Inside Kenney’s University Power Play
For months, the government of Leading Jason Kenney and Athabasca University have been in a standoff above a political directive that the college insists would undermine its independence.
Now, the university’s refusal to bend to the government’s will has expense university board chair Nancy Laird her job.
Via an get in council issued Wednesday, Advanced Instruction Minister Demetrios Nicolaides rescinded Laird’s appointment effective right away and appointed Calgary lawyer Byron Nelson, a extended-time conservative supporter and candidate.
Laird, an oil and gas govt with extra than 30 years’ expertise, was appointed in August 2019. Achieved by mobile phone Thursday, she declined to comment.
But The Tyee has solely obtained an April 4 letter from Laird to Nicolaides in which she makes it obvious the board would not be next his directive to enhance the amount of team in Athabasca, a town of 3,000 about 140 kilometres north of Edmonton, to bolster its economic progress.
Laird also chastises Nicolaides and Kenney for “undermining” the university’s board and govt through a city corridor in Athabasca.
Nelson unsuccessfully ran from Nicolaides for the United Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Bow.
He also unsuccessfully challenged Kenney for the management of the Progressive Conservative social gathering, which subsequently merged with the Wildrose get together to form what has now turn out to be the fractious UCP. Kenney recently introduced he is stepping down as leading following getting only 51.4 per cent guidance in a management vote.
Neither Nicolaides nor Nelson responded to interview requests.
In an emailed statement, Athabasca College president Peter Scott mentioned he appeared ahead to doing work with Nelson “as we keep on to apply our strategic prepare in accordance with our mandate.”
At an unrelated information meeting Wednesday in advance of he issued the get in council eliminating Laird from the board, Nicolaides framed his directive to Scott and the board as a “request” and said he has self-confidence in Scott to fulfil it.
Nicolaides also confirmed it is the board that tends to make employing and firing selections, which means if Scott is eliminated as president it have to be the board that can take that motion.
President pushes back again towards directive
Previous month, The Tyee exposed Scott was refusing to accede to a directive from Nicolaides to shift Athabasca College from a almost completely digital campus in order to increase its financial presence in the northern Alberta city.
Athabasca College is Canada’s greatest online article-secondary establishment, with all of its systems and classes precisely produced for length discovering. It has more than 33,000 students in Alberta and a different 10,000 in Canada and close to the world.
In a March 22 letter from Nicolaides to Laird, the minister, citing “significant concerns” from the regional local community, instructed Athabasca College to consolidate its govt and senior administration offices in Athabasca.
Nicolaides additional directed the board to produce and apply a technique to draw in and keep expertise, and reopen the university’s campus to resume most staff members working on-website.
The directive adopted a yr-extended campaign by a group of townspeople who want the college to retain the services of or go a lot more people to Athabasca, which has a population of about 3,000.
The campaign incorporated the hiring of lobbyist Hal Danchilla, who was co-chair of Kenney’s election campaign, at a price of $7,750 a thirty day period. The town is giving the money to pay Danchilla.
But in The Tyee job interview, Scott mentioned he seen the Nicolaides letter not as a “directive,” but relatively a request — one particular to which he would not accede. He also reported he had no intention of moving to Athabasca from Edmonton where by he now life.
“We will have a virtual campus,” Scott said. “And our tactic to produce the virtual workforce, to make the digital campus perform, has also been agreed to in a prolonged-standing way.”
“It is the board that operates college approaches, not governments,” he said. “So I’m pretty joyful to react to what the minister has framed up, in the letter to us, as his requests. But that must be in line with our continued mission.”
Photograph by Parsons Pictures CC BY-SA 4..
The Tyee has completely received a letter from Laird to Nicolaides that reveals not only the at the rear of-the-scenes friction in between Nicolaides and the board, but also Laird’s mettle.
Laird wrote the bluntly worded April 4 letter in response to a March 24 town hall meeting in Athabasca in which Nicolaides and Kenney overtly criticized the board’s management.
No a single from the university’s government or board of governors was invited to the town hall assembly, which was broadly seen in the city as a marketing campaign function for Kenney as he stumped to obtain support and sell memberships for his leadership vote.
Board chair letter explained to minister not to overstep authority
In her letter, Laird reminded Nicolaides they experienced spoken on March 23, the working day after he issued his directive to the university. She stated he had confirmed there would be no reaction to his directive until the tumble due to the fact the board was busy with union labour negotiations.
But Laird reported her major purpose for creating was to specific the board’s fears about the March 24 town corridor assembly, in which Athabasca University College Association union customers also were being permitted to snipe at the board and the university’s supervisors without having any pushback from Nicolaides or Kenney.
“We consider that AU’s governance integrity was undermined by the Authorities of Alberta to the extent that it impairs our capacity to fulfil our academic mandate as very well as deal successfully with labour talks with our union,” she wrote.
Referring to a transcript of the assembly, Laird mentioned Nicolaides had expressed “non-confidence” in the AU board governance. She quoted the minister as expressing, “We’ve witnessed some of those people hard and troubling items happening… so it is essential for me, as a minister, to make guaranteed that the establishment has the suitable course, and they can enable to start out to develop a strategy to tackle all those….”
Laird advised Nicolaides the transcript showed personal attacks against the university’s main details officer, president and government group “and the (Governing administration of Alberta) reps did not problem or protect people accusations.”
“We comprehend that in reaction to AUFA inquiries, which includes from its president, the Govt of Alberta congratulated the AUFA, agreed with extreme particular and unfounded criticism of Athabasca College and confirmed that the Govt of Alberta had issued directives that drop exterior of its mandate,” Laird wrote.
She advised Nicolaides that whilst it was complicated to gauge the outcome of these statements, the feedback from him and Kenney negatively afflicted deal negotiations with the AUFA.
Laird then manufactured it very clear the board wasn’t about to be pushed about by Nicolaides or Kenney. She claimed the board experienced “no intention” of breaching its legislated authority to handle and work the college in accordance to its unbiased mandate.
“I have faith in this is not the intention you wished to express to the AU board of governors,” Laird wrote. “And I rely on that you have not made any directives that would substitute your ministerial conclusion-generating authority for the legislated authority of not only the AU board but in simple fact all other (college) boards, as outlined in the Publish Secondary Mastering Act.
“I look ahead to your prepared affirmation of exact same.”
Laird under no circumstances been given that affirmation. ![[Tyee]](http://meta-educationn.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/yellowblob.png){kind=small}
