Ministers meet to discuss FNUC

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Saskatchewan Learning Minister Andrew Thomson jetted to Ottawa to hold emergency talks with Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott on Aug. 11 and 12 regarding the future of the embattled First Nations University of Canada (FNUC).

It's the first move the provincial government has taken regarding the university's operations since the suspension of senior staff in February and the subsequent fall-out from those suspensions-accusations of corruption and the resignations or firings of almost all members of the university's senior staff.

Among those who have been shown the door are vice-president Wes Stevenson, Saskatoon campus dean Winnona Wheeler, Regina campus dean Dawn Tato, and former executive assistant to the president Marlene Lerat-Stetner. Next in line is former director of international programs Leonzo Barreno, who received notification on Aug. 9 that the university has begun the process of formally dismissing him.

With its academic credentials in peril and its finances a mess, the university is limping into a fall semester in a state of crisis. Thomson asked for the meeting with Scott in order to develop a "common strategy" involving FNUC's two major funding providers to work toward getting the university back on its feet.

"As bleak as things sound at the university today, there is one ray of hope. All sides in this issue are expressing the strong desire to see (FNUC) succeed, stabilized and restored to a national prominence," Thomson said.

Some of the issues Thomson talked with Scott about included the future of the university's accreditation with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), the university's budget problems, academic freedom and the internal personnel process, he said.

University president Charles Pratt was scheduled to meet with high-level officials from the AUCC in Ottawa on Aug 18, after press time. That meeting may become more critical for FNUC's survival, because Saskatchewan Learning has said it will cut its $2 million annual grant to the university if the national organization pulls the university's accreditation.

Losing that membership would force the University of Regina, which actually awards FNUC degrees, to sever its ties with FNUC, and classes at FNUC couldn't be transferred to the U of R or to most other Canadian universities for credit.

One of the reasons why FNUC's continued membership in the AUCC is being called into question is the issue of academic freedom-the ability of faculty to hold and express opinions as part of their work. It was the reason cited by one of North America's foremost Aboriginal academics, Dr. Denise Henning, when she announced her resignation as FNUC's academic vice-president Aug. 2.

"I believe in the mandate of the university, in an Indian-controlled educational institution, but I also believe in universities operating as universities," Henning stated in a press release announcing her resignation. "Proper procedures and protocols should always be followed in making changes to the university and this has not been the case here making it impossible for me to continue to function under the current administration and board of governors."

Henning has since taken a senior position with the University of Regina.

Thomson said his office has been inundated with requests from university faculty and students who are worried their jobs or classes may not exist when the fall semester begins, and want the province to do something about the situation.

Many of the changes that have occurred at FNUC since Feb. 17 have been administrative changes, said the minister, and few of those changes concern the faculty on a practical basis.

"Those decisions were within the board's mandate to make," he said. "The University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina sometimes make decisions that I don't like or that the public doesn't like, but it's their decision to make.

"There is no reason to fear some changes to theinstitution, as long as the university meets some certain minimum standards."

Those minimum standards would include respect for academic independence, a revamped board of governors, and membership in the AUCC. Thomson said that it is "highly unlikely" that FNUC's membership will be pulled from the organization.

Jeff Pappone, media relations officer for the AUCC, acknowledges that a meeting was scheduled to take place Aug. 18. As well, the AUCC has received a report from the university on its operations. But neither he nor anybody else in the organization representing Canada's universities and colleges is willing to say anything more as of press time.

"Until we meet with Mr. Pratt, we really can't talk about what is to be discussed between us," Pappone said.

The AUCC will make a final decision regarding FNUC's membership status during its board of directors meeting in October, Pappone said. That's about the time the FSIN holds is fall legislative assembly, where FNUC will likely be one of the top items on the agenda.

Continued AUCC accreditation is only one of the concerns being faced by FNUC. Despite announcements to the contrary, the university still seems to be facing some financial difficulties.

Over the summer, the university came close to financial bankruptcy and stopped making payments for union dues, health insurance and pension plans that were deducted from employees' paycheques.

The University of Regina Faculty Association (URFA) is supposed to receive its employees' union dues every month from FNUC. But URFA didn't get its dues from FNUC for a period from May until mid- July, said its executive director, Dorothy Lane.

"They told us they were having a cash flow problem."

FNUC's finance office also stopped paying into the university's health and pension plans, which were held by Great West Life. When this state of affairs was reported on by several Regina news agencies in mid-July, the university's employees were days away from lsing their pensions and health insurance benefits.

On July 26, administration vice-president Al Ducharme sent out a campus-wide e-mail telling workers that the crisis had occurred while senior staff who were involved in the university's financial matters were being hired and fired.

Ducharme wrote that there would be no affect on their coverage. He said the university had indeed fallen behind on its payments, but that the issue had been dealt with.

The provincial superintendent of pensions' office has confirmed that FNUC did in fact make a payment to Great West Life on Aug. 5, paying what was owed to the employee pension and health insurance plans for May and June, but not for the months of July and August. At press time, those amounts remained unpaid.FNUC Timeline

June 21, 2003-After 27 years of providing post-secondary education to First Nation students, the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College becomes the First Nations University of Canada (FNUC), becoming the first First Nations run university in North America.

Feb. 17, 2005-Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) Vice-chief Morley Watson, chair of the FNUC board of governors, announces the suspension of three senior university staff-vice-president Wes Stevenson, finance director Kim Sinclair and Leonzo Barreno, director of international programs. All three were escorted from the campus, while other university staff were told to go home for the day.

May 12, 2005-Wes Stevenson is fired from his position with FNUC.

May 26, 2005-FSIN Senator Theresa Stevenson, Wes Stevenson's mother, receives notice that she has been relieved of her senatorial duties. She says it's because she spoke up in defence of her son at the FSIN winter legislative assembly.

June 13, 2005-Eber Hampton, who has served as the university's president since 1991, announced he is stepping down from the position. Hampton had planned to leave the position as of July 17, but in an e-mail sent to university faculty on June 13 Hampton announced he would be going on annual leave for the remainder of his term. Charles Pratt, head of the university's school of business and public administration, was named acting president.

June 28, 2005-Blair Stonechild, head of the Indigenous studies department at FNUC, holds a press conference to announce that the university is facing a financial crisis, facing a shortfall of around $3 million.

July 5, 2005-Winnona Wheeler, dean of FNUC's Saskatoon campus, is fired.

July 15, 2005-The FNUC board of governors announces it will create a task force to review the university's operations and governance.

July 20, 2005-Dawn Tato, dean of FNUC's Regina campus, is fired for criticizing the current university administration.

July 21, 2005-Marlene Lerat-Stetner, former executive assistant to the president, is fired after 17 years of service to the university.

Aug. 3, 2005-Denise Henning, vice-president of academics, resigns, saying the current administration made it impossible for her to do her job.

Aug. 6, 2005-Al Ducharme, FNUC vice-president of administration, announces that cuts to administration and academic budgets and a cash infusion from the federal and provincial governments mean classes at the university will go ahead as planned in the fall.

Aug. 9 , 2005-Charles Pratt announces that the university intends to fire Leonzo Barreno.