A recently obtained access-to-information request reveals notes taken during Memorial University’s Provost search consultation town hall sessions. Also included were speaking notes for the Manager of Senior Leadership Recruitment Kim Blanchard and President Neil Bose and email correspondence from the President’s Office and Marketing and Communications.
The provost search consultation town hall participants were asked about the opportunities available to Memorial University, the challenges facing Memorial, the priorities of the future Provost and Vice-President (Academic), and the most important knowledge, skills, abilities, and other qualities of the next Provost.
For the first question at the St. John’s Campus on March 14, 2024, it was said that there is an opportunity for deep investment in undergraduate education with a focus on undergraduates. The speaker felt that undergraduate studies were being overlooked. Another person said the connections across different portfolios can be made clear, as well as how MUN serves the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. There is an opportunity to work collaboratively and more efficiently across portfolios.
Another person said given the fiscal realities of the province, the incoming Provost will have to consolidate efforts to do less with less but do it well. It is not the time for growth and enrollment probably will not go up, but MUN can consolidate what it does and do it better.
For the second question, issues of physical infrastructure were brought up and how morale seems like it is down across faculty, staff, and students. MUN must be aware of this and attend to it.
For the third question, it was said that more needs to be done to support international students support services for those who do not speak English as their first language because they pay higher tuition fees. A point was then raised about the budget model and the need to make sure there is clarity on what the budget model will be and that faculties know it clearly. The need for respect and promotion of good collegial governance and broad consultation with faculty and students was brought up. A point was then raised about the need to stand up for the University as it is a coexistence of professional and traditional disciplines that needs equal opportunities.
For the fourth question, it was said that the next Provost needs to be someone who understands MUN’s relationship with the province, understands the multi-faceted nature of the University and excels in both research and teaching, an excellent communicator within academia and with outside stakeholders like government and the community, solicits unfiltered feedback from rank and file faculty, staff, and students, provide clarity on what they are choosing MUN, be able to listen and take in information from unions, government, students, and other stakeholders, have advanced listening and communication skills, experience dealing with difficult administrative situations, is able to make difficult decisions like firing Deans that are not performing well, who are creating issues within faculty or who are just not doing well with their faculty, and have a grasp on Al.
No students attended the provost search consultation session for students from all campuses on March 15, 2024, so no notes were taken.
The notes from the provost search consultation session for the President’s Executive Council (all Vice-Presidents) on March 19, 2024, were entirely redacted.
For the first question at Marine Institute Campus on March 20, 2024, it was brought up that there is an opportunity to focus on what MUN is great at, which is a commitment to teaching and providing quality programming for all campuses and maximizing what each campus is good at. It was said that the Marine Institute Campus is unique due to offering short course training and micro-credentials, and the new Provost needs to think outside the box and explore how MI can use these courses and credentials to attract students and grow. It was said that MI is a “living laboratory” and is a special place to conduct research. There is an opportunity to attract good graduate students.
For the second question, the cost and budget were brought up; there are good research opportunities, but they are expensive. It was said that MI programs need to maintain the standards so that international recognition by associations continues. It was asked how MI can create and support the differentiators to attract new students. There is a challenge to attract students as everyone is competing, and the Canadian pool is shrinking, so international students need to be attracted. It was said that the new Provost needs to be decisive and make hard decisions, including where the focus needs to be and what should be let go.
For the third question, it was said that the new Provost needs to understand the complexity of MI in general and learn what types of things MI does and can do, like short courses and micro-credentials. It was asked how to incentivize campus to campus collaboration and that there is no need for the main campus vs. other campuses mentality as all are main campuses. It was said that the next Provost should establish a collaborative structure and system be more pan institutional and pan campus in nature.
For the fourth question, it was said that the next Provost must have knowledge about credential framework not only in Canada but internationally as well and explore how to integrate those with the education provided at MUN, have knowledge about the multi-campus operation and how to run that in a collaborative manner, be a good human being that build good teams, has a history of working with students, a history of delegating work, empathy and history of leadership transparency, and be inspiring, someone who is decisive and do not shy away from making hard decisions for the good of the University, had humility and collaborate with those around them, understands how to take advice and make decisions based on that, has EDI knowledge and experience, has experience working in a complex environment, and the ability to facilitate change even though the organization may resist change.
For the first question, at Grenfell Campus on March 21, 2024, it was brought up that there is an opportunity to address the operating grant to MUN through the government’s budgeting process and Grenfell’s autonomy on the budget and spending. It was said that MUN is not just an academic institution; it needs a Vice-President Academic who understands the University’s place in the province. It was said that there needs to be a diversification of funding sources, that MUN should diversify its portfolio so it is not just reliant on government funding, and that wealthy alumni donors could be tapped in along with corporate sponsorship.
For the second question, cybersecurity came into discussion and how it was a challenge to reach out to students to keep them in the loop about shifting from Grenfell email to MUN email. The degradation of services was brought up with help centres having reduced hours and sometimes closing unexpectedly. It was said that there have been cases where students did work of faculty/staff with instructions left to be done by teaching assistants unsupervised by faculty and staff within the Faculty of Science. It was also said that laboratory experiments were, in some cases, cut in half. A point was made about the restoration of academic services and the quality of those.
For the third question, it was said that the next Provost should do outreach and be accessible and hold their own focused town halls for students, faculty, and staff.
For the fourth question, it was said that candidates for Provost should be examined based on their experience at MUN, whether they have degrees from here, worked at MUN in the past, and what connection they have to the province. It was said that this is not mandatory but should be looked at. It was brought up that the next Provost should have experience at an executive level, have the ability to connect to students at various campuses by being approachable, ability to connect to faculty and students, ability to be personable and be able to do outreach, and be down to earth, have a focus on curriculum and check in with Deans, Department Heads, and Faculty members to ensure academic curriculum is maintained and standards are upheld, can take a leadership role to synch the high school to university transition so that first-year students are not lost, and work with the provincial pre-university education bodies such as high schools.
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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.
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