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Town and Gown Advisory Committee returns to Brantford
May 6, 2025
Print | PDFThis spring the City of Brantford will once again host Town and Gown Advisory Committee meetings thanks to a motion passed at municipal council in late March. Melissa DiLeo, director student life and experience, and Sebastien Corrie, AVP: government and stakeholder relations for the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union spoke in favour of the motion at the March 18 meeting of Brantford’s municipal council.
A common feature of most university towns, Town and Gown committees bring representatives from local post-secondary institutions and the broader community together to collaborate on shared concerns such has community safety and vibrancy, housing, and economic opportunities. A previous Town and Gown committee had existed in Brantford but has been inactive since 2018.
With the intent of offering a structured forum for dialogue and cooperation, the new Town and Gown committee will include:
- Councillor Mandy Samwell of the City of Brantford
- A representative from each post-secondary institution in the city, including Beth Gurney, Laurier’s director of communications and community engagement
- A member from each post-secondary institution’s students’ union
- A member of the Brantford Public Library
- A representative from the Downtown Brantford Business Improvement Area
- A representative from the Brantford-Brant Chamber of Commerce
The committee will be supported by a staff liaison from the City of Brantford, as well as a member of the City Clerk’s department. Reports from the Town and Gown committee will flow directly to municipal council through the Committee of the Whole – Planning and Administration.
“Over the past 25 years Laurier has grown to become an anchor institution in the Brantford community,” says Jason Coolman, Laurier’s vice president of advancement and external relations. “The return of Town and Gown will support continued positive city-university relations. Laurier is pleased to be at the table with community leaders and our post-secondary sector colleagues.”