This afternoon I spoke on a panel on university governance at a conference titled Future U: Creating the Universities We Want, organized by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations. Also presenting on the panel were Professor Glen Jones and Professor Claire Polster. Future U: Creating the Universities We want
Continue readingTag: post-secondary education
The Progressive Economics Forum: Do High Tuition Fees Make for Good Public Policy?
This afternoon I gave a presentation to Professor Ted Jackson’s graduate seminar course on higher education, taught in Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration. The link to my slide deck, titled “The Political Economy of Post-Secondary Education in Canada,” can be found here. Points I raised in the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Michael Den Tandt and Jonathan Kay both point out the willingness of conservative (and Conservative) supporters to brush off the obvious misdeeds of their political leaders. And Glen Pearson rightly concludes that the responsibility to elect deserving leaders ultimately lies with voters: We
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Funding Cuts to Alberta’s PSE Sector: There Are Alternatives
It has recently been reported that the University of Alberta wants to “reopen two-year collective agreements” with faculty and staff “to help the university balance its budget…” This appears to be in direct response to Alberta’s provincial government announcing in its March budget that there would be a “7% cut
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Athabasca University board to Athabasca University Faculty Association: Drop dead
The Athabasca University board meets to discuss its vision for the future of the distance-learning institution. Actual visioning board members may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: History Professor Alvin Finkel, AU Faculty Association President Mark McCutcheon. It took Athabasca University’s rubber-stamp board less than 48 hours to tell the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Fixing Athabasca U: a chance for tough-guy Tom Lukaszuk to do something constructive
Athabasca University’s isolated headquarters in winter. Below: Athabasca U President Frits Pannekoek and Alberta Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. Athabasca University’s Faculty Association called yesterday for the institution’s president to be replaced by an interim president chosen from among senior staff. On the face of it, this idea makes a
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: An Appealingly Democratic Concept
Although I am a retired teacher aware of the potential drawbacks of this concept, I find it appealingly democratic: H/t GB Recommend this Post
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Count on it: Alberta’s doctors got more than the government’s press release indicates
Dr. Michael Giuffre jots down the Alberta Medical Association’s wish list before yesterday’s agreement with the provincial government. Actual AMA negotiators may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne, Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. It will take a while to sort out what really happened in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: #mtlqc13 Priority Resolutions – Social Policy
Not surprisingly, the social policy resolutions up for discussion this weekend include a wide range of issues – and I’ll avoid highlighting the resolutions dealing with either familiar topics of discussion like gun control, marijuana decriminalization/legalization and housing. Instead, I’ll point out three resolutions which look to deserve particular attention:
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Message from Noam Chomsky
As usual, Noam Chomsky addresses issues whose existence others refuse to acknowledge. Recommend this Post
Continue readingcalgaryliberal.com: Alberta Liberal and Federal Liberal Cooperation? Lets Go.
I was talking to one of my friends around the the university the other day and I brought up Raj Sherman’s interview in the Calgary Herald on some form of cooperation between the two Liberal parties in Alberta. It was an off-hand comment and I didn’t really expect a conversation
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
This and that to end your week. – Bruce Campbell argues that Alberta should take a lesson from Norway on how to manage natural resources – and plenty of other provinces could stand to take notes as well: The Norwegian government owns 80 per cent of petroleum production, and retains
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your Christmas reading. – Naomi Klein comments on what we should take from the Idle No More movement: Chief Spence’s hunger is not just speaking to Mr. Harper. It is also speaking to all of us, telling us that the time for bitching and moaning is over.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – John Cameron highlights the importance of liberal arts education – as well as the fact that only a few people (who happen to nicely coincide with the Wall government’s base) stand to benefit from a citizenry with less of a tendency toward
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Globe and Mail on higher education in Canada
The Globe and Mail has just launched an in-depth feature on higher education in Canada, an installment of their Our Time to Lead series. For a couple of weeks, you can expect to see increased coverage of the issues facing our post-secondary education system in print but especially online. The
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Chris Hedges On The Perversion Of Scholarship
One of my favorite writers, Chris hedges, continues to do via alternative news what is so rare today in the mainstream media: challenge the status quo. His latest salvo is against the tyranny of conformity endemic in post-secondary institutions which, he posits, are no longer places where one goes to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
This and that for your weekend reading. – Dave Coles comments on Brad Wall’s attempts to erase a century’s worth of gains when it comes to labour rights, but recognizes that we instead have an opportunity to again lead the way toward social progress: During this moment of relative prosperity
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canada’s Self-Imposed Crisis in Post-Secondary Education
On June 7, I gave a keynote address to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees Education Sector Conference. My PowerPoint presentation (with full references) can be found at this link. Points I raised in the address include the following: -Canada’s economy has been growing quite steadily over the past three
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Seven reasons why you should support the Quebec students’ call for low tuition fees
Despite the remarkably poor media coverage of the early days of the protests (especially in English Canada), it seems that the Quebec student protestors have finally succeeded in sparking a broader public discussion about civil liberties and the right to protest (even in the Globe here, here and in the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Linda McQuaig is hopeful that Quebec’s student protests against tuition hikes might remind many Canadians that we can do more than just meekly accept austerity and inequality: What seems to particularly gall some English Canadian commentators is the fact that the Quebec
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