Following two hours of discussion, Queen’s Senate moved into a closed session with only applause audible outside the meeting.
Senate approved a name change for Queen’s Cancer Research Institute (QCRI) following a big donation during a closed session at the end of the meeting on March 28. The Journal was unable to confirm the identity of the donor and the University was unable to comment in time for publication.
The QCRI researches every stage of cancer, from the underlying biology to patient clinical trials to patient care outcomes. Receiving funding from the Canadian Cancer Society and a Major Science Initiative, QCRI is the largest health sciences research facility at Queen’s.
During the open session, senators heard updates from both Principal Patrick Deane and Provost Matthew Evans regarding the university’s looming budget cuts and the impact of the international student cap.
Rest of University to Keep Arts and Science Afloat
Without the help of the rest of the university, the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) would be up against a $50 million deficit by the end of 2025-26, which Provost Evans called “considerable amounts of money.” To balance the faculty’s books, the University is charging a four per cent deficit mitigation tax on revenue generated by every faculty and school.
Even with the additional revenue, the FAS will require further subsidy from the University, Evans said. The deficit mitigation tax will “need to increase probably substantially” he said.
“This shouldn’t be seen as an us versus them scenario,” Evans said at Senate. “We’re not pitting one discipline against another. The faculty and its disciplines are valued just as highly as any other faculty or field of study within the university.”
Senator Keith Pilkey from Smith Engineering said the University needs to decide on who it wants to be before moving forward with the budget cuts. Historically resistant to change, he hopes Queen’s can look forward.
“If this was a design review, I’d hand out an F,” Pilkey said. “You haven’t consulted with some people who really know what’s going on at the front lines of academic programming.”
$40 million Deficit: Budget Updates from Provost Evans
Evans said external consultant Nous Group’s Services Effectiveness Survey will collect data from 2,500 employees on how staff are spending their time on operating activities across the university. Of eligible staff, 47 per cent completed the survey, with a summary being released to the university community in the fall.
SGPS President Devin Fowlie raised concerns that a “high number” of Nous Group consultants are Queen’s alumni, potentially biasing their ability to advise senior leaders on budget cuts. Evans said he hopes the consultants act professionally dif Queen’s “started excluding alumni from anything Queen’s related we’d start running out of people to work with.”
“Everyone is going to feel the impact of this,” Evans said.
Vice-Provost (Student Affairs) Ann Tierney shut down rumors raised by Senators that Yellow House was losing funding. She confirmed despite her office carefully reviewing its spending, Yellow House isn’t facing budget cuts.
FAS Senator Jacqueline Davies questioned how the FAS is supposed to advance its academic mission—old or new—without understanding how cuts will affect faculty and staff positions.
“I’m tired of hearing the Faculty of Arts and Science being blamed in one way or another, the Faculty of Arts and Science is bearing the brunt of it,” she said.
“Our capacity to plan academically is being undermined by not knowing which staff are disappearing or which faculty are disappearing, and we just have to scramble.”
Queen’s $40 million deficit can be attributed to problems caused by the pandemic, government polices, and “some of our own making” Evans said. He said the University is addressing its challenges “head on” and is one of the 12 universities in Ontario projecting budget deficits.
Maintenance, Not Growth: International Student Cap Updates
With the new international student cap in place, Queen’s has 749 applications for visas.
When an international student accepts an offer from Queen’s, the University applies to the province for a letter of attestation which is then attached to the students’ visa application. The letters of attestation serve as proof the student has been counted as part of the federal government’s cap.
Many Queen’s programs, including all undergraduate students and the International Teacher Training Program, are subject to the cap. Queen’s is evaluating each program “category” to prioritize applications, Evans said.
The cap allows Queen’s to maintain its current level of international student enrolment but makes growth difficult, Principal Deane said.
“It’s unclear what the long-term picture is. Queen’s international enrolment was 14.6 per cent, let’s say, in 2019 and now a little over seven per cent of the undergraduate population,” Deane said.
International students are important to the University financially and reputationally, Deane said.
Tags
advancement, budget cuts, budget deficit, donation, Queen’s Cancer Research Institute, Senate
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