Daniel Freeman-Maloy has settled his legal action against York University and its president, Lorna Marsden, for misfeasance in public office, libel and breach of academic freedom. The Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the university's appeal clearing the way for the case to proceed. The out-of-court agreement means the issues the case raised will remain untested in the courts. Interestingly the settlement comes as Marsden is preparing to leave her post. Continue reading

The Supreme Court of Canada refused York University president Lorna Marsden leave to appeal the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal this past April permitting Daniel Freeman-Maloy's civil action suing Marsden for "misfeasance in public office" to proceed. That ruling had overturned an earlier ruling by the Superior Court stating it was "plain and obvious" President of York University was not a public official and therefore the plaintiff could not sue on those grounds. The Globe and Mail quotes CAUT Executive Director Jim Turk as saying "This is really a ruling for academic freedom." York is not pleased and will continue to vigorously argue the university president does not hold public office and is beyond the tort of misfeasance in public office. Peter Rosenthal, Maloy's lawyer, is encouraging York save the taxpayer's money by settling his client's claim now. Rosenthal has noted how ironic it is that Marsden is spending public money to argue that she's not a public official. Continue reading

When York University hired Lorna Marsden to be president, the board knew she was a director of Manulife Financial who, like every shareholder, receives direct benefit when Manulife profits through business activities, like the affinity arrangement with York. Marsden's position with Manulife was disclosed to the board "and consent given to her continuing in that capacity." said Harriet Lewis, York's Secretary & General Counsel, in her letter to Professor David Noble dated June 8, 2006. Lewis takes the position that Marsden "has not received any personal benefit" from the York-Manulife arrangement. But Manulife pursues business arrangements for profit, which directly affects the value of shares and remuneration for board members (Marsden's shares were valued at more than $1.8 million on March 15, 2006 and she received almost $130,000 in direct remuneration last year). How ironic it is that on the same day as Lewis' letter York announced it was bestowing an Honorary Doctor of Laws on Dominic D'Alessandro, the president and chief executive officer of Manulife Financial! As if we needed additional appearances of conflict of interest involving Marsden's relationship with Manulife. Continue reading

Starting today (June 10, 2006) the Ontario universities must comply with the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). Like other public bodies subject to the scope of the Act universities must respond to FOI requests within set timelines. A decision by a university to refuse to release records in whole or part may be appealed to the Privacy Commissioner, not, as has been the case in the past, the university president who may have refused the request in the first instance. This is one small but welcome step towards bringing transparency and accountability to our publicly funded universities which have managed to avoid both so far. The public may now rely upon legislation to obtain information rather than the caprice of university presidents and administrators. Continue reading

York university has a deal with Manulife Financial to flog its products to York alumni. Among other things Manulife gets the York alumni mailing list, York stationary and the endorsement of the Executive Director of York's Alumni Association and Advancement, Naguib Gouda (a former Vice President at Manulife). More interesting is that York president Lorna Marsden has been on the Manulife board since 1995. Manulife paid Marsden almost $130K in 2005. Marsden's Manulife stock holdings are presently worth over $1.8 million. Gouda reports directly to president Marsden, and both are board members of the York University Alumni Association which authorized the York-Manulife deal. With so glaring an appearance of conflict of interest it is no wonder that Ontario Ombudsman André Marin recently announced that he wants any public or private body that gets provincial money to deliver services to be subject to his oversight - including universities which are currently outside his mandate. Continue reading

Should a publicly funded university be able to squirrel away financial records, funding agreements or various other bits of information in a corporate entity under its direct control? Should such a corporation be a shield against Freedom of Information legislation? That is exactly the matter before B.C.'s Privacy Commissioner. The provinces three largest universities have argued the public should not have access to the financial dealings of Simon Fraser University's spinoff companies. CAUT and the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association have argued for release of the information. The issue is particularly poignant just months before Freedom of Information legislation is to be extended to cover Ontario's universities and as Trent University actively contemplates creating a corporation to manage its endowment lands. Continue reading

Ontario's Liberal government is keeping secret key accountability agreements it requires universities to sign in order to secure funding, according to a press release from the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). McGuinty's liberals have received praise for agreeing to extend the provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) to cover universities (commencing June 10, 2006). But they have also earned public scorn based on their record of a long list of broken promises commencing from the moment they took office. The government's refusal to release agreements with the universities to the public flies in the face of their supposed commitment to transparency and accountability strategies. When it comes to dealing with universities we are not surprised that the government continues to keep the public in the dark. We suspect university administrators are chortling with glee - behind closed doors. Continue reading

The inside story of the corporate agenda on campus is one topic at this weekend's conference Corporatization of the University: Who Is Telling the Truth? (March 12 - Guelph University campus). The conference is particularly poignant in light of Trent's ongoing experiences with the apparently unstoppable infiltration of the corporate agenda. The Trent administration's blatant fascination with corporatization may be an ignoble distinction, but other universities are also suffering its effects on research, programs and all aspects of campus life. Conference participants include internationally renowned researchers and faculty such as Drs. Nancy Olivieri, Ignacio Chapela, Ann Clark and David Noble. Filmmaker Ian Mauro, whose film "Seeds of Change" will be shown, will also be in attendance. Continue reading

Trent's recent list of honourary degree recipients includes Charlie Coffey, an RBC executive who promotes the corporatization of Trent and other Canadian universities. In an interview with Coffey on the heels of Trent's board over-riding Senate's objection to closing the downtown colleges, he applauded Patterson's role by supporting her view that universities need to "rationalize facilities" and "become more competitive". On the role of senate and the board in bicameral governance he said "I would argue it needs to be re-examined. The bottom line drives a lot of what universities are doing today," with the board clearly having superiority. At a time when Trent's board actively promotes public and corporate partnerships (although there appears to be no example of one) it should come as no surprise that those with views similar to Coffey are rewarded and celebrated by this administration. Continue reading

On June 10, 2006 Ontario's universities must be in compliance with the provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA). Bill 197, which contains amendments to bring universities under the Act, specifies compliance commences six months after the bill receives royal assent, which it did on December 12, 2005. David Noble, a professor at York University, was informed by Ontario's Management Board Secretariat that the effective date for universities to comply will be June 10, 2006. While we expect managers of our publicly funded universities will attempt to develop strategies to avoid disclosure, FOIPPA imposes a regime of disclosure and avenues to appeal denials that cannot be circumvented. "It's a new ball game. Universities have been forced, kicking and screaming, a step closer to accountability," said Noble. Continue reading

Those pesky Trent students are at it again! Now they're speaking out and strategizing over policies which they say protect corporate interests at the expense of students. New administrative policies apparently restrict the number of student potluck events to two per officially registered group, and prohibit events such as the weekly free lunch put on by the Native Studies department. For some reason students are of the view that such policies serve only to prop up the Aramark monopoly to supply on-campus food service. Trent students, who have a history of successful activism, see these policies as indicative of the general erosion of student voice and space on-campus. And how did students plan to raise awareness and strategize about the issues? They held an "illegal" potluck on November 30! Continue reading

Two Trent University professors have been involuntarily tossed from their department and offices. Capricious and egregious treatment of unionized (and tenured) professors will lead, as any reasonable academic manager should foresee, to the costly grievance procedure. In this case the Trent University Faculty Association (TUFA) has filed numerous grievances alleging that Trent, among other things, has breached academic freedom and practiced discrimination, including breach of the duty to accommodate which would be a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code. These are certainly serious allegations which are even more disturbing as they are consistent with a trend of dysfunctional and problematic human resources management practices under the auspices of the board and President Bonnie Patterson and as administered by Associate Vice President Human Resources David Mahy. Continue reading

Trent has a unique leadership opportunity to be the first Ontario university to implement transparent and accountable management practices and policies, and to create what Ontario Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian describes as A Culture of Openness. Trent could have the honour of becoming a showcase to demonstrate that a culture of secrecy, cronyism and mediocrity have no place in the management of our publicly funded Ontario Universities. Will Trent University rise to the challenge? Can Trent rise to the challenge? Continue reading

Responding to longstanding calls from OurTrent, UWatch, CAUT, CFS and others to begin to impose transparency and accountability upon the hitherto secretive governance of Ontario universities, the McGuinty Liberal government has taken a first step in its budget of May 2005 which will make universities subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA). While agreeing to pump more than $6-billion into postsecondary education over the next five years, McGuinty admitted the need to force accountability on universities. "We can't just send in wheelbarrows full of money to our postsecondary institutions," McGuinty said. "It is simply unreasonable to expect that we're going to flow that much new money into our postsecondary institutions and not demand higher accountability in return." This is a major victory. Continue reading

York University has appointed retired judge Edward Saunders to investigate a controversial land deal. While Saunder's abilities and credibility are not in question, some find it odd that York's chancellor Peter Cory works in the same law firm (Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP) and share the same administrative assistant. Some York professors have suggested "Mr. Saunders's close association with the highest officer of York University creates an appearance of a bias, which will undermine the usefulness of the review." Watchers of Trent University will be interested to know that Trent board member Michael Gough is a partner in the Toronto office of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt. According to Gough's biography "Michael has unique and extensive experience in advising government and private sector clients on public/private partnerships, including commercialization, outsourcing and procurement." Continue reading

Allegations of financial mismanagement by senior administrators at York and Queens (read those stories here too)... university presidents still pushing the government for loopholes and exemptions to any potential Freedom of Information legislation that would apply to universities... Trent's own financial, legal, accountability and transparency problems, not to mention the controversial DNA cluster project. The CFS calls on the province to bring accountability to universities and have them be subject to Freedom of Information legislation. Continue reading

By CAROLINE ALPHONSO, EDUCATION REPORTER Globe and Mail - Wednesday, April 23, 2003, Page A10 Ontario universities have escaped provincial freedom-of-information legislation, and despite promises by their association that guidelines would be implemented across the board, the matter has been... Continue reading