This week’s announcement is a positive step that brings us into a new phase of discussions, but UNBSJ is still far from safe. The government is not guaranteeing that UNBSJ will remain part of UNB or that it would retain a liberal arts focus. This still sounds very much like the polytechnic idea with just a different name, and our university would be greatly diminished. That’s no good.

Saint John, and New Brunswick, needs a strong UNB in Saint John. Without us, UNB would lose a large portion of students, possibly causing it to be pushed out of the national comprehensive university category, leaving New Brunswick with only a series of small regional universities. This would also hurt Saint John, as a separate new institution would not have the degree recognition that UNB has, nor some of the wide shared services offered by UNB. A completely separate university in Saint John is a raw deal for everyone, at least for now.

Instead, we need to remain a strong, high-growth part of UNB, which we currently are.  We need to resolve the funding issues that we have with Fredericton, and be allowed to grow at our natural pace without being hindered. This should happen as we work as an important part of UNB, not separate from it

The UNBSJ SRC has appointed a PSE Task Force to assist them with their mission to save the university. I have been chosen to act in the position of “researcher”, something I’ve been trying to do since the beginning, along with countless others.

At this point, I can’t overstate the importance of everyone’s involvement. Democracy can only happen if we all get involved. If you don’t take part at all, how are you going to explain to future generations that you remained silent while Saint John became the first city in Canada to destroy a university?

Many events are planned for the next week, which you can read about in detail on Living in Interesting Times. This Saturday, a community rally is being planned uptown starting at noon. So far, the weather looks great too!

Just in case you or someone you know thinks this is still rowdy students making a fuss and professors fighting for themselves, take a look at the list of names on the poster above. Many of these people are prominent business leaders whose children and grandchildren can easily go anywhere for a university, so they have no vested personal interest in saving UNBSJ. They are standing up for the good of the community.

Next Tuesday, another very important rally will unfold in Fredericton. The rally, which will take place outside the legislature, coincides with a caucus meeting. Some sources indicate that the government is fearing this day somewhat, as a large demonstration in the capital city will almost ensure coverage on the national news, and make the rest of the country aware of the insanity trying to be pushed through here. Bus loads of people are expected from all parts of the province.

For more details, contact me personally or check out Living in Interesting Times.

In his original reply to my e-mail, President Michael Crow of Arizona State University (ASU) confirmed some details about his university, but didn’t seem to address the situation happening here in New Brunswick.

As you may recall from my earlier blog post, I had attempted to get ASU and other universities involved by making them aware that their good name is coming up in our news media as “examples” of universities-turned-polytechnic. In the case of ASU, they merely have one polytechnic campus of many as part of their university. The Commissioners have attempted to mislead the public to believe that their proposal here has been already carried out in other jurisdictions.

I followed up with this reply.

President Crow:

Thank you for your reply. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to help me understand Arizona State University’s mission with your helpful insight.

It makes sense that ASU responded to the mandate from the Arizona Board of Regents by expanding to its current four-campus model, adding new campus models such as a polytechnic to complement your previous offerings. Suppose there had been a suggestion to convert the Tempe campus from a university into a polytechnic geared towards career programs in a specific industry, with a decreased focus on university degree programs. How would you respond to such a suggestion?

As unreasonable as that may sound, that is the proposal for my university. My city would be the first in Canada to ever lose a university, and the only one of its size to be left without one. Regretfully, the writers are degrading the good name of Arizona State University in an effort to associate its long history of continued academic excellence with a plan that would cripple access to higher education in my city. Your university is being misrepresented in order to forward this agenda-driven report.

Perhaps this is a concern for you, as I’m sure you appreciate the value of a full university education and keeping it accessible to all. Would you be willing to send a letter supporting the University of New Brunswick to the Premier of New Brunswick (who will make the final decision on the recommendations) and maybe the provincial newspaper? Perhaps you’d like to clarify that Arizona State University is a full university, not a polytechnic, and how this allows your school pursue new opportunities to change with the times through initiatives such as “One University in Many Places”.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Paul Saulnier
4th Year Computer Science UNBSJ

Commission on Post-Secondary Education report: link
Premier of New Brunswick, Shawn Graham: link or e-mail premier@gnb.ca
Telegraph-Journal: link
University of New Brunswick, Saint John Campus: link

I received this reply from him:

Paul:

Thank you for your e-mail. It is obvious that you are very passionate about this issue and I appreciate your desire to maintain your university. As you have already relayed the relevant facts as they relate to the structure of Arizona State University and its four campuses, there are few additional details to add. However, the subject of university design is an important one to ASU and you may find some of the resources on my website to be helpful. The document published by the Arizona Board of Regents titled, “A Redesigned Public University System” might be of particular interest to you.

I wish you well as you continue your campaign and hope that the aforementioned information will be helpful in understanding ASU’s approach to university design.

Thanks.

Michael M. Crow
President

As you can see, he stops short of offering the kind of direct support that I was hoping to receive. However, Dr. Crow was good enough to reply and offer his words of encouragement, which I believe means a lot coming from the President of a university with over twice as many students than all the New Brunswick universities combined.

So what about the report he refers on his web site? Let’s take a key look at some elements in the report that make sense for Arizona as well as New Brunswick and practically everywhere else.

“First and foremost, the university system must coordinate its efforts to complement those of the community colleges in Arizona. The community colleges will continue to be expected to be the first source of educational opportunity at the lower-division level in communities that lack the critical mass to support a baccalaureate institution.” ( page 30 )

According to Rick Miner, Arizona State University converted into the type of polytechnic being proposed for Saint John, that is, a merger of a university and a community college. That’s not what the Arizona State University President has told me himself.

Perhaps Saint John falls into the category of lacking a “critical mass to support a baccalaureate institution”, thereby requiring only a community college (or something similar like a polytechnic). If that’s the case, then how does the smaller city of Fredericton have enough critical mass to support 2 universities, or the Moncton area enough to support 2-3? If we’re going to play the population and critical mass card, Saint John clearly belongs in the lead.

“Arizona’s universities and community colleges would continue to collaborate and work closely together. Specifically, higher education centers would exist throughout rural Arizona via cooperative agreements with the community colleges, and additional centers would be created as the regional universities forge new alliances with community colleges.” ( page 8 )

Here you see yet more clear recommendations for universities and community colleges to work together in collaboration and alliances, not mergers. If you read more in this report created for Arizona under somewhat similar circumstances (government desire to re-evaluate post-secondary education), you’ll find more facts and justification for the importance of universities. This is backed up by considerable research and data, something that was unfortunately missing from the Disadvantage New Brunswick report.