The University of Regina’s first Indigenous chancellor reflects on year one
What does it mean for a major public institution to move forward with reconciliation?
One year after becoming the University of Regina’s first Indigenous chancellor, Cadmus Delorme is himself part of the answer to that question.
Delorme began his three-year term on July 1 last year. In his first 12 months as the ceremonial head of this province’s second-largest post-secondary institution, he focused on building relationships across campus.
He encouraged students to confront a future that includes ongoing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, along with the political and social polarization of American isolationism and Western Canadian alienation. He talked with students and faculty about the rise of artificial intelligence, and even just figuring out what it means to be healthy humans who can get along with others.
“Saskatchewan is a treaty province,” Delorme says. “Where does reconciliation play? Where does AI play?
“How do we make sure we have strong emotional intelligence?” he asks.
Big questions!
What’s college without challenges?
Under the University of Regina act, the chancellor’s responsibilities include serving the school’s board of governors and senate.
But most important to Delorme is the campus community.
Delorme says he has a duty to share his vision and aspirations as chancellor. Over the past year, he visited each faculty and department to introduce himself, and spark conversations about the university’s direction.
“I was honest and straightforward. I stepped in to learn,” Delorme says.
These conversations, he says, set priorities.
Delorme asked faculties to consider “what a true Canadian value means.”
“Diversity, Equity, Inclusion. That’s what makes Canada, Canada,” says Delorme.
Of course, there are challenges. Delorme lists some for both students and the U of R itself.
The University of Regina needs to pivot. We are small enough to change, but big enough to be bold.
One is the decline in international students, thanks to Canada’s limits on permits.
In 2024, the federal government dropped the number of international students allowed into Canada. The change was intended to reduce immigration overall and lower the demand for housing in a tight, expensive market.
The problem: international students pay substantially more than Canadian students. At the U of R, undergraduate international tuition averages over $31,000 a year — more than three times domestic tuition.
Delorme also emphasizes on “[keeping] tuition low for our students while giving the best services and the best academics.”
Of course, there’s also the loss of all that diversity and different perspectives.
“International students play a really vital role in our university,” says Delorme.
Another challenge? Continued growth for the less-than-a-year-old University of Regina Students’ Association. URSA was founded after the former union’s dramatic, prolonged and well-publicized death. As a past president for FNUniv Students’ Association, Delorme knows how important student associations are.
Then there’s the big one: university isn’t the draw it was 20 years ago, he says, and the U of R needs to get better at recruitment and retention.
A Year of Firsts
Delorme is proud to be the U of R’s first Indigenous chancellor. He speaks warmly of his experiences, like pipe ceremonies on Loyd Barber Academic Green and conducting two convocations.
He’s also happy for all the opportunities to wear his custom-made beaded stole. It represents his maternal lineage, he says.
As he heads into his second year, Delorme wants to keep meeting students and taking part in student events. He wants to be remembered as a chancellor who was “present and approachable.”
But he also thinks it’s time to do things differently.
“The University of Regina needs to pivot,” says Delorme. “We are small enough to change, but big enough to be bold.”
