Following Memorial University Provost Jennifer Lokash’s CBC Radio interview, mathematics professor Shannon Sullivan took to social media, stating that she had provided “a number of completely fictional numbers.”
Lokash said that one first-year math course would still have 19 sections. However, Sullivan said he does not think there has ever been a time when a single math course at Memorial had 19 sections. He added that no course would have more than three on-campus sections in any given semester.
Lokash also suggested that the decision to end most of the Department of Mathematics’ teaching-term contracts stemmed from the administration’s dissatisfaction with outcomes in first-year math courses. However, Sullivan said the department had been raising alarm bells about this for years. He added that the teaching-term instructors have worked tirelessly to help students, innovate, and reinvent first-year courses, with no interest from senior administration.
Sullivan said that without the teaching-term instructors, the outcomes in first-year math courses would be substantially worse. He said many of them have won teaching awards nominated by students and rank among the highest in Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) results and Rate My Professor scores, not just in the Math department, but across Memorial University.
“Lokash’s decision to rationalize these inexcusable cuts by questioning the quality of our teaching and our dedication to our students is just plain wrong,” Sullivan said.
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Matt Barter is a graduate of the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, holding a degree in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, taking walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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