Connection to the Community
One of the University’s strategic directions is community engagement and several suggestions were made over the course of interviews including:
- Creation of a summer hotel
- Establishment of conference facilities as there are no facilities in Lethbridge that can host events with 400-500 participants. Such a facility could be used to host national / international research symposia, or other academic conference and could also be shared with the community for sporting or other events.
- Community learning centre incorporating student, faculty, and community needs,
e.g., book clubs, etc. - Provide and welcome the public to restaurants, pubs, a high profile art gallery, accessible performing arts facilities and events, sporting events, bookstore and other retail, etc.
Implication for Master Plan
The Master Plan needs to create environments which will help the University attract members of the community by creating a critical mass of opportunities and a reason to ‘cross the river’.