Several of the folks associated with Athabasca University should get an education in reality..The provincial government has asked that many more of the school’s employees live in the small community of 3,000 residents north of Edmonton. That’s a reasonable demand..Even the university president lives in Edmonton..“We are finding enrolment is going down, faculty members are now becoming unwilling to re-sign contracts, new faculty are unwilling to come,” the panicked former chairwoman of the board of governors told a Calgary newspaper columnist after the provincial government’s recent request..Many university staff members are entitled to 30 days of so-called professional development leave each year, which can accrue to 126 working days, with some limitations on its use. This is according to a proposed contract with the union..Financial assistance and time off is sometimes made available to support professors’ contribution to their interests. .If they can do better than that, while refusing to live in the community they serve, they should move on..Yes, the university specializes in online education, but that doesn’t mean it’s unreasonable to expect there would be an incubator formed of academics in Athabasca, rather than teachers spread out over who knows where..The province’s advanced education minister replaced the board’s chairwoman when the school was at odds with a request for a plan to locate more staff into the community..Her dismissal is entirely appropriate. When your boss asks you to take on a task, or gives you direction, you comply to the best extent that you can..The former chairwoman has criticized what seems a defensible decision by the government..After all, why call it Athabasca University, if the connection to the community is so tenuous, that staff don’t want to live there?.Its staff are free to apply to work at other institutions. They are not tethered to their jobs; no more than any other employee who learns the workplace has evolved..“The government is trying to make AU responsible for rural economic development,” says the former board chairwoman, a Calgary business executive. “But that’s not AU’s job — it’s higher education, and the school is world-renowned for that.”.Let’s face it: Athabasca University is not Oxford University..And how about appointing a chairwoman from Athabasca, rather than from Calgary, where the new chairwoman is from?.Perhaps the board should have seized on the provincial government’s challenge and proposed a hub that would advance its online courses, taking them to another level?.And it is narrow-minded to suggest the university shouldn’t play a role in supporting the economy. Public spending is a huge part of the economy — which is worrisome. Why shouldn’t Athabasca demand to be sprinkled with some of taxpayers’ fairy dust?.There were recent photographs of the Calgary Fire Department ferrying two members of the Colorado Avalanche down the Bow River with the Stanley Cup in their hometown..Is it appropriate for firefighters to use city resources to service athletes who earn millions of dollars, using taxpayer dollars? Perhaps not..But it was done, one assumes, with a perception of the greater good of the community. The gleeful exhibition of self adulation inspired a few hours of fun. That is not a bad thing..So when the former chairman of the Athabasca University board of governors states that economic development isn’t the university’s role, she has missed the mark..The University of Calgary boasts on its website it generates $16.5 billion in benefits to Alberta’s economy..“We also support its economy, as confirmed by a recently commissioned, independent analysis . . . We create jobs, support local businesses, increase salaries, and foster companies, products and solutions that are helping Calgary’s economy grow and diversify,” says the University of Calgary..The Alberta government is properly insisting Athabasca reaps some of the economic benefits of hosting a university. That should be a source of pride, not a charade..If the staff aren’t happy with the new arrangement, they are welcome to go elsewhere. Oh, wait, most of them are already living elsewhere. .David Marsden is a columnist for the Western Standard. He served as managing editor of the Red Deer Advocate and editorial page editor of the Calgary Herald, as well as editor of several British Columbia publications.
