Culture Of Care
At the º£½ÇÉçÇø, our commitment to safety isn't just a box to check — it's a fundamental principle that lives in every initiative, big or small, within our university community and the strategic plans that guide us.
Whether we’re shaping the future through innovative research, or nurturing the growth of our students, faculty and staff, our Culture of Care aims to create an environment where everyone feels physically, psychologically and culturally safe.
These priorities are woven into the university’s various strategic plans, and help bring the Culture of Care to life in our day-to-day work, ensuring the well-being, health and flourishing of all members of our community.
Explore the university’s strategic plans to see how all elements of safety are represented.
- The safety, health, well-being and flourishing of faculty, staff and students underpin the implementation of this strategic plan — in every initiative of every size.
- We are committed to our people’s physical, psychological and cultural safety, and to providing a safe and healthy work and study environment that enables high-quality education and research.
- We will take a leading role in confronting issues of importance to communities across Alberta — such as energizing and diversifying economic development, improving health-care delivery, reducing poverty, addressing community safety and enhancing sustainability.
- We will continue to play a vital role in the social and cultural lives of our communities, convening diverse individuals and communities to pursue shared, positive outcomes and improve the lives of all Albertans.
- Cultural diversity informs every aspect of our teaching and learning.
- Utilize university infrastructure (physical, web and communications) to acknowledge the foundational nature of Canada’s relationships with diverse Indigenous nations, the First Peoples of the places that the º£½ÇÉçÇø currently manages, and to create safe and welcoming spaces for all.
- Create safe and welcoming physical and virtual spaces for First Nations, Inuit and Métis students, faculty, staff and community members.
- Build Indigenous virtual and in-person networks as a community-building exercise and in acknowledgment of the fact that, due to colonial trauma, universities are often the first safe place in which some Indigenous individuals are able to explore identity and reconnect with community.
- Create and offer anti-racism and cultural sensitivity training in partnership with relevant units for all º£½ÇÉçÇø faculty, staff and students.
- The People Strategy is about cultivating a vibrant and inclusive community where people at all levels thrive professionally and personally, including through a safe and healthy environment and culture.
- Prioritizing health and well-being is a key theme, including the safety gained through acknowledging and addressing the physical, psychological and cultural aspects of well-being.
- This focus will allow members of the university community to feel empowered, energized and supported, making the º£½ÇÉçÇø an employer of choice that provides people a setting in which to create long and rewarding careers.
- Develop transparent institutional strategies for supporting safety while forefronting freedom of expression in relation to contentious conversations and dissent-based events held on º£½ÇÉçÇø campuses.
- Develop detailed, transparent plans (including prioritization) for how various administrative offices will support and invest in the institutional commitment to cultural and psychological safety and well-being that recognize and account for the differential impacts of these safety considerations across communities.
- Commit to observing and tracking trends related to:
- supporting uncomfortable encounters
- safety connected to accessing academic and community life
- Support Researchers with Tools and Infrastructure: Strengthen guidelines and develop knowledge bases for research-related administrative, financial and infrastructure operations and protocols, as well as occupational health and safety compliance activities.
- Develop communication and training assets for researchers and trainees at all stages, focusing, especially on early-career researchers.
- Improve, coordinate and expand institutional researcher onboarding and support processes for administrative, operational, facilities, safety and financial matters.
- The result will be a prevailing climate of support for researchers and research: one that fosters multidisciplinary engagement; provides safety in the pursuit of various lines of inquiry.
- We are committed to safe and responsible research, creative work, knowledge mobilization, social and technological innovation, and commercialization activities, regardless of disciplines and our partners’ geographic locations.
- Develop and expand robust and secure safeguarding research systems, including data storage, data exchange and data management systems.