Our Strategic Plan 2025‑2030
The Faculty of Law: a home for everyone
Message from the Dean
Dr. Fiona Kelly
Dean of the Faculty of Law
This strategic plan reflects both who we are today and who we aspire to be as a Faculty of Law. At its heart is a commitment to being a true home for our community, a place where students, faculty, staff, alumni and community and industry partners feel valued, supported, and inspired to thrive.
It is a plan that builds upon our proud history of academic excellence while charting a bold course forward with a shared sense of purpose. It also reflects the vital role we play beyond the Law Centre’s walls and affirms our enduring commitment to the work of Truth and Reconciliation.
Our priorities are clear: to provide our students with an outstanding and future-focused legal education, to support faculty in pursuit of research excellence, and to strengthen our relationships with the profession, alumni, and community.
“Above all, this plan is a collective call to action. Its success depends on the energy, creativity, and dedication of our entire community.
You’re invited: Strategic Plan Launch Event
The Faculty of Law will launch the strategic plan on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 from 4.30 - 7 p.m. in the David R. Percy Student Lounge. More details and to register »
Mission statement
Mission statement
A home for every member of our community.
The Faculty of Law strives to be a place where people are respected, where diverse perspectives and lived experiences are genuinely welcomed, and where each person is empowered to thrive.
Home is grounded in a culture of academic excellence, innovation and social responsibility.
Home is where impactful and innovative scholarship is cultivated to advance knowledge and justice.
Home is where teaching inspires curiosity, excellence, and care.
Home is where the desire to serve each other, the legal profession, and our community begins.
And in our home, relationships are built on trust, respect and belonging.
In all of this, we carry forward the University’s founding President Henry Marshall Tory's vision: to uplift the whole people. This vision lives on in our commitment to making the Faculty of Law not just a place of learning, scholarship and service, but also a true and lasting home.
Serving our Students
Fostering academic excellence through innovative and rigorous legal education.
Our faculty is dedicated to cultivating not only the intellectual and practical skills students need to thrive, but also a deep commitment to integrity and access to justice, and service. Through a student-centred approach, principled mentorship and experiential learning, our students are prepared to take on fulfilling careers as thoughtful advocates and leaders.
Supporting our Faculty
Strong leaders making real changes
Our scholarly community values, promotes and rewards innovative scholarship and high-quality, impactful research — empowering the Faculty of Law to grow as a research-focused faculty. Through strategic investment, targeted mentorship and support, we will continue to build our reputation as national and international research leaders who influence scholarly debates, professional practice, judicial decision-making and law reform.
Supporting our Staff
Empowering staff to empower students
Staff in the Faculty of Law serve in student-facing and administrative roles that impact every phase of the student life cycle. The Faculty of Law remains committed to creating a positive workplace culture that supports professional development and growth, empowered leadership, general happiness and fulfillment and equity.
Partnership with Alumni, the Legal Community and Donors
Relationships that foster student success
A strong relationship with the legal community is critical to the faculty’s mission and the success of our students. We are committed to welcoming members of the legal community, alumni and donors into the Faculty of Law, forming meaningful and sustainable connections. Together with donors and alumni, we will build a Faculty that is not only academically exceptional but also inclusive, innovative, and deeply connected to the community.
Serving our Community
Building and serving a more just and equitable society
Through teaching, industry partnerships and service, the Faculty is dedicated to serving a diverse range of local, provincial and global communities. Through the faculty's experiential learning program, support of Student Legal Services, and investment in improving legal literacy among non-law students, we are building a more just and informed society.
Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation
Continuous, impactful change
We affirm our enduring commitment to the work of reconciliation and building reciprocal relationships with First Nations, non-status, Inuit, and Metis peoples, recognizing reconciliation as a continuous and evolving responsibility embedded in all aspects of our teaching, research, and community engagement. This includes continuing to attract, support and retain Indigenous faculty members, staff and students.
Read more about some of the members of our community whose work already embodies what our strategic plan is designed to achieve. Their stories are a reminder that an institution’s strength isn’t found in its mission statement, but in the daily choices of the people who call it home.
A look at what’s changing
what’s changing
As we — faculty, staff, students and alumni — work to build a home here at the Faculty of Law, we are working towards several changes to benefit everyone. Here is some of the work we’re undertaking:
- Expanding our experiential learning offerings, including new clinics.
- Developing course clusters, designed to guide student course selection.
- Integrating research centres and institutes into the faculty and into the classroom.
- Developing an online graduate certificate in Indigenous Law.
- Expanding our graduate student cohort.
- Developing an undergraduate Certificate in Law for non-law students.
- Advancing reconciliation through meaningful initiatives, partnerships and curriculum development.
