The greening of the lawn in front of Tabaret Hall means the session—along with all the pressures and challenges that come with it—is drawing to an end! As this final busy period begins, I extend my best wishes to all students for success in their studies, exams and term papers.

Since most of you will soon be leaving the campus for the summer, I’m going to take a break from my blog for a few months. But I’ll get back to regular posting again in September. I hope you have found the blog useful. I have certainly enjoyed hosting it, and have found the many useful and thoughtful exchanges very rewarding. I look forward to continuing our dialogue in the fall and to reading about your ideas and perspectives.

Canada's University Solid and Strong

But for the photograph of Tabaret Hall, I would not have recognized the University of Ottawa from the erroneous portrait contained in Sunday's front page story in the Ottawa Citizen.

Given uncertain economic times, all Canadian universities face challenges in maintaining excellence in teaching and research while balancing budgets. This is all the more so since governments, the most important sources of funding for universities, face deficits and pressure to control or reduce spending. Some Canadian universities have had to lay off staff, close programs, levy special fees and reopen collective agreements.

Fortunately, the University of Ottawa has not had to do any such thing. And contrary to Sunday's Citizen report, we remain in a very strong financial position as a result of a history of fiscal prudence.

Read more.