ATHABASCA – An amendment to the Post-Secondary Learning Act regarding the future of Athabasca University in the Town of Athabasca was approved with an Order in Council last week.
The Athabasca University Amendment Regulation (AR 50/2004) was incorporated into the act June 29, reinforcing the directives handed down to the university earlier this year from Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, at a 300-person gathering at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex that also included a speech from Premier Jason Kenney.
The Order in Council reads, “The following is added after section 3(2)(b): (c) the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, appoint 2 or more members who are residents of the Town of Athabasca or Athabasca County.”
Another amendment was added after section 6 that reads, “The exercise by the board of any right, power or privilege of a board is subject to the condition that the Town of Athabasca is established and maintained as the primary location of Athabasca University.”
It’s something the Keep Athabasca in Athabasca University advocacy group has been working toward for a few years now.
“We are pleased the Order in Council went through and have been assured that it is not just symbolic, and it is substantive. Advanced Education and the Alberta government have delivered on all commitments to date, including the March and April board appointments and now the latest Order in Council, all of which is affirming,” said Mavis Jacobs on behalf of the advocacy group in a July 4 e-mail from Nova Scotia.
Fellow group member John Ollerenshaw concurred in a separate message.
“We're very pleased that Minister Nicolaides has delivered on all his commitments. It's certainly good news that two or more board members will be from Athabasca or Athabasca County; they'll be searching for a second local member. As to Athabasca continuing to be the primary location of AU, the executive have always maintained that they have no intention of leaving even though everyone has obviously left,” Ollerenshaw wrote.
It was unknown before press time, if and what AU submitted to the ministry about its future plans in Athabasca, though both Jacobs and Ollerenshaw noted they understood something had been submitted, but were not clear on any details Monday morning.
