The Lakehead Experience
In comparison to Orillia, Lakehead University has a long history in Thunder Bay. It began as the Lakehead Technical Institute in 1946 before transitioning to the Lakehead College of Arts, Science and Technology a decade later. From these foundations emerged Lakehead University in 1965. Today, the Thunder Bay campus boasts several specialized buildings, all centered around Lake Tamblyn, that facilitate the learning of around 7500 students. Meanwhile, more than 1200 kilometers to the southeast, Lakehead put down roots in Orillia's downtown core at Heritage Place in 2006, which is still in use today, by the Faculty of Education. The University Avenue campus was completed in 2010. Currently, it has a single academic building, residence building, cafeteria, and bookstore.
"The biggest difference between the Thunder Bay and Orillia campuses is that class sizes are smaller here", says Dr. David Law, Associate Professor of Biology at the Orillia campus. "In Thunder Bay, an introductory course in plant biology, for example, would have 150 students enrolled, compared to around 20 students on average here".
Dr. Alice den Otter, Associate Professor of English, now based at the Orillia campus, recalls that "it has been 19 years since I taught at the Thunder Bay campus, and a lot has changed since then, [including many technological developments]." When transitioning to Orillia in 2006, Dr. den Otter found her usual blackboard-based teaching style quickly replaced by Powerpoint. "There is much more natural light in the classrooms [in Orillia] - this makes it harder to show movie clips", says Dr. den Otter. Another big difference Dr. den Otter noted is that as Orillia only has a single academic building, she no longer has to "wear mittens from one class to the next".
Dr. Law began his career at Lakehead in Thunder Bay over 20 years ago, later relocating to Orillia in 2016 to facilitate the creation of the Applied Life Sciences (APLS) HBASc program. "The original intention of Orillia was actually to offer different programs than Thunder Bay", although Dr. Law notes this goal has evolved over time. Despite this, there are still certain departments and programs that do not have a cross-campus counterpart, contributing to the uniqueness of the two campuses.
"Because the Thunder Bay [science] programs have been running longer, they may attract a different type of student. Here, you find more people are exploring different areas of study, such as biology, which is great." Dr. Law went on to discuss the commuter culture at the Orillia campus. "[Students drive] crazy distances, like [from] Newmarket and Scarborough; in Thunder Bay, most students are lodged locally, as there are no places to drive to. Minneapolis is the closest other city five hours away. [The commuter culture here] can create more of a challenge in making a community. There are more mature students here than in Thunder Bay. I like having them in my class - different people's point of view and perspectives are helpful. In every class, there are one or two mature students, which didn't happen as much in Thunder Bay."
Dr. den Otter corroborates this view. "Most students who go to Thunder Bay end up living within 20-30 minutes of campus… There are more people living in residence, and they tend to participate in academic events, sports activities, and clubs more than we do here. In Orillia, there are many commuters between faculty and students. In my experience, the relatively remote location [in Thunder Bay] enabled a closer knit community". Dr. den Otter believes that if Orillia had more buildings, with a gym, pub, and improved parking situation, we may have a more vibrant community here as well.
Dr. Law notes various challenges for faculty in Orillia. Specifically, he refers to no dedicated labs for individual members of the science faculty, as well as a lack of dedicated work spaces. "This may deter the research from being lab based, and could contribute to social science research being more popular, and [physical] sciences being less core to Lakehead in Orillia [than in Thunder Bay].
Despite these limitations, Dr. Law shows pride to work at the Orillia campus. "People in charge of the labs here are all incredible to work with. [They are] approachable and very accommodating. There are lots of opportunities to work with excellent researchers - we find ways to make research work here, because the people are so awesome…. We punch above our weight [despite small class sizes], which is super impressive".
When asked if the geographic location of a campus plays a big role in the campus culture, Dr. Law replied "I hope so. It should play a role in the programs we offer - if we want to serve our communities, we need to be responsive to the uniqueness of the local geography, so ideally the biology program in Thunder Bay has to do with the Great Lakes, and here, Lake Simcoe. Ideally, [professors] would not have to go far to [conduct] research".
"Student research is shaped by its surroundings", says Dr. den Otter. "English [as a discipline] is all influenced by similar media and exposure to literature, and in that regard, [the research is similar] between campuses. Student research in Orillia seems to start a bit earlier than in Thunder Bay. This makes a difference when you're teaching Zoom courses to the two."
"The library in Orillia is so small", notes Dr. den Otter. "We have to access cross-campus materials and online resources. At first, I really missed going to the library, and just browsing on the fourth floor, spending time in the stacks. Most of my research I can just do online now, so the difference has become minimal as time has gone on".
While there are clear differences between the campuses, there is a notable "core" of Lakehead culture and ethos. "[Lakehead is] supposed to be student centered on both campuses - giving students opportunities to learn new things, listening to their voices", says Dr. Law.
"I like to teach courses to Thunder Bay, via telepresence, asynchronous web, and Zoom", says Dr. Law. He mentions having collaborated with professors in Thunder Bay to teach certain biology classes online as a team. "[Forming a cross-campus community] is always about finding people who are willing to work with you and improve things on both campuses. I want to teach to both campuses - there are APLS students in Thunder Bay, too. Teaching to both campuses is really enriching - asynchronous learning can work effectively." Dr. Law has purposefully "[set up] group projects to include one Thunder Bay and one Orillia student", to encourage cross-campus socialization.
Dr. den Otter considers the collegial atmosphere to have always been the same between Orillia and Thunder Bay. "[There is] no horrible, competitive, cutthroat behaviour you do have at some of the larger universities. We have a good, healthy environment here. I also find people at both campuses care about the environment, they care about social justice, and see truth and reconciliation as issues that matter. That's not new to Orillia. I've always felt that in Thunder Bay, too".
With all these similarities and differences in mind, how can we form a more cohesive, cross-campus community for students?
Dr. Law has encouraged students from his campus to enrol in Thunder Bay for a term to experience the different course offerings, noting that it is harder to convince Thunder Bay students to come to Orillia, although it does happen occasionally.
Dr. den Otter has an innovative vision for how we can strengthen our cross-campus community. Like Dr. Law, she also thinks Zoom has helped a lot, and added that she believes another telepresence room in Orillia would be beneficial. "[Telepresence] really gives you a sense of being in the same place, sharing the same issues, and being in the moment. I think that's critical, having that face to face opportunity."
She goes on to describe the possibility of implementing an official student exchange program between the two campuses. "If we had a set number of students that we could enable to spend one term at another campus, it would give an opportunity to get to know people at the other campus on a deeper level than just through Zoom. Sometimes, just knowing a few people makes a huge difference [for students]. It could even be set up so a person in residence here could flip rooms - then you guarantee you don't lose your room, and it is an actual exchange of students."
What are some things that you love about your campus, and would be curious to experience about the other? If Lakehead ever offered cross-campus exchanges, would you be interested? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
*Note: some quotes were edited for clarity.