Today and the Future: A Reflection Upon Trent’s 50th Anniversary

A Message from the President and Vice-Chancellor of Trent University

Trent’s 50th anniversary provides us with an exciting opportunity to celebrate our collective accomplishments and prepare the way for fifty more years of success. Our past achievements underscore our reputation as a university which offers an impressive range of academically rigorous programs enhanced with all the benefits of high quality research. When we provide Trent students with the opportunity to learn from professors who are doing groundbreaking work in a myriad of fields across the globe, we provide them with the chance to learn as they actively participate in our attempt to change the world for the better.

When we look back on the past 50 years, we see that the world has changed – and post-secondary education along with it. Today, university teaching and research is expanding to incorporate alternative modes of communication and learning. This is a positive development but we should not forget that some things are the same. Innovation and forward thinking have always been the driving force for research. At Trent, I think that an institutional commitment to a spirit of change and innovation is the greatest asset we bring to the research table.

In this issue of Showcase, you will find highlights of Trent’s fifty-year history of challenging the way we think through research questions. We have included many examples of ways in which our faculty and students continue to break new ground in critical areas across the sciences, social sciences and humanities. I encourage you to engage with Trent as we celebrate our fifty-year legacy and look ahead to its resounding effects on our immediate communities and around the world in the coming years.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating Trent’s legacy.

Leo Groarke, Ph.D.
President and Vice-Chancellor