CAUT is stepping up its campaign work in 2001 with the launch in Halifax on Mar. 910 of the first in a series of cross-country hearings on the state of post-secondary education in Canada.
The Halifax forum — sponsored by CAUT and the faculty associations at Dalhousie, Saint Mary's, Mount Saint Vincent, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and the Atlantic School of Theology — will provide faculty, students, and local labour and community groups with the opportunity to assess the problems confronting their institutions and to suggest ways to ensure universities and colleges can fulfill their public mission.
"Canada's universities and colleges face a number of crises," explained CAUT president Tom Booth. "There are growing concerns about accessibility and cost, about the impacts of commercialization, and about how our institutions are governed. Finding solutions to these problems will require that the voices of faculty, students, staff, and the larger public be heard."
The forum will begin on Mar. 9 with a guided tour of the campuses for local politicians and journalists. The visits are intended to visibly highlight the impacts of public funding cuts on facilities, infrastructure and class sizes. The tour will be followed by a public event at Dalhousie University in the evening, featuring noted political commentator and columnist Dalton Camp. The next day, community hearings will be conducted at Saint Mary's University.
A written report of the hearing, with recommendations, will be presented to local provincial and federal politicians.