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I take the view that University to be a really strong educational institution has to be a first-rate research institution as well
I think what's really important in thinking about ways that the undergrad programs need to be rethought, we need to turn to research
both as a model for ways in which the mind should engage with challenging issues
but also as a resource on which we can draw to improve the quality of our educational programs at all levels
I mean I think if you think of the model of research activity, it's sort of an onion
so at the centre of it is the curiosity-driven researcher who is doing the work
and then as you move outwards from that centre, there is an engagement between the world of pure inquiry
and the context in which those discoveries will have their effect.
and so in terms of the benefits brought to society by research
I think you begin to feel them immediately in the local community, in the broader community, nationally, and then internationally, and then obviously
in every institution you want to be having an effect in all those areas. To be a world-class institution you must be, of course, conducting research that is world-class.
but its ramifications may be felt locally and the arena in which some of the investigation can be done will in many cases be local
I think the recent rankings from research info source and other similar kinds of publications have made very clear that
for our size, McMaster has achieved in recent years a quite extraordinary level of research intensiveness
and that is going to continue if we steward it very well and support ours such as celebrate our accomplishments and drive forward to new discoveries.