I am a Glendon alumnus who recently learned of a proposal to close the Glendon campus and relocate Glendon to the Keele campus as a centre of bilingualism. I am deeply concerned by this proposal, as it will not provide the same uniquely enriching experience to students that Glendon currently provides.
I attended Glendon from 2016 to 2020. The experience that Glendon provides is unmatched and it is a combination of factors that make Glendon a special institution: it gives students the benefits of both a bilingual and liberal arts education, offers small class sizes and invaluable direct contact with professors, all with the backdrop of a stunning campus in midtown Toronto. The support and direct mentorship from professors, as well as the high quality education, I received during my time at Glendon played a central role in my future academic and professional success. In addition, I look back on my time at Glendon particularly fondly as Glendon fostered a sense of community and camaraderie among students that cannot be replicated at peer institutions with tens of thousands of students.
The proposal to relocate and "reimagine" Glendon as the home of bilingualism at the Keele campus, I fear, overlooks much of what makes the educational experience that Glendon offers uniquely enriching. The proposal is too quick to reduce Glendon's value solely to the bilingual education it provides–but Glendon offers its students so much more. As the proposal notes, some of the classes currently offered at Glendon are duplicative of the classes offered at Keele, but the student experience is markedly different. I took classes at both campuses, but I routinely chose the offerings at Glendon whenever possible. Glendon's small class sizes allow professors to interact with students more closely and structure their classes to be more closely tailored to their students' interests and academic needs than is possible at Keele.
The educational experience that Glendon provides is unmatched by peer institutions because Glendon is more than just a centre for bilingual education; it provides bilingual education in conjunction with the benefits of a liberal arts education on a campus that is simultaneously secluded and integrated into the city. It is all of these factors–not just the bilingualism–that make Glendon a compelling option for students and the reason why I chose to attend Glendon. The proposal to relocate Glendon would eviscerate many of the unique benefits that Glendon currently offers and, if the proposal was implemented when I was selecting a university, would have made York University a much less attractive option.
I understand that the proposal is animated by the concern with Glendon's declining enrollment. I strongly do not believe that the solution is to close the Glendon campus. There is not another university in southern Ontario, to my knowledge, that provides the educational experience that Glendon provides. I do not believe that the experience Glendon offers is unattractive to prospective students; indeed, when I was an applicant and learned about Glendon, it was far and away the most attractive option. Following my time at Glendon, I was fortunate to study at Columbia Law School as a Hamilton Fellow and Cambridge University as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Glendon shares many of the features that make those institutions so attractive to students–i.e., close interaction with and active mentorship by professors; small class sizes; a defined, green campus nestled within a city; etc.
Of course, some students are looking for a traditional large university experience, like York's Keele campus and UofT offer. But some are not. There should be a reliable pipeline of high school students who are looking for a liberal arts education at a small campus (with the benefit of access to the resources of the Keele campus) and/or high school students in the GTA in French immersion or extended French programs who want to continue their bilingual education (like I was). I suspect, however, that many of those students are simply unaware that Glendon is an option. When I was a student at Glendon, the vast majority of people I met in the GTA did not know Glendon existed. To the extent that it would be helpful, I suspect that many alumni would be happy to assist in efforts to boost Glendon's enrollment (I certainly am willing to do so).
Thank you for your time and for considering my input as a Glendon alumnus. As stated, Glendon in its current guise provides a uniquely valuable educational experience that so many students have benefitted from and my hope is that many more will. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss further.