‘There will be more Brock across Niagara’
It has been 17 months since Gervan Fearon moved into the office at the top of Schmon Tower, with a stunning view overlooking most of Niagara as well as the Golden Horseshoe extending around the west end of Lake Ontario.
Brock University’s president, however, often slips away from that office to walk the halls and grounds of the campus among the 19,000 students attending classes.
That personal interaction, he explained, adds to the educational experience for the students — helping to instil a sense of community and a sense of belonging in them.
“We have to think of not only our students today, but 30 or 40 years from now what do they need in that capacity to be successful and giving them core competencies, but also the life skills and values and perspectives that are going to carry them into the future?” he said. “I think that we do that by engaging with students — all of us, not just some of us.”
The pride Fearon feels for the university under his leadership is obvious when he discusses Brock’s 54-year history and the 100,000 students who have graduated as of this year.
Unlike most universities that were built as government directives, he said Brock was established in 1964 at the request of Niagara residents. And its grassroots origins, he added, demonstrate how important the university is to the growing communities that surround it.
The university has grown substantially in the years since it first opened its doors.
Although its most recent addition — the 3,690-square-metre Rankin Family Pavilion — is nearing completion at the base of the tower, the university will continue to grow in the years to come, guided by a new strategic plan that should be completed by the end of this month.
“Part of doing a strategic plan is developing a shared vision, a shared mission and a shared direction for the university,” Fearon said.
Several priorities for the university have been identified as part of the year-long strategic planning process — including strengthening research and grad-
uate studies, enhancing the university’s connection to local communities, and focusing on Niagara’s global connectivity.
“Those are some of the big pillars of that. And out of that we will be defining quite clearly where the university will be going to be able to live up to those major strategic priorities,” Fearon said. “It’s very much an engaged strategic planning process. We’re listening. We’re hearing and trying to reflect what we hear in what we build.”
As a result, he said the university’s place in the region will become much more of prevalent in years to come.
“There will be more Brock across Niagara in the future if we’re successful, rather than less,” he said.
Meanwhile, current research is already having a profound impact throughout the region, and beyond.
For instance, he said the cool climate oenology and viticulture institute is “making an incredible contribution in partnership with industry,” helping Niagara vintners produce some of the best wines in the world.
“It’s estimated that the research institute at Brock contributes about $91 million to the sector creating over 300 jobs,” he said.
But despite Brock’s growth and achievements, Fearon’s first year at the university hasn’t been without controversy.
The university, for instance, was accused of stifling free speech after stripping a retired professor of his emeritus title for making disparaging remarks about Indigenous people.
Fearon denied the accusation. “When the actions, the statements of an individual are in conflict with (the university’s) values, we communicate that — just as they are free to communicate,” he said. “They’re free to make their expressions and the university is also free to make its expressions.”
Disturbances caused by Brock students living off campus have also reflected negatively on the university. Fearon, however, said Brock has been working to resolve the problems with St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara Regional Police and campus security, as well as the students themselves.
“What was so uplifting last year is that we saw that change happening,” Fearon said. “We saw that we’re getting results.”
Fearon grew up in Toronto, among the first generation of his family to attend post-secondary institution.
While allowing him to achieve many accomplishments during his 60 years of life, the experience also inspired a lifelong passion for education in Fearon.
“I view post-secondary education as transformational for individuals, for families, for communities. That drives how I think about university and how I think about my world,” he said.
He holds two agriculture economics degrees from University of Guelph, a PhD in economics from Western University, an accounting designation and a board of governance designation. Fearon has also held leadership positions at universities, prior to becoming Brock’s president. He was president and vice-chancellor at Brandon University in Manitoba, he was a dean at Ryerson, an associate dean at York, and visiting scholar at University of Washington.
Fearon’s experience isn’t limited to academia.
He worked for about 12 years with the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance, travelling across the province and country, seeing the agri-food industry up close.
Fearon has also been an avid volunteer in the various communities he’s called home, and spent years working in a factory garnering an understanding of the manufacturing sector that has historically been a key part of Niagara’s economy.
“I have a strong affinity for what industries are doing,’ he said. “I have that dual sense of understanding.”