I have to say I was a bit surprised by your Math editorial. Not so much the math, that mean, median, mode and average thing is tricky, but the lack of information on the strike itself. I imagine many readers have lots of question in need of answers. I was hoping you could have helped out in this regard.
Maybe you, or someone from The Citizen, can interview both sides for your subscribers and ask all the questions that we as individuals just aren't able too.
I do have a daughter attending UNBC in her first year.
My first question is "Where is the money going to come from?" and "Can UNBC afford it?"
As a P.G. home owner and taxpayer, I am acutely aware of this when my utility and tax bills arrive in the mail. A quick look at the audited financial statements for UNBC done by KPMG shows a total surplus fund of $131,115,000 as of March 2014.
The latest annual surplus for 2014 was $5,451,000 while in 2013 there was a surplus of $9,185,000.
This is an interesting piece of information for people to know.
I researched an article from The Citizen dated November 1st, 2013 where Maclean's ranked UNBC third (tied with Lethbridge) in Canada for the number of students per 1000 who have won national awards, secondnd in Canada for the number of teachers per student; third in Canada for total research dollars per faculty member; and fourth in Canada for the number of professors who have won national awards. While all this was happening, please refer back to the annual surplus from 2013 above.
Where is this going? UNBC is celebrating a vision that started 25 years ago and has been built to where it is today by faculty, students and staff.
The university and the Citizen enjoy boasting about the successes over the many years but it is time to move into the next stage of our growth and development.
As with our human aging, it is time to "grow up a little bit".
We cannot deny that a good portion of UNBC's success is linked to the hard work and dedication of the teachers, instructors and professors.
Can we afford it? Well, you will have to answer this question yourself. The financial statements are available for all to see on the UNBC website.
From what I understand, there is a structural problem in the faculty's agreement that needs to have a long term solution.
Ranked number two out of 19 by Macleans magazine among its peer group while 17 or 18th (near the bottom) in compensation.
I don't know about you, but if this is true, then something doesn't make sense here!
The last 25 years of effort can evaporate quickly or just slowly wither away.
Neither of these outcomes is pretty.
Here's hoping for a desirable resolution.
As a disclaimer, I am not involved with the university in anyway. I am an ex-union member of Local 31, now self-employed. I've been on both sides of the fence.
Neil Van Caeseele
Prince George
