On Jan. 1, Ryerson welcomed a new vice-provost, students with the addition of Jen McMillen from Humber College. At Humber, she was the dean of students from 2013 to 2018 and previous to that, was the director of student access, wellness and development at the school. Throughout her career, her work has focused particularly on equity, diversity and mental health initiatives at educational institutions including the University of Toronto and Brock University. In the following interview, she explains why she was drawn to working at Ryerson and how she thinks Ryerson is in a unique position to create change in the community.
Can you briefly describe what you do in your role as vice-provost, students?
The accountability that this role has is around a lot of the components that exist outside of the classroom – supports, services and programs that help students succeed in their academic careers and help augment the learning that is happening inside the classroom. There’s accountability for the registrar’s office, so all of the recruiting and admitting, scheduling, those functions. The department of athletics is also a part of this portfolio and all of the functions that happen through recreation and fitness programming, varsity operations, all of those components. I also oversee student advocacy and accountability, which includes the code of conduct and sexual violence areas of support.
What are you most excited for stepping into this new position?
I’m really excited about the opportunities that exist at Ryerson – I keep describing it to people as ‘I like the vibe.’ The way that Ryerson is positioned and the core values and beliefs that it lives each day – with regards specifically to equity, diversity, and inclusion – those have been core components of my career all the way through. I like the way that Ryerson appears to value the input and success of its students, in a way that is shown in its commitments and I like the fact that as an institution it remains committed to innovation, to doing things differently, to out-of-the-box thinking. We can be very community-focused, we can be very access-focused and we can help to redefine what a good student looks like.
What initially drew you to working at Ryerson?
I had a pretty strong sense of what Ryerson was about. It has a really good reputation in the field that I work in. I know lots of people here – there’s a lot of really tremendously talented and dedicated staff and faculty who work in this division, so that was important to me. I thought that the values of this division lined up with who I am and what I’m about. I’m very interested in how we design supports and services for students that take into account the students’ lived experiences, and what their unique needs might be. I saw a lot of that attitude and approach reflected in the people who were working here. All of those things made me think that not only is the institution a good fit, but the division itself. I like the diversity of the student body, I like the issues that are reflected as being important to students, as well as the institution. All of those things were reasons that I thought it would be a good fit.
During your time as director of student access, wellness and development at Humber College, you led a number of initiatives on mental health. Why do you think that so many universities and colleges in Ontario have had a difficult time providing sufficient mental health resources for students?
There’s a couple of components to it. First of all, this has been a rapidly evolving conversation in our society around acknowledging mental illness, destigmatizing [it] and talking about what supports should be in place for people. I think the evolution of that conversation has been extremely fast. What we’ve seen is a rapid increase in understanding, in identification and interest in support and services. It’s a complex social conversation and that’s transferred into the post-secondary environment. What I think we are seeing and I know is happening at Ryerson as well, is really committed and sophisticated conversations around how we need to meet the needs of students in pursuit of them being successful in their academic career. I think we’ve begun to understand the differentiated needs that students might have with regards to mental health and how those exist on a spectrum. What I have been really impressed and grateful to see is that over the past ten years, the conversation has changed dramatically. It’s an area of continuous improvement. I think Ryerson’s really uniquely positioned to look at how we can partner with community organizations and how we can play a role both within the institution and the community at large.
How do you think that Ryerson’s hyper-downtown location affects students?
Any location has benefits and drawbacks. I think what is really unique about Ryerson and being located as it is, you have all the benefits of the vibrancy of a world-class metropolitan city literally at your doorstep. The opportunity for students to interact with that community on a daily basis is tremendous. I think the other reality is that it’s not for everyone. My hope is that the campus is seen by many as an opportunity and a bonus, but certainly there are additional things that come along with that. If you start from a foundation of core values that are true to what Ryerson is, I think those conversations can happen in a way that’s productive and respectful.
What do you hope to accomplish in your new role?
It’s very early days for me, so I’m in the mode of ‘look, listen and learn’. There’s a tremendous amount of talent in this division that are teaching me things every day. What I hope to accomplish is to provide some support and leadership to an already talented and accomplished department that provides for students. I’m hoping to be able to bring to the table some of my experiences that I’ve had elsewhere, as well as facilitating the benefit of all the experiences of people who are here. I think we have an opportunity to do some really unique things with regards to the student experience.