Hello, Aanii, Bonjour,
As we come to today April 15th, a number of major milestones in the first phase of Laurentian’s CCAA process have been completed. While the steps taken have been difficult and impact many in the community, they were necessary to ensure the survival of the University. To accomplish these milestones, many stakeholders including academic senate representatives and our labour partners, worked through some incredibly challenging issues to present a path forward for the University.
At this juncture, materials are being finalized for filing with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for an extension of the Initial Stay Order to allow Laurentian to continue to the next phase in the CCAA process. This includes additional financial support from our CCAA Lender in order to continue to operate as Laurentian implements its plans to position the University for long-term sustainability and a basis for recovery for its creditors and stakeholders.
As we move forward, Laurentian will be focusing on its strengths. In addition to continuing with 38 undergraduate French-language programs and 5 graduate French-language programs, Laurentian has a total (English and French) of 107 undergraduate programs and 33 graduate programs. Some key highlights of our continuing French language programs include nursing, psychology, physical education and health, business administration, biomedical biology, social work and many more. As a bilingual and tricultural institution, these offerings keep us amongst the most comprehensive institutions with respect to our balance of French and English language programs. Nearly all of our approximately 2,000 francophone students will continue to have a full suite of French language courses to choose from in their programs of choice, and Laurentian will also be positioned to meet future demands.
While we understand that the termination of the Laurentian Federation has left some students with questions regarding their academic path, solutions are being worked on. For example, Laurentian University will provide approximately 140 students registered in the Indigenous Studies program at the University of Sudbury with access to courses rooted in Indigenous perspectives already on offer, mostly through Laurentian’s Faculty of Arts, in a range of disciplines. As part of our commitment to honour and affirm our tricultural mandate, Laurentian is committed to an Indigenous Perspectives program among its academic offerings in addition to its well established Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work and Master of Indigenous Relations programs. This new program will be structured and developed for Senate approval, through active and ongoing engagement with the Laurentian University Native Education Council (LUNEC) and the Interim Associate Vice-President, Academic and Indigenous Programs.
All students impacted by program closures are encouraged to reach out to their deans and other leaders to discuss the next steps in their academic path forward:
- Dr. Joël Dickinson, Faculty of Arts, at jdickinson@laurentian.ca
- Dr. Tammy Eger, Faculty of Graduate Studies, at teger@laurentian.ca
- Dr. Ginette Roberge, Faculté d’éducation, at gx_roberge@laurentienne.ca
- Dr. Patrice Milewski, Faculty of Education, at pmilewski@laurentian.ca
- Dr. Dean Millar, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Architecture, at dmillar@laurentian.ca
- Dr. Céline Larivière, Faculty of Health, at clariviere@laurentian.ca
- Dr. Michel Delorme, Faculty of Management, at mdelorme1@laurentian.ca
Looking toward next week, the community can expect to have access to new court materials that will be made publicly available through the Court Monitor’s website. This will allow all interested parties to better understand the circumstances and decision making that took place as part of the court proceedings. I also look forward to engaging the community with new materials and information that will stimulate thought on plans for our emergence from the CCAA process, the vision for Laurentian’s path forward and our continued devotion to Francophone and Indigenous education.
Thank you, Miigwech, Merci,
Robert Haché, PhD
President and Vice-Chancellor