I recently joined a couple of hundred university leaders at King’s College London for the anniversary of the Magna Charta Universitatum (MCU 2020). A document I was oblivious to before becoming Rector is one that I now hold near and dear for its convictions about the purposes of higher education. As Queen’s students, I thought you might want to know about this charter we’ve signed.
To speak about MCU 2020, I must start with the original Magna Charta from 1988, led by the first university in the Western world, University of Bologna, to mark its 900th birthday. This document stands firmly on three principles: the independence of political influence and economic interests; the inseparable nature of teaching and learning; and the university as a site of free inquiry and debate.
(If you’re thinking, that seems obvious? Count yourself lucky to live in a part of the world that functions this way).
MCU 2020 emerged in response to new world contexts and was created by an international group, including Eva Egon-Polak, who also happens to be on the Queen’s Board of Trustees. The new document builds on the first but offers a broader framing that has made it possible for over one thousand schools to sign. MCU 2020 recognizes that many institutions are merely in pursuit of these principles and that we each carry a range of unique local responsibilities. It also adds, rather forcefully, that access to education is a human right, and its spaces must be non-discriminatory.
Global connection is essential for any university, and I felt the benefits of this gathering even more acutely, coming from our small limestone city that often feels distant and distinct from other universities in metropolitan centres.
Turns out, universities across Africa, Europe, and North America are all experiencing similar predicaments as Ontario—cuts to international student allotments, threats to research security, and broader questions about sustainability and purpose.
I also learned that while Queen’s typically relies on elected and appointed student leaders to serve on our governing bodies and various committees, this practice is far from ordinary elsewhere.
I watched person after person glance down at my nametag, then bounce up in disbelief to question if their eyes were deceiving them or if I was the youngest Rector they had ever seen. Every other Rector at this gathering was the equivalent of what we call the Principal at Queen’s.
When students asked me how they could even get into the sorts of conversations that I and many other student leaders at Queen’s are part of, I shared that our governance structure didn’t happen by accident. Prior to 1969, the Rector at Queen’s wasn’t a student, and it took an uprising to make that change.
I’m the only student Rector we know of in the world, but I have a glimmer of hope that one day others will catch onto what Queen’s students realized 56 years ago.
To me, the inclusion of students at decision-making tables goes hand-in-hand with the promises of the MCU 2020. It’s a practice we at Queen’s must continue to steward and strengthen, and one more institution should adopt.
At your service,
Niki
Tags
MCU 2020, Opinions, Queen's impact, Rector's Digest
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