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Reporter’s notebook: Covering the Laurentian restructuring as an alumna

It would be incredibly sad if there was no more Laurentian University
laurentian_cropped
Laurentian University. (File)

On the wall in the stairwell at my parents’ house are photos taken at several different Laurentian University graduations. 

I graduated from Laurentian with a BA Hon. in English in 2003. Three other family members also hold Laurentian degrees (among others). We’re kind of a Laurentian family.

Many friends, current and former colleagues and fellow community members also have Laurentian degrees. That includes many city leaders. It’s safe to say that Laurentian has shaped what Sudbury has become since it was founded more than 60 years ago.

I personally enjoyed my years there. 

At the time, I didn’t feel ready to leave my home community, and it was a great option for me. I feel very connected to Laurentian and my professors, who still remember me, and we enjoy chatting from time to time. I found my profs passionate and well-versed in their subjects.

Although my courses were not necessarily inherently practical, I’ve drawn upon the knowledge I gained in my degree many times over my career.

While its facilities didn’t compare to those of larger Southern Ontario universities, Laurentian has its own northern flair, such as its own beach. I loved seeing foxes and hearing the spring peepers on campus.

I also enjoyed my time at the University of Western Ontario, where I earned an MA in journalism, but I’m not in contact with my profs there, although I do keep in touch with some classmates. There just isn’t that connectedness.

So while I look at everything I’m covering with a journalist’s eye, it’s hard not to take the restructuring at Laurentian personally.

From what I’ve been seeing on social media, my contemporaries have varying views on their Laurentian education and what’s going on right now. 

One fellow alumna said she only attended Laurentian (which had a questionable rep at the time) because she couldn’t afford to leave town. She wonders who would choose to go there now.

Another whose program has now been discontinued feels that the value of her degree has been tarnished.

A contemporary said Laurentian saved her from being a number at a “big box” university by allowing her to transfer mid-degree and participate in varsity athletics. 

One thing we all agree on is that our heart goes out to current students and Laurentian faculty. 

I’ve been through restructuring at work (and as recently as a year ago), so I know what that’s like. I feel for you.

But students are going through all of this (at exam time, no less) in the middle of a pandemic in which they’ve been forced to take all of their classes online. I can’t imagine that. I admire your resilience. Hang in there.

What is clear is that Laurentian is in a financial mess, and something had to be done. Whether what has been done was the right thing remains to be seen.

I hope Laurentian University will still be here in another 60 years. It would be incredibly sad for our community if it weren’t.

Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s associate content editor. Education is among the beats she covers.


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Heidi Ulrichsen

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