April 17, 2021

Brandon
15° C, Partly cloudy

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Tax Credit
  • Home
  • E-Edition
    • Brandon Sun
    • Westman This Week
    • Newspapers In Education (NIE)
  • Special Sections
  • Newsletters
  • Beyond the Wall
  • Sun Bursts
  • Sections
  • News
    • Local News
    • Calendars
    • National News
    • World News
  • Sports
    • Sports home
    • Local Sports
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Curling
    •   Brier
    • Football
    • Golf
    •   Tamarack
    • High School
    • Hockey
    •   Wheat Kings
    • Post-Secondary
    • Other Sports
  • Opinion
    • Opinion home
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Sound Off
    • Send a letter to the Editor
    • Submit a Sound Off
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Westman this Week
  • Agriculture
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Lifestyles
  • Multimedia
  • Puzzles
  • Science & Technology
  • Classifieds
  • Classifieds
  • Obituaries
  • Photo Store
  • Photo Order Form
  • Surveys
  • Surveys Home
  • Readers Choice Results
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Recent Awards
    • Advertising
    • Fund Raising
    • Help/FAQ
    • Job Opportunities
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Access To Information
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
  • Archives
  • Contact Us
  • Brandon Sun Digital Advertising
  • Tools
    • Menupage
    • RSS Feeds
  • More
  • Subscribe Now

©2021 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Home
    • Archives
    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Tax Credit
    • Special Sections
    • Sun Bursts
    • Classifieds
    • Obituaries
    • Subscribe
    • Surveys
    • Brandon Sun Digital Advertising
  • Newsletters

    • Newsletters Home
    • Beyond the Wall
    • Sun Bursts
  • E-Edition

    • About E-Edition
    • Brandon Sun
    • Westman This Week
    • Newspapers In Education (NIE)
  • News

    • Local News
    • Westman this Week
    • Agriculture
    • Business
    • Calendars
    • Election
    • Provincial Election
    • Federal Election
    • Flood
    • Lifestyles
    • National News
    • Science & Technology
    • World News
  • Sports

    • Sports home
    • Local Sports
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Curling
    • Brier
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Tamarack
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Wheat Kings
    • Post-Secondary
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Other Sports
  • Opinion

    • Opinion home
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Sound Off
    • Send a letter to the Editor
    • Submit a Sound Off
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Entertainment

    • Entertainment home
    • Events
    • Puzzles
  • Multimedia

    • Multimedia home
    • Point of View
  • Classifieds

    • Classifieds
    • Obituaries
    • Photo Store
    • Photo Order Form
  • Surveys

    • Surveys Home
    • Readers Choice Results
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Archives
    • Contact Us
    • Recent Awards
    • Advertising
    • Fund Raising
    • Help/FAQ
    • Job Opportunities
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Access To Information
    • FP Newspapers Inc.

    Tools

    • Menupage
    • RSS Feeds
Brandon Sun
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Submit a Sound Off
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Subscribe Contact Us
Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription
  • All Sections
  • Local
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Local Sports
    • Wheat Kings
    • Brier
    • Tamarack
    • High School
    • Post-Secondary
    • Hockey
    • Curling
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Other
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Sound Off
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a letter to the Editor
    • Submit a Sound Off
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyles
  • Business
  • Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Jobs
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Homes
    • Services
    • Auctions
    • Legal Notices
    • Tenders
  • Obituaries
  • E-Edition
    • Brandon Sun
    • Westman This week
  • Special Sections
  • Advertise with us
Local

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Faculty head worried about impact of budget cuts

By: Colin Slark
Posted: 3:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2020
Last Modified: 5:30 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2020 | Updates

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later

The president of Brandon University’s faculty association says that cuts made to the university during the COVID-19 pandemic will be bad both for the institution and the local economy.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/4/2020 (354 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

The president of Brandon University’s faculty association says that cuts made to the university during the COVID-19 pandemic will be bad both for the institution and the local economy.

Last week, all publicly funded institutions in Manitoba, including universities, were required to send lists of potential cuts to the provincial government as the ongoing pandemic continues to drain resources.

Brandon University Faculty Association president Bryan Hill said he worries that if faculty are made to take unpaid days off during the summer, it could hamper their efforts to get ready for an academic year with no in-person classes starting in September. (Submitted)

Brandon University Faculty Association president Bryan Hill said he worries that if faculty are made to take unpaid days off during the summer, it could hamper their efforts to get ready for an academic year with no in-person classes starting in September. (Submitted)

Bryan Hill, the faculty association president and former chair of the university’s chemistry department, told the Sun via phone on Monday that publicly funded institutions need to be firing on all cylinders more than ever and cuts will only hurt those who rely on them.

"The only group on the planet which has got cheap access to money is of course governments, provincial and federal," he said. "Now is absolutely not the time for austerity."

Hill said that there is some concern that the current government is using the pandemic to push through cuts based on their ideology and not based on the current situation imposed by the pandemic.

"It’s our contention that the provincial government is using the COVID excuse as another way of basically get what they wanted a couple of years ago," he said.

"A year and a half ago, the provincial government told various universities ... to cut 15 per cent from their administrative side. Perhaps some of the other institutions are top-heavy, but I don’t know if Brandon University has anywhere left to cut. They shuffled some pieces around and I don’t know if the provincial government was actually pleased with what BU did — or maybe they weren’t pleased with what any of the universities did."

Both the faculty association and the university are waiting to see how much the government asks them to cut. The budget proposals sent to the government by institutions were supposed to outline potential cuts worth between 10 and 30 per cent of their budgets.

Last week, BU spokesperson Grant Hamilton told the Sun that some of the proposals included potential wage cuts to staff. Faculty association member services officer Shari Maguire further explained that wage cuts could take the form of unpaid days off. Hill said the bulk of these unpaid days would likely be taken during the summer if that proposal is accepted, which would kill their preparation time for the following academic year.

The 2020-21 academic year could potentially not have any in-person classes at all depending on how the pandemic progresses. According to Hill, instructors will need time to figure out how to move classes to distance learning for the first time.

"Everybody is hopeful for a return to the classroom and face-to-face instruction can take place, but we’re not at all certain that’s the way things are going to be," Hill said. "What we’re trying to do is to plan for September and plan for a variety of different scenarios."

Another problem with having to take unpaid leave during the summer is that it could interfere with faculty doing research. Hill gave an example of a professor studying an animal active only during the summertime losing opportunities if forced not to work some days.

When asked about the potential of position cutbacks at the university, Hill said that there’s no fat to trim at the institution. For example, Hill said he’s the only organic chemist at the university. If he were to suddenly take ill, there would be no one to take over his classes. 

The Sun asked Brandon University if it had heard back from the province regarding cuts but did not receive a response by press time.

 

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @ColinSlark

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!

As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.

Now, more than ever, we need your support.

Starting at $12.42/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.

Subscribe Now

or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.

Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!

History

Updated on Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 5:30 PM CDT: Updated the article to reflect that Bryan Hill is no longer head of Brandon University's chemistry department.

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top