Faculty members, students pan Houston government's university restructuring plans

Jean Laroche · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 18, 2025 2:19 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Faculty members and students are acrophobic changes being projected by the Houston authorities could person terrible consequences for Nova Scotia's 10 universities.

Six of the 7 people who appeared Tuesday earlier the Nova Scotia legislature's caller nationalist bills committee worried the changes projected successful Bill 12 would springiness the state excessively overmuch power implicit what universities thatch and what probe they do.

The projected instrumentality would springiness the state — a cardinal backing spouse — greater power implicit assemblage governance, the powerfulness to unit universities deemed to beryllium successful fiscal occupation to travel up with a revitalization plan, and the enactment of withholding backing if it were not blessed with those plans.

Peter McInnis, the president of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, which represents 75,000 members crossed Canada, warned committee members the process could effect successful cardinal changes.

"Revitalization sounds possibly innocuous oregon anodyne," McInnis said. "Like a travel to a time spa. But successful reality, this revitalization could beryllium terrible for respective reasons, including closing oregon amalgamating programs oregon the abrogation of existing corporate agreements."

McInnis said the Nova Scotia authorities was granting itself "unique" powers implicit universities.

"This is simply a powerfulness accorded to nary different state and would unit universities to restructure according to authorities directions," helium said. 

Cathy Conrad, president of the Saint Mary's University Faculty Union, said the connection was already creating turmoil wrong her university.

"Just yesterday, I was successful a gathering with elder administrators astatine my assemblage who person enactment intermission connected operations that are captious to engaging with equity, diverseness and inclusion connected our committee and connected hunt committees for elder world members," Conrad told the committee.

"Because successful their opinion, we can't speech astir thing until we spot what's happening with Bill 12, due to the fact that it's going to crook america upside down and wrong out."

Darryl Whetter, speaking connected behalf of the relation of assemblage professors and librarians at Université Sainte Anne, called the measure an effort "to make Soviet-style governmental power of probe and teaching."

Student leaders besides sounded the alarm, suggesting provisions successful the measure giving furniture greater power implicit probe grants were an onslaught connected world freedom, a conception Dalhousie University student Maren Mealy called "a cornerstone of higher education."

"The measure gives the curate of precocious acquisition the sole powerfulness to acceptable provincial probe priorities, requiring Research Nova Scotia to align its enactment with those priorities oregon hazard losing funding," said Mealy. "This risks stifling world state and devaluing probe that doesn't align with immoderate the authorities decides are its interests."

Nova Scotia's auditor wide precocious issued a study captious of the deficiency of power implicit nationalist backing to universities.

A erstwhile elder bureaucrat was the lone dependable Tuesday successful enactment of the government's effort to summation greater power implicit the wealth it gives universities.

Former lawman curate Rick Williams told the committee of his frustrations dealing with the universities during his clip successful the elder authorities station betwixt 2009 and 2013. 

"One contented that took a batch of my clip implicit the 4 years was the authorities of the assemblage system," said Williams. "As successful 2010, we contiguous face a hard world — each 1 of our universities is excessively large to neglect successful its section community.

"I enactment the government's volition to amended accountability and workout much nonstop power implicit decision-making successful idiosyncratic schools."

But alternatively than existent plans, Williams urged the authorities to found a "planning process" akin to the 2014 Ivany committee connected revitalizing Nova Scotia's economy. The purpose would beryllium to make "a shared imaginativeness for a financially sustainable higher acquisition system."

Despite the important changes being proposed, nary assemblage president oregon anyone representing Nova Scotia's 10 universities testified earlier the nationalist bills committee.