To kick off the first day of classes, we're serving up a FREE brunch for all new and returning students, staff, and faculty! Bring your appetite and let us officially welcome you to Lakehead University's Barrie STEM HUB
No registration required - just show up!
We invite ALL new students to our First ever Wolfie's Warmup (Including Barrie STEM Students). This will be a fun-filled day where you can show your Thunderwolf spirit, get to know other new students, play some interactive games, enjoy some snacks, and make signs before heading over to the soccer fields to support our athletes at our second annual home opener! This is a day you are not going to want to miss!
We welcome ALL new students to drop by 5 Ross to pickup swag, register for upcoming orientation events, get a few important tasks checked off your to-do list and enter into a draw for some cool prizes!
We invite ALL new students to participate in Downtown Adventure! This will give you the opportunity to discover downtown Barrie and all the amazing businesses and services it has to offer! Lakehead has partnered with some amazing businesses that have some pretty cool offers that are only available to students that attend this event! We will all walk to the downtown core together and then you are free to explore on your own, or with a group.
We invite ALL new students to join us for The First Howl: Orientation Day! This fun-filled day is all about showing your Thunderwolf spirit, connecting with fellow new students, meeting your future professors, getting a few important tasks checked off your to-do list, and having fun. You won’t want to miss it! Participating in Orientation Day also gives you the chance to earn ballots toward our grand prize draws, and yes—lunch is FREE for all students!
Get excited for the Toronto Blue Jays University & College Night at the Rogers Centre! This event is open to students who are new to Lakehead Orillia & Barrie STEMHub, including both first-year and transfer students. The event includes free transportation and a game ticket — you’ll just need to cover your own dinner!
IMPORTANT NOTES:
The University’s year end is April 30, 2026. All transactions occurring before year end must be dated April 30, 2026, or earlier to be included in the 2025-2026 budget year. It is the responsibility of each department to submit its accounting documents before the deadlines listed below. The transactions received before these deadlines will be included in the 2025-2026 budget year.
Please note: We ask that you please maintain any original receipts or forms.
All April-dated invoices for external customers must be received by Friday, May 8, 2026. Please e-mail all requests to invoicing@lakeheadu.ca.
All requests for transfers (either budget or actuals) in operating or ancillary accounts must be received by Financial Services prior to Friday, May 8, 2026, to be processed in the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Please email the approved forms with supporting documentation to Amanda Johnson (agjohnso@lakeheadu.ca). If you are transferring to a research (fund 50) or trust (fund 40) budget code, please send the form and documentation to Margot Ross (mross@lakeheadu.ca).
All cheques and cash dated prior to April 30, 2025, must be deposited on or before Friday, May 8, 2026, to be processed with an April date. All such deposits made on/after May 8 will be May-dated. Please contact Chris Gallinger (clgallin@lakeheadu.ca) to arrange for your deposit.
All US Bank Visa purchasing card statements for the 2025-2026 fiscal year (inclusive of all supporting documentation and approvals) must be submitted by Thursday, May 7, 2026, per the usual electronic process of emailing the documentation to the pcard.statements@lakeheadu.ca. A reminder that all goods paid for on or before April 30, 2026, must be received on campus on or before April 30, 2026. Please contact Dianne (creditcard@lakeheadu.ca) with any questions.
N.B.: purchases with a transaction date in April 2026 that appear on the May 2026 p-card statement will still be posted to the 2025-2026 fiscal year but to the pcard’s default budget code. You are not required to do anything additional. These receipts should be submitted with the May 2026 statement, when the statement comes due.
The last day to submit physical retail inventory sheets is Thursday, May 1, 2026. Please send to Sylvia Griffiths (sgriffit@lakeheadu.ca).
The final date to submit purchase order requisitions in Ellucian Colleague is Friday, April 10, 2026, since all goods must be received on campus by April 30, 2026, if they’re to be expensed against the current budget year.
For supplier shipments/invoices, received directly by departments which are required to be included in fiscal year 2026 (rendered prior to April 30, 2026), invoices or cheque requisitions must be submitted to Accounts Payable no later than Friday, May 8, 2026. As a reminder, all goods ordered by invoice or through requisitions and purchase orders in Colleague must be received on campus on or before April 30, 2026. Please email invoices to acctspayable@lakeheadu.ca.
Please see the Vacation and Sick Leave Information page on the Human Resources website. If you have any questions, please contact Tiffany Moore trmoore@lakeheadu.ca
As a student at the Barrie STEM Hub, you have access to medical services through the Georgian Nurse Practitioner-led Clinic in Barrie. Drop by to meet the staff from the GNPLC and learn about how they can support your healthcare needs.
Welcome to Lakehead! Drop by 5 Ross st to connect with staff from Student Health and Wellness, learn about what health services are available to you (and how to access them), grab some giveaways, and set some intentions for healthy and successful semester.
A new academic year is about to begin at Lakehead University, as students and new faculty from across Canada and around the world prepare to arrive at its campuses and begin a new chapter.
Over the coming weeks, Lakehead's campuses will transform as new and returning students move into residence, reconnect with friends, meet classmates and faculty, and take part in activities designed to help them find their place in the Lakehead community.
Classes for the 2026/27 academic year begin Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026.
“There's something special about this time of year at Lakehead,” said Dr. Gillian Siddall, President and Vice-Chancellor of Lakehead University. “You can feel the energy change as students arrive on our campuses, many of them experiencing university for the first time. They are bringing with them different experiences, ambitions and ideas, but they are all becoming part of the Lakehead community.”
“This is an exciting beginning, and we want every student to know that there are people here ready to support them, challenge them and celebrate their successes along the way,” said Siddall about the close to 10,000 students on our Thunder Bay and Orillia campuses and Barrie Hub this fall.
That welcome begins before the first day of classes through a series of Orientation and Welcome Week activities designed to help students build connections, learn about available supports and services, explore their communities, and feel at home at Lakehead.
Across Lakehead's Thunder Bay and Orillia campuses and the new B
arrie STEM Hub, students will take part in a variety of activities throughout the first weeks of September, including welcome events, campus and community activities, social gatherings and opportunities to connect with fellow students, faculty and staff.
One of the first signs of the new academic year began today as students and their families arrive for Residence Move-In Day. Welcome Week activities will continue across Lakehead's locations leading into the first day of classes next week. As well, students new to Canada and to Thunder Bay are busy exploring the region, including a visit to Fort William Historical Park.
“Starting university is a big transition, and Orientation is really about making that transition feel less overwhelming and more p
ersonal,” said Keir Thornburg, Director, Student Success. “We want students to meet people, ask questions, discover the supports available to them and, most importantly, begin to feel that they belong here.”
Orientation doesn't end when classes begin. Events and activities will continue throughout September, giving students opportunities to meet people, discover services, get involved, and build connections both on campus and in their communities.
For Siddall, those first few weeks represent one of the most important moments of the university year. To learn more about Orientation events at Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca/students/orientation/
