Sept. 21, 2019

Thank you, Adam. Member of Parliament McColeman, Mayor Davis, Mayor Bailey, esteemed guests and dear friends.

It’s my privilege today to bring greetings on behalf of Wilfrid Laurier University as we mark this important occasion.

We are currently surrounded by the physical representation of twenty years of hard work, tireless dedication and enduring partnerships that have grown the Laurier Brantford footprint from one building with 39 students to an expansive campus that is now home to nearly 3,000.

This kind of progress doesn’t just happen. It takes a community of leaders to build a community university.

Without the tremendous effort of the Grand Valley Educational Society to lobby for a Brantford-based university – we would not be here.

Without the business plan sponsored by Enterprise Brant that identified the potential gains of having a university in Brantford – we would not have been able to express our true potential.

Without the City of Brantford, which provided us with our first building – the Carnegie Building – we would not have had a home from which to grow.

Without generous donations and the cooperation of our partners, we wouldn’t be able to continue expanding our campus as was done recently with the Laurier Brantford-YMCA.

In addition to the critical contributions made by our partners and supporters, it is the people of Brantford and surrounding communities - the staff, students, faculty, and community members – who are the ones who give the university its daily purpose and have built a legacy of success.

As we look ahead, my hope is that the next 20 years will be as accomplished and transformative as the first 20.

There are exciting things happening at Laurier Brantford. The One Market building is now open and will provide us with the space to more than double our student population.

Over the next few months we will be sharing our plans for the future and reporting on the impact Laurier has made on the community since 1999.

Laurier Brantford is a model in Ontario of how to build a multi-campus, multi-community university focused on delivering excellence in academics, student services, athletics, research, and community-integrated learning.

Thank you for joining us today to celebrate this milestone and I look forward to enjoying the rest of the day with all of you.