UNB faculty, staff protest honorary degree for premier
Published Tuesday May 12th, 2009
FREDERICTON - The University of New Brunswick's decision to give Premier Shawn Graham an honorary degree at this year's convocation has ignited protests within the university community.
"From our perspective, it just doesn't seem to make sense that the premier would be granted an honorary degree, when one of his main policies - or stated objectives - in the last couple of years was to actually restrict the access of university education," said Robert Whitney, a history professor at the University of New Brunswick, Saint John.
Whitney is one of the authors of a letter, signed by approximately 100 faculty and staff from the school's Saint John and Fredericton campuses, protesting the university's decision to give the premier a degree.
Addressed to David Stevenson, chairman of the university's board of governors, the letter states it would be "impossible" and "irresponsible" to forget Graham's proposed changes to the post-secondary education system in the province.
"As current and retired faculty and staff members at the University of New Brunswick, we wish to disassociate ourselves from the decision of the University's Board of Governors to award an honorary doctorate to Premier Shawn Graham at this spring's convocation," the letter reads.
In 2007, the Graham government was forced by widespread protests to back away from changes recommended in a controversial report. Some of the recommendations would have seen major changes to the structure of UNBSJ and the Université de Moncton.
"Given what this government attempted to do a couple of years ago, this just seems to be rather contradictory," Whitney said. "(Recipients) are usually public figures that have obviously played a role in supporting and encouraging education and knowledge in general, which are obviously what universities are about."
But it's not just faculty and staff who are upset over the award.
Jud Crandall, a concurrent education and arts student at UNBSJ, questions whether awarding a degree to the premier is justifiable.
"It's absolutely a disgrace," Crandall said. "Why would we want to award such a degree to a premier who has created so many problems in the community of our province, when regular students are still facing difficulties just to take their regular degree programs?
"It's been a very problematic period in terms of the legitimacy of a lot of decisions that have been made over the past few years - especially concerning universities in the province," he said.
Honorary degree recipients are determined through a nomination process and they must fulfil certain criteria, which include two questions:
What distinction has the person achieved in a recognized way (including the public service) and what contribution has the person made to the betterment of university, local, provincial, regional, national or international life?
Stephen Stropel, university secretary for UNB Fredericton, said the selection committee did consider Graham's accomplishments and achievements when he was nominated - in the fall of 2006, before any educational controversy erupted.
Graham, a UNB alumnus, graduated with a degree in education and worked mostly in the civil service before his 1998 election to the legislature.
"The University of New Brunswick is proud to be conferring a degree on the premier," Stropel said. "It is a long tradition of the university and it honours the university when we honour an outstanding individual."
Every premier since 1925 has been given an honorary degree by the institution within their first term of office.
Stropel said there had been no protests of honorary degree recipients that he could remember.
The letter of protest, he said, had been received by Stevenson, who is planning to respond.
A spokesperson for Graham declined to comment.
Other honorary degree recipients for Fredericton this year include Patricia Lang, the founder of Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ont., and Robert Quartermain, president and CEO of Silver Standard Resources Inc.
Honorary degree recipients in Saint John include Nancy Grant, the founder of Hospice Saint John; and Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International.
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Comments (27)
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I do think degrees of this type should be earned by community service and contributions though. I would suggest that a new standard for giving degrees should be required in the future...that while currently serving as Premier honorary degrees should not be granted.
In general, there could be the possiblity of backlash when they don't get an honorary degree.
M. Guimond, Moncton on 12/05/09 06:44:45 AM ADT
I assume you have a copy of his transcripts?
What has he done to better our lives? So far nothing, except blow a lot of hot air.
Thus action shows serious disrespect for the great contributors that you have recognized already.
UNB we are all seriously disappointed in you. Stop cheapening your institution.
While your shilling abilities are admirable, believe me, as a fellow grad of Shawn's you really do not want people digging into his university days. His performance both inside and outside the classroom were certainly not the stuff of a "outstanding individual".
And yes, I'm in agreement with all the other comments here. If Graham gets a degree, mine is going directly into the garbage can because it is obviously a useless document and represents a waste of four years of my life.