THUNDER BAY — NOSM University officials were in the city for their latest town hall meeting as the medical school drafts a new strategic plan and long-term outlook.
Their trip to Thunder Bay, which was the third in a series of community visits across the north, took place on Lakehead University’s campus on Thursday.
“We’re 20 years old this year," said Mike Green, the president, vice chancellor, dean and CEO for NOSM University, adding that it's a cause for celebration.
“This is an opportunity for me to meet with interested people from around the north, holding town halls in a lot of different communities and here in Thunder Bay today.”
The town halls are part of efforts to prepare a new 2026-2030 strategic plan, but the school is also casting its sights even further forward with an eye on the university's next 20 years.
NOSM university has already held community meetings in North Bay and Timmins, with another event planned for Sudbury at the end of the month.
Green said NOSM is here because of the north and for the north, so it’s really important for administration to hear the voices of all the people interested in the university.
“I think (it) is pretty much everyone in northern Ontario … let us know what’s important to them and what we should be focusing on as we move into the future,” said Green.
He said a wide variety of stakeholders were in attendance.
“We have a mix of our faculty, some of our staff, some of our students and just interested people from the community," said Green. "Your MPPs are represented, so lots of different people with different interests."
For the town hall, Green said they gave a little bit of an update on what NOSM University has achieved over the last 20 years and heard from people on what they’d like them to focus on over the next two decades.
He added that they also look forward to graduating their 1,000th medical doctor this year at convocation.
“That feels great," Green said. "I’m new here, so I feel like I’m super lucky to be here for that occasion."
"We’re also in the middle of our expansion," Green continued, referring to a previously-announced increase to the number of students the university can accept.
At the time of the announced expansion in 2022, the school had 64 students entering class, but this year, Green said they have accepted 88 students and by 2028, they’ll have 108.
He said convocation takes place at the Thunder Bay campus on Friday and the following week in Sudbury.
“Thunder Bay has been an important part of NOSM University since the beginning, will always be an important part of NOSM University into the future and we’re really looking forward to seeing what we can do as we develop our different campuses across the north, including here in Thunder Bay,” said Green.
