Brantford’s mayor says the province should find a way to address his city’s losing a major university program before building new satellite campuses in nearby jurisdictions.
“If they go out and fund a satellite campus in another community around us … that’s where there’s going to be hell to pay,” Mayor Chris Friel said Thursday.
Nipissing University announced earlier this week that it was discontinuing the concurrent education program it runs in downtown Brantford, and pulling out of the city to focus on efforts at its home campus in North Bay.
Earlier this year, the province accepted proposals for new post-secondary campuses.
Seeing the success of Nipissing and Wilfrid Laurier University in the previously university-free Brantford, a number of municipalities clamoured for new post-secondary presences of their own – including Woodstock, which wants to land a French-language University of Ottawa campus for its downtown.
Michael Degagné, Nipissing’s president, says he’s disappointed to end the “very fruitful partnership” with Laurier that his school enjoyed in Brantford, but economic realities made it impossible to continue the program.
“The pie has shrunk,” he told CTV News.
“Funding changes to teacher education programs have made it difficult for both of us to continue to operate the program.”
Friel, too, blames the cuts to teacher education programs rather than Nipissing itself for the school’s decision.
“There’s nothing we can do to control it,” he said.
Existing students won’t be affected by the closure, as Nipissing will continue to operate its program until the first-year students who began studying at the school in September graduate the five-year program.
Less clear at this point is the effect it will have on staff members like Greg Rickwood, who left Nipissing’s main campus earlier this year, to teach in Brantford.
“I moved my family here … with the anticipation that we would be here for the rest of my career,” he said.
As for the effect of the campus closure on Brantford’s economy, Friel said the city will be working with Laurier to find a new major post-secondary program for the downtown.
If that doesn’t happen, he said, student rental landlords would likely be the first to leave the city – with the retail industry following suit after a period of time.
Friel spoke to Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Reza Moridi on Thursday, expressing his concern about getting a new program to fill the void.
“He was very open and understanding of what the situation is, and what role they need to play in getting us to fast-track something,” Friel said.
Nipissing’s existing building on Wellington Street will be turned over to the city.
