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.

The Trent administration's courtship of the corporate agenda is an apparent theme. It can be seen on numerous fronts. That theme is apparent by a review of the documents on this site. A few examples include;

• bestowing of honourary degrees upon promoters of corporatization of universities,
• fawning promotors of transparency yet refusing to manage the university in a transparent manner,
• actively seeking to avoid transparency and accountability,
• the Endowment Lands Master Plan and Trent University Development Corporation,
• the dna cluster,
• ignoring the recommendations of the Arthurs-Lorimer report and removing the report from public view

The conference hopes to highlight how the corporate agenda on campus is defended, and why it must end. Campus activists from Trent and other universities should find the conference enlightening and an opportunity to network with other concerned and knowledgeable people. The event is sponsored by the Science for Peace, OPIRG Guelph, the Guelph University Central Student Association and Students Against Corporate Control.

Corporatization Specific References:

• Corporatization of the University: Who Is Telling the Truth?
  Conference web page
• Guelph: Expert corporatization panel a must-see this Sunday
  Uwatch article - March 7, 2006
• University Inc: The Corporate Corruption of Higher Education
  by Jennifer Washburn
• An interview with author, Jennifer Washburn - author of University Inc.
  CorpWatch - April 11, 2005

Governance Specific References:

• When Power Corrupts: Academic Governing Boards In the Shadow of the Adelphi Case
  Lionel Lewis' book recounting the events at Adelphi with remarkable parallels to current events at Trent
• Judicial Review in the Community of Scholars: A Short History of Kulchyski v. Trent University