CBC Ontario Morning has been actively reporting on what is going on at Queen’s, namely around the confusing question of just how much of a crisis we are actually in. Yesterday (January 31), Elaine Power (a Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies/Gender Studies) and Ethan Chilcott (an undergraduate student and teaching assistant in the Classics Department) were asked for their perspectives. Today (February 1), Queen’s Principal Patrick Deane was invited to comment and respond to what was said. What emerges from these two interviews is a picture of administrative obfuscation.

Some highlights:

What Reserves Does Queen’s Have?

Power pointed out that Queen’s is in fact sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars of reserves, and we could ride out this crisis without having to make dramatic cuts. Deane, in his comments, kept referring only to the “operating budget”, and said that we are at risk of depleting our “reserves”. These seem to be two different definitions of what “reserves” we have available, as Deane focuses only on faculty-specific reserves that were generated by surpluses over previous years. These are not the only “reserves” Queen’s has that could be used for different purposes to help weather a period of difficulty.

Power also pointed out that the projected operating deficit – $44 million – is within the margin of error that Queen’s has regularly seen over the last several years, and this overspend remains entirely hypothetical at this point.

How Much Time Do We Have?

The administration has insisted that we absolutely have to balance the operating budget within two years. A central theme that Power and Chilcott emphasized was that we could make the choice to complete this task over four or five years, and it would make a big difference to how well we could plan and develop strategies that minimize the damage. No one is suggesting that Queen’s should rely on reserves forever or don’t balance a budget. Deane repeatedly suggested that spending on buildings is necessary in order to plan for the future, and that it would be “careless” not to put money in to those aspects of future research. He would not question whether this is the best use of around $55 million ($20m previously and $35m to come) at a time of apparently existential crisis for the university.

The Nous Consulting Firm

Both Power and Chilcott mentioned that many people have big concerns about selecting Nous, a consulting firm based in Australia whose restructuring plans at Laurentian were directly tied to the disastrous outcomes seen there a few years ago. Deane was unable to answer the question of how much Queen’s is paying Nous, avoided questions about the firm’s role at Laurentian, and simply said that they were chosen because they are a “global leader” who could give access to comparative data regarding university spending.

How Will All This Affect Queen’s Reputation?

Chilcott pointed out a number of serious issues that will affect undergraduate and graduate student experiences of studying at Queen’s, including the limited availability of funding for graduate programs in a context where students already face serious financial insecurity. He expressed a sense that university leadership is acting against, rather than for, students.

I just don’t see why anyone would choose to be at Queen’s for two years of disaster

Ethan Chilcott, Classics and Archaeology Student/TA

Patrick Deane, on the other hand, remains confident that Queen’s will emerge from these challenges, and insists that the relationship is not antagonistic., promising that we will get through these things with “collegiality and cooperation”.

You can listen to the January 31 episode at the CBC Website, under the title “Anxiety at Queen’s Over Potential Financial Woes”, and to the February 1 interview with Patrick Deane entitled “Queen’s Principal Addresses Doubts Surrounding the University’s Future”.