Memorial University of Newfoundland President Vianne Timmons recently went on a shopping spree for new furniture for her office. Which expensive pieces of furniture do you think that she will purchase next?
I recently received a comment from a student who wishes to remain anonymous, “For $50k, I could have done a much better job decorating an office. The real shame is she didn’t use the money wisely. Vianne, go for a modernist aesthetic and get some Eames Lounge chairs from Herman Miller!”
Below are some more possibilities. Feel free to leave your predictions in the comments section.
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
The criticism on spending by the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) administration continues as more people weigh in on social media.
Regarding MUN President Vianne Timmons blocking students for tweeting about her lavish office renovations, Jerham Fad states, “Childish, immature and out of touch at its finest! What a shame that the province’s only university came to be as a result of incompetent leadership!!”
Ruby Drake says, “And the MUN president doing her office probably with their monies, watch how quick that will get fixed before the kids get sick from the mold.”
MUN President Vianne Timmons’s Twitter profile picture.
Brandi Quinton states, “This place was falling apart in 2001 when I was inside it. But like everyone who is given any bit of authority in Newfoundland, they say f**k the people and just look out for themselves with no concern for anyone else.”
Pattiann Bradbury says, “And the president with a fabulous salary and a new office! Just disgusting!”
Richard D’Agostino says, “She spent a teacher’s annual salary. She spent more money than most nurses get paid a year. She spent more than the average income in our province. Just to add to the perspective. It’s insane, really.”
Jack Jardine states regarding MUN spending over $300K on its Campus Master Plan, “Let me get this right, MUN has an excellent School of Engineering, and they are hiring a firm to act as consultants to MUN, where they probably got most of their training. What is wrong with this picture.”
Richard Lane says, “The blatant disregard for public money in this place is brutal.”
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
Since the October 27th, 2021 article, more students at Memorial University of Newfoundland have come forward with parking issues.
A student states, “Me and my friends have been having a really difficult time with parking this semester with the people at the parking building being very rude and unhelpful with us. It wasn’t until we emailed Neha Bhutani (nbhutani@mun.ca) that we felt our issues were actually heard, and she helped us deal with our issues. I also recommend posting in the group MUN Students Come Together on Facebook to let other students know others are struggling too. When me and my friend went to the office for parking, we were told it was only us complaining, and it was our issue, not theirs. The machines here do not work and haven’t for some time.”
Emily Valerie Pearl Colbourne says, “They wouldn’t give me my keys once that was turned into them after I lost them out of my pocket.”
Julia Breen states, “I had the same issue and met with Neha Bhutani; she informed me that she would send on a message higher up about replacing the machines. Overall, she was extremely helpful! There are evening/weekend permits available; unfortunately, that is the only option we have right now as we have to wait for new machines. Also!! The machine on floor 2 of the parking garage across from the UC works most times!”
Jessica Marie Martin says, “I had the same issue in September by the new science building. I was so scared of getting a ticket that I put a sign on my dash and money on my wipers. I called and left a message at parking, and no one did anything or called me back.”
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
At the CARE (The Collaborative Applied Research in Economics) conference on September 15, 2021, former Premier Roger Grimes commented on the recently approved tuition hike at Memorial University of Newfoundland during the question period part of President Vianne Timmons’s presentation. The transcript is below:
Roger Grimes: Not necessarily a question. Roger Grimes, attending today, by the way, in my capacity as Chair of the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board. Just want to make a comment with respect to Matt’s commentary. I’ve appreciated your participation all day by the day, delighted you’re here, been making a great contribution. In context, I was Premier of the province when we reduced tuitions in Newfoundland and Labrador by 25 percent over three years with the objective to be the lowest tuition in the country, and my understanding is this: that was 20 years ago, by the way, 21 years ago now and nothing, it hasn’t moved. It’s been frozen at that level for 21 years, and I was asked to comment on it a few years ago. If I were a student today, I’d be disappointed; I’d be upset; I’d probably be protesting. I protested when I was there in the 60s. We carried caskets up to the Confederation building about the death of free tuition, can you believe that? It was the death of free tuition; we carried coffins up the parkway to the Confederation building. So, I’d be protesting, and I’d be making probably some of the same commentary as Matt. But just for context, my understanding is that… because we’re talking about fiscal reality in the province, the increases now would be such that we will still be where I wanted to be in 2000. We’ll be at the lower level, if not the lowest in Canada, and there’s nowhere else you can go to get a better deal because I’ve done it three times with three different degrees from Memorial. There’s nowhere on the planet you can go to get a better deal for the price than Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. So, stick with it Matt, I look forward to seeing you in a future leadership role in the province. Thanks for the opportunity to make the comment.
Vianne Timmons: Thank you, Roger.
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
Upon completion of the poll the results will be posted to this webpage.
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
A recently obtained ATIPP reveals a list of all meetings involving the Minister of Education, Deputy Minister, and Assistant Deputy Ministers and Memorial University of Newfoundland officials from January 1st, 2021, to the end of July. There were 22 meetings in total. Another ATIPP reveals a list of meetings between the Premier’s Office and MUN officials. Yet another recently obtained ATIPP reveals a letter sent from the Minister of Education Tom Osborne to the President of MUN Vianne Timmons regarding the university’s decision to change its tuition framework.
The agenda for the meeting April 14 meeting included: 1) Next steps and timing for PPSER release, 2) Seeking status updates on: 3) Pension actuarial work, Collective bargaining template, Plan for release of RFP re: deferred maintenance financing, 6) Update on tuition framework planning, and 7) Other?
There was only one item on the agenda for the April 20 meeting 1) Tuition Framework.
See a list of all the meetings below:
Responsive RecordEDU/058/2021“List of all meetings involving the Minister, Deputy Minister, or Assistant Deputy Ministers and Memorial University officials from January 1st 2021 to present.”
Date
Attendees
January 12, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Minister; Candice Ennis-Williams, ADM; Greg O’Leary, Deputy Minister; Tina Lambe; Dr. Vianne Timmons; Kent Decker and Paula Dyke
February 17, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams and Ann Browne
March 2, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams and AVPA Students
April 5, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams and Paula Dyke
April 13, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Greg O’Leary, Candice Ennis-Williams, Dr. Vianne Timmons, Kent Decker, and Paula Dyke
April 14, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Candice Ennis-Williams, Tina Lamb, Greg O’Leary, Dr. Vianne Timmons, Kent Decker, Paula Dyke and Jill Styles
April 20, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Greg O’Leary, Candice Ennis-Williams, Tina Lamb, Dr. Vianne Timmons, Mark Abrahams, Kent Decker, Paula Dyke, Mary Wall, Lori Pike, and Jill Styles
May 4, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Tina Lamb, Candice Ennis-Williams, Greg O’Leary, Tina Scott, Iris Petten and Michelle Snow
May 10, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams, Regan Power, Donna Hardy Cox, and AVPA Students
May 13, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Candice Ennis-Williams, Tina Lamb, Greg O’Leary, Len White, Mark Ambrahams, Kent Decker, Dr. Vianne Timmons, Paula Dyke
May 20, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, VP Academic, additional representatives from Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic
May 25, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Greg O’Leary, Candice Ennis-Williams, Dr. Vianne Timmons, Linda Tilley, Kent Decker, and Paula Dyke
May 26, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Tina Lamb, Candice Ennis-Williams, Greg O’Leary, Dr. Vianne Timmons, Kent Decker and Paula Dyke
May 26, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Dr. Ross Elliott and class
May 26, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Tina Lamb, Candice Ennis-Williams, Greg O’Leary, Dr. Vianne Timmons, Kent Decker and Paula Dyke
May 27, 2021
Hon. Tom Osborne, Premier Andrew Furey, Dr. Vianne Timmons
May 31, 2021
Robyn Hayes, ADM; Candice Ennis-Williams, Tracy Stamp, Dr. Vianne Timmons, Kent Decker, Jill Styles, and Linda Tilley
June 8, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams, Regan Power, Donna Hardy Cox, and AVPA Students
July 16, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams, Regan Power, Mark Hunter, Nancy Paul, Paula Dyke, Michelle Snow, and Morgan Cooper
July 20, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams, Regan Power, Donna Hardy Cox, and AVPA Students
July 22, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams, Regan Power, Mark Hunter, Nancy Paul, Paula Dyke, Michelle Snow, and Morgan Cooper
July 29, 2021
Candice Ennis-Williams, Regan Power, Mark Hunter, Nancy Paul, Paula Dyke, Michelle Snow, Morgan Cooper
Yet another ATIPP reveals a list of the meetings between the Premier’s Office and MUN officials from January 1, 2021, to August 9, 2021. There were two meetings: on May 27, 2021, and August 6, 2021.
On July 26, 2021, Minister of Education Tom Osborne wrote MUN President Vianne Timmons in response to her letter on July 8, 2021, regarding the Board of Regents’ decision to increase tuition. See the letter below:
Dear Dr. Timmons:
I write in response to your letter of July 8, 2021, advising Government that the Board of Regents has approved a new undergraduate tuition fee framework for Memorial University. As announced in Budget 2021, and elucidated further last Friday, we will provide expanded access to needs based grants for new undergraduate students from Newfoundland and Labrador impacted by the tuition changes.
Government looks forward to the release of additional details by Memorial University with respect to its fundraising activities to increase scholarships and bursaries to support students in need, recognize high-achieving students, and the University’s continued efforts to balance its operating budget, find efficiencies and diversify revenues.
Sincerely,
HONOURABLE TOM OSBORNE, MHA
Minister of Education
District of Waterford Valley
See ATIPP files below:
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
On September 16, 2021, on CBC News: Here and Now, journalist Anthony Germain spoke with Memorial University of Newfoundland student Matt Barter and president Vianne Timmons on why posters were put up calling on the president to resign and why the posters were taken down. See the transcript below:
Anthony Germain: Welcome back to Here & Now. Well, these posters of the president of Memorial University of Newfoundland have caused a bit of an argument on campus. Joining me now is Matt Barter; he’s the person who designed these posters. So, Matt, what was the point you’re trying to make with these?
Matt Barter: The point of the posters was to bring attention to the doubling of tuition fees. It’s an issue that the president doesn’t want to talk about and that she just wants to leave it alone, and she just wants to move on from it, but it’s still an issue for many students.
AG: Now you went to a public event, and you know you kind of ambushed her, so you obviously feel very strongly about that. Why did you do that?
MB: Yes. The reason why, Vianne, Dr. Timmons gave a presentation, and there was an opportunity for a question period, so I asked her questions about tuition and about her removal of the posters because she would not respond to media requests as to how she took them down. It wasn’t until yesterday that she gave us the reason that she took them down because she said it does not honor the respectful workplace policy.
AG: Okay. So, she has taken the position that these posters which say resign is a violation of the respectful workplace policy. What do you make of that?
MB: I disagree with that. I think that it’s important for a university to have freedom of speech and debate because university is about learning, and I think that the president should not be immune from criticism and that the president should not think that they should not be influenced by criticism and by opposing views.
AG: Now, I just want to say to be clear, is this a one-man show, you versus Memorial or are other students actually taking up this cause you’ve started?
MB: So, I’m the one who initiated it, but there’s been so many students who support it, there’s been an enormous amount of support among the student body this – so many students with pictures of the poster on social media channels and such.
AG: Well, Matt Barter, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
MB: Thank you for having me.
AG: Alright, well, let’s see if we can get some answers from Vianne Timmons.
AG: So Vianne Timmons, why was it necessary to take these posters down?
Vianne Timmons: I felt it was necessary to take these posters down because we have a respectful workplace policy, and if there were posters up of any faculty, staff, or students, I would have them taken down. I do not want anyone to walk on our campus and feel targeted or unwelcome, and that’s really important to us as a community.
AG: You know, you’re an experienced academic and a president of a university, students protest all kinds of things. I looked at the picture; it’s not a bad picture; it just says resign and say no to tuition hikes. I mean, where does freedom of speech and the respectful workplace policy clash on this?
VT: So, I really want our students to protest, they should protest, they should protest many issues, but there’s different ways to protest and not to personalize it and as a woman, a woman who’s been the target of a lot of attacks, as have our new Provost, I felt it was time to make a statement that personal attacks are not acceptable on this campus. We have a campus where we can have debates that are respectful, that we can have disagreements and dialogues that are respectful and not personalize them. So that is why I’ve made this position.
AG: But when you look at that poster, how do you possibly interrupt a personal attack? It’s just saying that you should resign because you raised tuition.
VT: So, the university raised tuition; the community raised tuition. The university, that’s a really important distinction. I was a spokesperson for it, so a personal attack is a personal attack. And you know it’s really, I kept thinking if it was a faculty member’s poster up there and when you walk on campus, and I would say that when I saw them, my stomach turned. I have a daughter with unique learning needs, and she saw them. I had to work with her and help her understand and process this, you know. There are students that called me, faculty that called me, staff called me really upset about this, so I took a stand. This is a place of respect where everyone is welcomed, it’s inclusive, and we need to be able to have respectful differences without personalizing attacks, and in the world, we’re living in today, that’s a huge issue, and as a university, we are a place of all other places to role model that.
AG: But you know, instead of saying it’s a workplace issue, aren’t you possibly missing a teachable moment here where you can once again explain why tuition increases have to happen or explain that whether it’s Vianne Timmons or whoever was that this is going to happen anyway. But why not educate instead of, you know, basically censoring this?
VT: Well, there was no censoring done. Students can protest, I encourage them to protest, and it is a teachable moment. It’s a teachable moment about how to have differences. It’s a teachable moment about how to have a respectful conversation when you have differing views. That was the teachable moment, and that’s the moment I took.
AG: Thank you very much.
VT: Thank you.
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
On October 27, 2021, Memorial University of Newfoundland student Brittany Mercer took to social media to bring attention to the issue of parking on campus, particularly about parking tickets. The incident she describes below took place by the Earth Sciences building.
Mercer states, “Loves getting a parking ticket at MUN when the parking app and meter don’t work. …I’m told that you can put money into an account inside the building, but there is absolutely no signage to make that aware. Hope you enjoy f*****g over students over five bucks in change, ticket money going toward your stupid f*****g office too?? Vianne Timmons, Memorial University of Newfoundland. MUN is a sinking ship, rob and trick us anyway you can!!!”
Furthermore, Mercer states, “I ran into a patrol officer there the other day who wrote something as an exemption to put in my window. However, he failed to mention anything about prepaying inside.”
Mercer emailed Campus Enforcement and Patrol (CEP), and the response she received is below:
Thank you for the email.
MUN offers many ways for students, staff, and guests to pay for parking on campus. If you’re having issues with coin machines, we offer the parking app. If you do not have a credit card or having issues with it, you can stop by the parking office, and the clerk can upload money to your phone via cash or debit.
We have lots with pay and display available in the first level of the parking garage off sandpits road.
This should help avoid getting tickets.
Officer Lane 157 CEP
Mercer then responded:
“Hi,
Okay. But what can I do about the ticket? There is no signage saying that you can put money into an account in the building. And the app wouldn’t take my card, so the app and meter wouldn’t work for me.”
See email below:
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
A recently obtained ATIPP request reveals the total costs of Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Campus Master Plan from the start of the project to September 30, 2021. The total amount spent is $338,094.69. $227,993.91 was spent on consultants fees, $575 for seminar activities, $40.50 for printing (posters), $294.68 on luncheons/receptions, and $109,190.60 on salary and benefits.
MUN’s Campus Master Plan is currently in Phase 2 of completion. The university expects to spend an additional $205,097.72 for consultants fees to finish the remainder of the project.
The plan includes a skating loop and beautification of the campus.
See ATIPP file below:
ATIPP.
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
Matt Barter 