Prince George, B.C.-  UNBC and the Mayor of Prince George  will be taking part in a special  panel discussion on Monday ,  one that includes Governor General  David Johnston.The  special event,  slated to take place the Prince George Playhouse is slated as “The perfect time to imagine the future.”

The Governor General was the President of the University of Waterloo in Ontario  prior to being named GG of Canada.  That University opened in 1957 with 74 students and  today has 35 thousand students  and more than 174 thousand alumni.   What makes  this  relevant to Prince George is that  while the University of Waterloo  has become known  for  its contributions to the high tech sector,  its location is not a major  metropolitan area,  and there in lies the basis  for  comparison with  Prince George.

“There is  much to be learned  about what can be achieved when Universities and Cities work together,:” says Rob Van Adrichem, Vice President of External Relations  for UNBC .  “The second part of why we are keen to have this  conversation literally the morning after the  Canada Winter Games Closing Ceremonies is that it signifies  the Games have been great,  but when they’re over, we have to look  to the future, and that’s what I think  is kind of neat  in the timing and the partnership with the City.”

Van Adrichem  says  a City  can  have  a significant  role in the future of any university, and Prince George is a prime example “I would argue that at the pinnacle of  when we were developing the University both originally in the 1980’s and  subsequently  in the early 2000’s, the City, both times, played  a totally  integrated role. First of all there would be no university here  if the City, through the  citizenry hadn’t mobilized,  Secondly, through the period of growth we’ve  had  through the Sports Centre, the lab expansion, the medical centre, I really don’t know  if we would have achieved as much  of it had the City not really been involved in doing this together with us.”

Van Adrichem  says the  bottom line is “We’re only going to advance if we can do this together.”

With a new President at the helm, the vision  for the next 25 years for UNBC  has yet to be  unveiled.  It is hoped  some of the opportunities available  may be  revealed  during Monday’s  panel discussion.  The Governor General,  as a former University President  and now as  the Governor General,  may have viewed  things  from a different perspective.

The public is  welcome to attend the event which is slated   for  10:30 am on Monday  at the Prince George Playhouse, but, because space is limited,  you must pre-register.  You can do so by clicking here.