Today. Tomorrow. Together.
Explore Laurier's five-year strategy outlining aspirations for the university, or download the PDF.
Laurier will excel at creating a thriving community where all members of our comprehensive university can reach their potential. From this foundation, we will develop future-ready people who will transform where they live, work, and continue to learn.
Wilfrid Laurier University is renowned as an exceptional learning community. From our roots in Kitchener-Waterloo as a small Lutheran seminary that opened its doors in 1911, we have evolved into a comprehensive, multi-campus, multi-community university with an expanding research profile. Since the turn of this century, our institution has experienced historic growth, while maintaining the small-campus feel and student-focused approach to postsecondary education that form the essence of Laurier.
The foundation of Laurier’s success is this collegial spirit. It informs our academics, research, and relationships with each other, our host communities, and communities around the world. Throughout the consultation process central to developing the strategic plan, students, faculty, staff, and alumni overwhelmingly spoke of our university’s unique character and the desire to preserve it.
This sense of community is built on Laurier’s commitment to purposeful learning and research. Every day our people build meaningful relationships that have lasting impact, whether it is between students and faculty, staff and alumni, graduates and employers, researchers and community organizations, or entrepreneurs and investors. Through collaboration we find inspiration.
As we look ahead to the next decade, it is Laurier’s spirit of community that will propel us forward as we innovate to meet challenges and harness opportunities. Successfully navigating these changes requires adaptability, creativity, and partnership. We have a significant contribution to make as we educate and inspire.
The core underpinnings of a university education will remain constant. Students require intense intellectual engagement combined with hands-on learning that prepares them as engaged members of their communities, who are innovative and ready to work together to solve the challenges of the future.
Laurier is committed to academic excellence, research, scholarship and creative endeavours that advance knowledge to improve the quality of life, build bridges inside and outside the university, and contribute to local and global economies. Laurier’s long tradition of community provides the foundation for our Laurier Strategy: 2019-2024. The strategy sets direction that clearly defines who we are, where we are headed and how we will move forward together.