“What’s the purpose of a university education? or, what are we even doing here?” 

What does it mean to say we “teach,” across our many fields and areas at UPEI? Is there something in common about our teaching that we all share and could articulate? Could we, for instance, agree on what we want students to have at the end of their degrees—in terms of skills, knowledges, and questions for their lives after graduation; would we want to? Or is teaching, a core activity of the university, one of those taken-for-granted activities—and what might be some consequences of not holding it up to the same scrutiny we hold up many of the other knowledges we look at? How does—how can—our teaching respond to a rapidly changing world, a post-secondary sector under much duress everywhere (for lots of reasons), and an ever-changing student body articulating different needs and wants for their learning? (How) Does what we do in the classroom and in our curricula fit with UPEI’s strategic initiatives? At a time when many of us are quietly asking ourselves some version of the question “what are we even doing here,” let’s have that conversation together!