As I return to the role of President (Interim) until our AGM in June 2025, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Jennie Atkins for her exceptional leadership, insight, and collegial spirit during her tenure as CAUCE President from June 2024 to February 2025. Her contributions have strengthened our association, and we deeply appreciate her dedication.
Despite the many challenges facing higher education in Canada, and the profound impact these challenges have had on University Continuing Education units, we continue to demonstrate resilience and an unwavering commitment to innovation. For decades, our profession has embraced an entrepreneurial spirit, pushing the boundaries of risk-taking to better serve our communities. While the landscape continues to shift in unexpected ways, I have always admired and respected the pragmatic, laser-focused commitment each of you brings to your work. It is with this in mind that CAUCE remains committed to evolving its role as an advocate, resource, and convener in service of our members and affiliates. We recognize the importance of ensuring that CAUCE remains a responsive and forward-thinking association that can effectively support the needs of those working within university continuing education.
Over the past year, we have undertaken several key initiatives aimed at strengthening our collective capacity. Our revamped awards process has been reviewed and expanded to include new affiliate, service, and leadership categories, ensuring that we continue to recognize excellence across the breadth of our community. I want to extend my appreciation to the Awards Revamp Working Group, who’s outcomes would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of its members: Ewa Wasniewski, Kristopher Noseworthy, Jo-Anne Clarke, and Karen Hamilton. Their efforts have been invaluable in ensuring that our awards remain meaningful and reflective of the achievements within our field.
We have also enhanced our communications and social media presence, embedding a more strategic and intentional approach to how we engage with members and the broader higher education landscape. The efforts, led by Amrit Ahluwalia, liaison and Shannon Koumphol, chair (Communications Committee) and Elizabeth Eberts, have been instrumental in strengthening CAUCE’s visibility and outreach, ensuring that we communicate with greater impact and alignment with our strategic goals. Our capacity for data collection and survey research has expanded significantly, allowing us to better understand and respond to emerging trends. I would like to express my gratitude to Evan Cortens (chair – Data Collection Committee), who has taken the lead in chairing this initiative. His work has been crucial in ensuring that we gather meaningful insights that inform our direction and decision-making.
Our monthly Deans and Directors' Virtual Round Table Meetings continue to serve as a vital space for meaningful discussions on key issues affecting our sector. These sessions have addressed a range of pressing topics, including recent efforts to navigate IRCC regulations and CIP codes, which have led to the formation of the International Professional Programs Working Group. A special thank you to Christine Brooks-Cappadocia and Sheila LeBlanc for their leadership in advancing this critical conversation. This discussion will offer a valuable opportunity to reflect on the historical context of our work and consider its relevance to the challenges and opportunities we face today. Our webinar series chaired by Kari Kumar with Jen Gordon as liaison (Professional Development Committee) continues to grow in impact with the most recent session on AI breaking registration records.
The launch of our Position Paper Series last year marked an important milestone, with our first paper highlighted by Academica’s top ten in Higher Ed (November 2024). To build on this momentum, I have put together a new working group the "G7" (composed of seven members) to explore additional publication initiatives that will further CAUCE’s thought leadership in the sector. Special mention to the ongoing hard work of the 2024-25 Conference Planning Committee with Jo-Anne Clarke serving the dual role as liaison and chair. This year’s 71st annual conference will be hosted by Brock University, Professional and Continuing Studies (St. Catherines, Ontario) May 28 – 30, 2025; a skip, hop, and jump away from Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls – special mention to Nathan Cheney (and the Brock University team) for hosting the conference. Special mention to Dalhousie University (Faculty of Open Learning and Career Development) for being our 2026 conference host.
In the backdrop of all this planning and work, efforts continue on the CAUCE Management Project, which is focused on improving efficiencies and ensuring that our secretariat (includes Coral Sawchyn, Deanna Wolfe, and Elizabeth Eberts) has the space, time, resources, and compensation necessary to not only sustain CAUCE’s critical functions but to do so with a growth-oriented mindset. This initiative, led by Coral Sawchyn, Ian Allen, and myself, remains essential in ensuring that CAUCE can continue to serve its members effectively in an evolving landscape. I am happy to report that CAUCE will now be led by a Director of Operations – Coral’s new executive role. This is a significant step forward for us as an association, strengthening our long-term capacity to better support members and advance our collective mission. I would also like to thank our 2024-2025 executive committee for their expertise and dedication: Jo-Anne Clarke (President Elect), Michelle Aarons (Secretary Treasurer), Jen Gordon (Central Rep), Jack Rice (Eastern Rep), Ewa Wasniewski (Western Rep) and our Members-at-Large, Amrit Ahluwalia and Christie Schultz.
In closing - we must acknowledge the difficult realities facing many Continuing Education units. Financial cutbacks across the post-secondary sector have had profound effects, not only limiting the ability of units to deliver vital programming and services but also, regrettably, disrupting the careers of some of our esteemed colleagues. These challenges serve as a stark reminder of the volatility in our sector – a seeming shift towards greater disorder. Yet, in the face of uncertainty, I continue to be deeply inspired by the resilience, ingenuity, and unwavering commitment that each of you brings to your work. Despite of national and international turbulence whose full impact remains to be seen, this past year has been one of remarkable creativity, productivity, and transformation for many including the association.
The strength of CAUCE lies in its members, and I am grateful for the collective effort that has made all this possible. As we move forward, let’s continue to support one another, push boundaries, and demonstrate the enduring value of Continuing and Lifelong Education. Together, we will rise above the challenges ahead – helping advance the future of our practice through innovation, collaboration & progress!