement, Queen’s University The rise of unsanctioned street parties has reached a critical level for many institutions across the sector. In effort to address high risk alcohol behaviours and reduce alcohol related harms, stakeholders are engaging in collaborative discussions and strategic actions to minimize the harms caused by these events on our students, community members and first responders. This presentation will examine the role of the institutions in the wake of large street gatherings and discuss the successes and potential limitations that exist in addressing behaviour off campus. Comparisons will be drawn between the University District Safety Initiative approach undertaken by the City of Kingston, Kingston Police and Queens University, and the educational approach by Brock University in collaboration with their community partners. Coordinated Response to Unssantioned Street Parties in the City of London Orest Katolyk - Chief Municipal Law Enforcement Officer, City of London In September 2018, approximately 20,000 people engaged in an unsanctioned street party in the near campus-neighbourhood just south of Western University (“University”) on Broughdale Avenue and surrounding streets. This event was not sanctioned by either the University or the City of London (“City”). Multiple agencies and first responders were engaged in a coordinated response to this unsanctioned event. |
| 2:30pm-2:45pm | Break | |
| 2:45pm – 4:00pm | Plenary session (Alphie’s Trough) | Habitats: Students in their Communities Britney DeCosta and Ryan Tishcoff – Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) This presentation will be a discussion between the speaker and attendees. A PowerPoint will be used with some lecture-style presentation, in addition to a discussion, not only on the issues that students have highlighted, but also areas of improvement/future collaboration in their communities. Materials: 2019 Habitats will be published on the first day of the TGAO Conference. Digital copies will be sent to attendees and available online. |
| 4:00pm - onward | Night on your own |
| Wednesday, June 5, 2019 | ||
| 9:00am – 9:30am | Registration (Alphie’s Trough) | |
| 9:30am – 10:30am | Keynote (Alphie’s Trough) | Markus Moos – Associate Professor, School of Planning, University of Waterloo; registered professional planner *See keynote speaker section |
| 10:30am – 10:45am | Break/Travel Time | |
| 10:45am – 12:00pm | Morning Concurrent Sessions (Alphie’s Trough) | Travel Planning for University Campuses: The Western University Story Alexander Wray – Research Associate, Human Environments Analysis Lab, Western University The closure of the University Drive Bridge to vehicle traffic on Western University’s campus in London, Ontario during the winter of 2018/19 sparked broad campus discussion of transportation issues in the community. The Western Active Transportation Society was formed to lead the discussion of transformative change in campus-community transportation issues such as cycling, parking, transit, and vulnerable road user safety. This session will explore the impact of this situation on Town and Gown relations. Brock University’s U-Pass Program and its Implications for Town-Gown Relations in Niagara Christopher Fullerton – Department of Geography and Tourism Studies, Brock University The presentation will provide an overview of Brock University’s highly-successful U-Pass Program, with an emphasis on its implications for town-gown relations in Niagara. Initiated in the 2003-2004 school year and administered since then by the Brock University Students’ Union in partnership with numerous Niagara transit agencies, the U-Pass Program has generated an exponential increase in public transit ridership among Brock students. The various transit route and schedule enhancements made over the program’s sixteen years have provided students with a level of service that far exceeds that enjoyed by students at most other post-secondary institutions across Canada. At the same time, the popularity of the U-Pass program, and its influence on student travel behaviour, has presented both benefits and challenges for the communities in which Brock students reside, including improved student access to shopping destinations and the influx of students into new residential neighbourhoods. |
| Morning Concurrent Sessions (Thistle 244) | Supporting Off-Campus Students: Case Studies from University of Guelph, Brock University, and Niagara College Kathryn Hofer - Manager, Off-Campus Living, University of Guelph Tanya Bradley – Manager, Student & Community Experience, Brock University Shawna Luey – Manager, International Student Services, Niagara College Providing students with the resources and supports they require to have a successful experience living off-campus is critical to fostering positive community relations. This presentation will provide an overview of innovative programming for off-campus students and international students at the University of Guelph, Brock University, and Niagara College. | |
| 12:00pm – 1:00pm | TGAO Annual General Meeting & Lunch (Alphie’s Trough) | |
| 1:15pm – 2:30pm | Afternoon concurrent sessions (Alphie’s Trough) | A Campus-Community Planning Tool? Learning about LEGO as a Town and Gown Relationship Building Technique Alexander Wray – Research Associate, Human Environments Analysis Lab, Western University Student housing and other campus buildings have caused significant conflict between near-campus neighbours and their institutions due to the sheer density and height of some newer building formats. Using LEGO as an interactive tool, coupled with role-playing, this session will work through multiple case studies in Waterloo, Kingston, Hamilton, Guelph, and London to illustrate how playful materials can be used to bridge the gaps between campus and community visions of near-campus neighbourhoods. |
| Afternoon concurrent sessions (Thistle 246) | Canada Needs More Purpose-Built Student Housing Sally Turner - Director, Research and Consultancy, SVN Rock Advisors Inc. There are more than 1.3 million full-time post-secondary students across Canada. As of January, an estimated 51,747 purpose-built off-campus student housing were available or were being built across Canada. Demand for purpose-built off-campus student housing far surpasses existing supply, pushing students into casual rentals - typically single condominium units, detached or semi-detached homes, and townhouses offered for rent by their owners. Many of the rentals slip under the radar of Landlord & Tenant acts, which means students renting them don’t always enjoy the legal protections they should, and don’t have any guarantee of quality or safety. This session explores the trends of new development and success stories, and continued lack of supply of purpose-built student housing in most markets across Canada. | |
| 2:30pm – 2:45pm | Break/Travel Time | |
| 2:45pm - 3:15pm | Plenary session (Alphie’s Trough) | The Brock District Plan Kirsten McCauley - Senior Planner, Secondary Plans, Niagara Region The Brock District the first District Plan undertaken by the Region. It is a unique urban centre that straddles the City of St. Catharines and the City of Thorold with about half of the area owned by Brock University. It was chosen because it is a major economic driver for the Region, has significant development and redevelopment potential, is a major employment area and required coordination amongst multiple stakeholder and cross-jurisdictional interests. A District Plan is a pro-active land use and development strategy intended to support the Region’s focus on growth and economic prosperity. It sets a vision, identifies key opportunities and, through a collaborative process with a variety of stakeholders and interested parties, makes recommendations for studies and actions that will promote these opportunities. The District Plan is an intermediate step for more detailed planning analysis between Regional growth planning and the local planning documents. |
| 3:15pm – 4:00pm | Generative Discussion (Alphie’s Trough) | Participate in a group case study activity related to top 12 conference issues. |
| 5:30pm onward | TGAO Dinner and Social | Join us for an evening at Benchmark Restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Benchmark Restaurant presents an exciting dining opportunity – showcasing food, wine, and beer created, prepared and presented by students from the programs at Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute. A shuttle service will be provided from Brock and the Four Points Hotel to Benchmark and back at the end of the evening. Delegates will have the option to spend the remainder of their evening exploring Niagara Falls. |
| Thursday, June 6, 2019 | ||
| 9:00am – 9:30am | Registration (Alphie’s Trough) | |
| 9:30am – 10:30am | Keynote (Alphie’s Trough) | Michael Fox – Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography and Environment, Mount Allison University; author of two books related to Town and Gown relations *See keynote speaker section |
| 10:30am – 10:45am | Break | |
| 10:45am – 12:00pm | Closing Plenary Discussion (Alphie’s Trough) | The Closing Plenary Discussion will provide a “capstone” to the Building Bridges 2019 conference and a launching point for emerging items, next steps and legacy initiatives related to the TGAO. |
| 12:00 PM | Lunch and Travel Home |