Thread by @LaurieAdkin

I am sorry to have to disagree, once again, with our president, but the analogy made here is untenable. 1/n

@BFlanaganUofA @KateChisholm15 @UAlbertaAlumni @UAlberta @The_Gateway @NoUofA42morrow

@BFlanaganUofA says "Much as the province can strengthen the economy by diversifying beyond oil and gas, the University of Alberta can increase its resiliency by developing new revenue sources and reducing our reliance on provincial funding." 2/n

Yes, of course, the province can and should begin phasing out its reliance on oil and gas extraction, and stop crazy ideas to expand coal mining in the mountains. We agree on that. 3/n

But a provincial economy is not analogous to the "economy" of a university, for many reasons. A university cannot generate 65-70% of its revenue from private sources (as the UCP wants us to) without ceasing to be a public university. 4/n

By definition, there is a limit to the degree to which we can "diversify" our sources of revenue so as not to be dependent upon public funding. We are not an economy; we are a public good. 5/n

Are elementary and high schools being asked to "diversify" their sources of funding so as to be less dependent upon public revenue? 5/n

Perhaps Honeywell or IBM would be willing to pay for Grade 8 in some town for a few years in exchange for all students being trained in the use of their products? 6/n

Or PLC could fund manual arts training in Edmonton high schools for a year in exchange for a tax credit? 7/n

Private (corporate) endowments have to be chased after all the time, are contingent on quid pro quos, and are never secure. Is that diversification, or a new form of dependence? 8/n

And what are we going to sell (after we've sold off university land, rented out buildings)? More executive programs? More stratification of education based on ability to pay? 9/n

Revenue diversification is not our problem; a provincial government intent on privatizing education is our problem. Raising tuition fees to levels that drive students out of our province is our problem. 10/n

Super-exploitation of academic teaching staff who do not have tenure in order to cheapen the university's wage bill is our problem. Intensifying workloads across the board because of lay-offs, attrition, and new demands is our problem. 11/n

Can we at least tell it like it is? So that the public can grasp what is happening to their universities, colleges, and polytechnics? Alberta has a revenue problem because it has a #UCP problem--and so do we. 12/12