President Indira Samarasekera had begun the meeting noting that she understood that there was concern that matters that ought to be coming to GFC for discussion sooner rather than later, or while in embryonic stages rather than after they were “matured.” When I rose, however, during question period to ask the Provost whether we could be assured that we would hear Phyllis Clark’s presentation at the next meeting, noting that this was surely one of the matters that ought to come before the GFC sooner rather than later, the Provost claimed that there were many “blanks” that needed to be filled first. Any such “blanks” should, however, be filled after the General Faculties Council has had an opportunity to discuss the premises, principles, and goals of the proposed system. This is especially important given that the preliminary definitions that the University is offering suggest that “responsibility centered management” bears a relationship to the infamous “program prioritization process” advocated by American businessman Robert Dickeson, a process that was being pursued at the University of Saskatchewan under the rubric “TransformUS” until the University community rose in strong objection against it last winter and spring. The “program prioritization process” is one in which units that cannot justify their worth according to one or another financial metric receive less funding than others as a tactic for bringing about the immiseration that permits University administrations subsequently to claim that the given programs constitute a financial liability that justifies their closure. In an interview with the Globe and Mail in September, President Samarasekera declared her unhappiness with the fact that the University of Saskatchewan community has seemingly been able to bring about an end to the “program prioritization” process there: “Specializing in some programs and cutting others – which the University of Saskatchewan was trying to do when it was derailed by controversy – will be the only way to succeed, Dr. Samarasekera said.” And while the Provost used to speak of the University’s need to maintain “a balanced academy” — All boats must rise, he would say — in response to my question at the September 22nd meeting of the General Faculties we heard something quite different. Faculties must generate “a whole lot of revenue fast or the University must shrink,” the Provost declared. “Or we do both,” he added.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 03:35:25 +0000
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