Toronto and area alumni are encouraged to get their tickets to hear Ray Ivany, President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University, address the Canadian Club of Toronto at the InterContinental Toronto Centre- 225 Front St. West, Ballroom (lower level) on Monday, March 25, 2013 at 11:30 a.m.

Controversy is intense in the media and among opinion leaders about the quality and value of today’s university education. The four-year undergraduate degree has become a post-secondary norm in Canada, but is it leaving graduates with high debt and little hope for jobs, or is it preparing them to adapt to a future where 65 per cent of the jobs they’ll hold haven’t been invented yet?

Mr. Ivany will argue that not only is the four-year undergraduate degree vital to our country’s future success, but that our highly differentiated post-secondary sector affords different opportunities for students to realize their potential. The real question for students and parents to consider is: which university or college will provide the environment that allows them to achieve their full potential?

 Mr. Ivany’s speech, “Of Maps and Mapmakers – A Case for the Undergraduate Experience”, will address the increasingly rare educational opportunity schools such as Acadia offer in the mosaic of Canada’s post-secondary landscape and why, more than ever, we need them to succeed.

A native of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Ray Ivany became the 15th President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University in April 2009. He was previously Chair of the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia and between 1998 and 2005 he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC). Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice-President at the University College of Cape Breton.

In November 2012, President Ivany was asked by the Premier to Chair the Nova Scotia Commission on Building Our New Economy. The Commission is mandated to examine all factors related to Nova Scotia’s economic prosperity with a particular focus on maintaining vital rural communities.

Acadia University is the educational, recreational and cultural hub of southwestern Nova Scotia, attracting students from every province and territory in Canada and 50 countries from around the world. Steeped in tradition and imbedded in the fabric of Nova Scotia history, Acadia is poised to celebrate 175 years of offering a highly regarded primarily undergraduate liberal arts education.

For information and to register, please visit: http://www.canadianclub.org/Events/EventDetails.aspx?id=3218 . When purchasing, if you wish to be in the section reserved for alumni, please ask for a seat at the Acadia tables.