Sudbury, April 16, 2021 — Laurentian University and University of Sudbury have signed an interim agreement outlining the negotiated terms that will be implemented by the parties following the disclaimer of the Federation Agreement by Laurentian on April 1, 2021 as part of Laurentian’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) process with an effective date of May 1, 2021. The parties agreed to very specific terms enabling Laurentian to teach six (6) Indigenous Studies courses during the Spring Term, as per the recommendation of the Laurentian University Native Education Council (LUNEC) resolution dated April 12, 2021. These 6 courses had previously been taught by the University of Sudbury.
Laurentian will continue to engage in consultation with LUNEC during the Spring and Summer terms in order to consider and determine how best to ensure the ongoing delivery of Indigenous education at Laurentian, as well as continue discussions with the University of Sudbury. The agreement provides for the one-time delivery of these six distance-learning courses by sessional instructors for the Spring term only.
Moving beyond this Spring, Laurentian University is committed to ensuring that the approximately 140 students who were registered in the Indigenous Studies program at the University of Sudbury have access to courses rooted in Indigenous perspectives already on offer through Laurentian’s Faculty of Arts, in a variety of disciplines. Laurentian will continue to engage with LUNEC to explore ideas surrounding the development of an Indigenous Perspectives program that would complement the already well-established Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work and Master of Indigenous Relations programs.
Indigenous Studies students are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Joël Dickinson, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, at jdickinson@laurentian.ca to discuss the next steps in their academic path forward. New applicants to Laurentian can reach out to Liaison Services to plan their next steps at info@laurentian.ca.