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Letter: Why were Laurentian’s environmental and ecology programs closed?

They are the core of Laurentian University’s identity, says prof
laurentian_cropped
Laurentian University. (Supplied)

Among the programs closed in Laurentian University’s “restructuring” were Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, Ecology and Restoration Biology. 

In a city of lakes, where Sophie Mathur has galvanized global youth around the climate crisis, where the regreening of the region has reached near mythological status, an undergraduate student cannot enter into an environmental or ecology program at Laurentian University.

Think about that.

Why were Laurentian’s environmental and ecology programs closed?

To uncover the rationale of how decisions were made regarding the termination of programs (or not), we need to read the affidavit recently submitted to the provincial court by Laurentian University President, Robert Haché, available here

In this affidavit, Haché articulates the rationale for program closure, including whether a program made any money (paragraph 49 of the affidavit). But a subset of programs were not terminated because of their “direct link to LU’s mission” (paragraph 50).

Do these environmental and ecology programs have a “direct link to LU’s mission?” Of course, they do. Laurentian University’s Strategic Plan (Imagine 2023) highlights environmental expertise among its strengths - "Laurentian University’s expertise in mining and environmental stewardship will drive knowledge creation, economic prosperity, and ecological sustainability, locally, nationally, and internationally. Decades of world‐class scholarship on industrial contamination and the recovery of lands, lakes and communities have given the “Sudbury story” global resonance.”

It then goes on to boast about the role of the School of the Environment.

"Laurentian University’s School of the Environment builds on this reputation with undergraduate programs leading either to a B.A. or a B.Sc. degree."

Not anymore.

The Research Strategic Plan lists “Environment” as an area of strength, going so far as to picture Dr. Nadia Mykytczuk

Dr. Mykytczuk, an expert environmental microbiologist who collaborates extensively with the mining industry and leads a large research team at the Living with Lakes Centre, has been terminated along with the other faculty in the School of the Environment. 

Dr. Brett Buchanan, an internationally recognized scholar in environmental philosophy and the former Director of the School of the Environment was similarly terminated. 

“Conservation and Biodiversity” are among the environmental themes which are recognized as research strengths at Laurentian. Dr. David Lesbarrères, an internationally recognized expert in amphibian disease and population decline, was also terminated. And there are others with similar career profiles that have been lost to Laurentian.

Why were all environmental and ecology programs terminated when they are the core of Laurentian University's identity and should have been saved given the very principles used to support program closure during the CCAA

If explicit identification of the environmental and ecology programs in the Laurentian University strategic plan is not "a direct link to LU’s mission," then I don't know what is.

The Sudbury community needs answers to these questions, and above all, we need these cuts reversed so a thoughtful restructuring of Laurentian University can be carried out, not one that applies free market principles to a public good like a university.

Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde

Full professor, Laurentian University department of biology