Athabasca County is concerned for the welfare of Athabasca University in the aftermath of layoffs.
At the April 25 Athabasca County Council meeting, councillor Mike Demko said he was not pleased with the way council collectively communicated its concern to Athabasca University in the wake of its 24 local layoffs.
Councillor Larry Armfelt said he “was concerned about these families” that may be affected by the layoffs.
Demko responded, “It’s all of us, Larry, it’s not just pointing the finger at you,” also driving home that he thought council “did a very, very poor job of this.”
Council as a whole was in agreement and was concerned for the welfare of the university.
A letter from County Reeve David Yurdiga dated April 29 was sent to Jeff Johnson, Minister of Education, and copied to Athabasca University, outlining the county’s concern for the structural changes that have rippled through the university’s ranks.
“Council is quite concerned about the impact these funding cuts will have on the operations and activities of Athabasca University,” reads the letter.
Council expressed its appreciation for the university providing considerable employment for academics, researchers and support staff in the region and expressed appreciation for its distant education services, provided to more than 27,000 students throughout Canada and the world.
Nevertheless, council is “very concerned that the provision of … high class education services will be reduced through funding cuts and asks that the funding reductions for the Athabasca University be reconsidered.”
