... The traditions of collegial academic decisionmaking in a context of the freedom to pursue inquiry wherever it leads without the constraints of received opinion or deference to prescribed doctrine or fear of arbitrary dismissal have served universities in the free world well. The complete abrogation of these traditions suggests that the intention is not to create a university but, rather to create a publicly funded trade school competing with the private sector and arbitrarily credentially the product with something called, but not resembling, an academic degree ... Paul M. Woodard, President, Association of Academic Staff: University of Alberta
... We are writing to add the voice of faculty association members at British Columbia's newest university, the University of Northern British Columbia, to the alarm raised by CUFA/BC and CAUT with regard to the formation of the so-called Technical University of BC ... Kate Lawson, President, Todd Whitcombe, Vice-President, University of Northern British Columbia Faculty Association
... While we have no objections to a university devoted to science and engineering, we do object to the way this institution is being created ... Serge Jolicoeur, président, Association des bibliothécaires et des professeurs de l'Université de Moncton
... I am writing to you on behalf of the faculty members and librarians at the University of Toronto to request that you immediately take steps to alter the structure of your institution to bring it up to the standards which are expect-ed of any educational institution which purports to be a "university" ... William Graham, President, University of Toronto Faculty Association
... The University of Waterloo started roughly forty years ago with academic goals somewhat similar to what I understand your basic goals are for TUBC. It was to be essentially an engineering school, or a technical university if you will, which would support science and arts faculty members only in the ancillary roles of providers of much of the fundamental knowledge needed by aspiring engineers. It did, however, quickly become a full-fledged university, with six separate academic faculties, and nearly 700 faculty members. It has outstanding faculties of engineering, mathematics and science, a strong faculty of arts, and two small but strong faculties of environmental studies and applied health sciences. The interaction of faculty researchers with industry is perhaps second to none in this country, and the number of spin-off companies and technologies is well known to be without equal in Canada. In short, this institution in Ontario does much of what you want TUBC to achieve in British Columbia, but it does it with proper protection of academic freedom and tenure ... F. R.W. McCourt, President, Faculty Association, University of Waterloo
... TechUBC is described as being for the less educated BC residents and will be taught largely through the Internet to provide training for young people for the technology jobs of the new economy. Much of the remainder will be apprentice learning on work sites, rather than classrooms. TechUBC as described is not a university in the sense of Canadian universities in general but is more like a correspondence school or vocational or technical school for mechanics, welders, electricians and secretaries. For the teaching staff, it will be a job, not a career. In my opinion, most of the graduates with doctorate degrees will be loth to involve themselves in what is fated to become an intellectual backwater, teaching yesterday's concepts from yesterday's texts, devoid of new ideas and developments and frustrated by the ever changing demands of external political managers and industrial partners. I recommend that the concept be revised or renamed the BC Technical School. If those responsible for developing this technical correspondence school insist on the pretence that TechUBC will be the academic equivalent of a university, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, then I would support the imposition of a boycott if that is what is required to prevent the public from being misled by this proposal ... Malcolm Baines, Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University
... On behalf of the Queen's University Faculty Association, I am writing to express strong opposition to your attempts to found a "university" with no academic senate. In fact, without the latter there is no former. A university is so named because of its catholicity of training and education, something that is assured when an academic senate builds a curriculum on broad academic principles, rather than the goals of private enterprise and minority self-interest. I am particularly surprised that an NDP government would undertake this kind of project. An academic senate represents freedom of thought and speech, promotes critical rather than instrumental learning, and fosters social awareness rather than the mere pursuit of financial gain. It was my understanding that all these were fundamental to NDP philosophy ... Frank Burke, President, Queen's University Faculty Association