PUBLISHED
BY T H E
STUDENTS'
SOCIETY
OF
M CG ILL
Vol. 25 Issue 22 I Wednesday,, March 1, 2006
UNIVERSITY
' 7
G r a d i n g M c G ill Profs fail admin, praise departm ents TRA CI JO H N S O N Last semester the School of Architecture, the School of Music and the Faculty of Management each received landmark dona tions from noted philanthropists that promised to improve the quality of McGill's teaching and research facilities, and attract top academic talent from around the world. But behind the glitzy, PRhyped faculty name changes and a thick gloss of prestige, most pro fessors are working to balance their research interests and teach ing responsibilities. How much support does McGill offer our pro fessors? The Tribune sent surveys to 60 professors-20 per cent of whom responded—to find out if working for Canada's top-ranked research institution is really all it's cracked up to be. Post-secondary students from across Quebec demonstrated on Parliament Hill to demand more school funding.
M a rc h in g f o r m o n e y McGill, Quebec students protest outside Parliament ROBERT C H U R C H On Thursday, roughly 35 students from McGill trav elled ■by bus to Ottawa to take part in a march on Parliament, demanding that the Conservative government reinstate nearly $5-billion in provincial transfer payments to fund post-secondary education. The protest included 350 to 400 students from uni versities across Quebec, according to SSMU Vice-President External Affairs Aaron Donny-Clark. "It was a success, for sure," Donny-Clark said. “First off, it was Reading Week at McGill and many other schools in Ottawa. As well, federal transfers are the least sexy issue possible, so to actually be able to get that many students caring about federal transfers, and caring enough [about fed eral transfers] to get them on a bus for two hours, is good.” In Ottawa, McGill was joined by Université du Québec, Laval and other Quebec student associations, in a demon
stration organized by la Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, the provincial student lobby group. The protest coincided with a meeting between Quebec Premier Jean Charest, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, during which the premiers pushed for billions in additional trans fer payments. Harper campaigned on a promise to end the "fiscal imbalance" between Ottawa and the provincial govern ments, which would include reinstating $4.9-billion in annual payments to the provinces to fund post-secondary education, which were cut by the federal government in the 1990s. Donny-Clark said that SSMU and other student asso ciations will continue lobbying the federal government but cautioned that things would move slowly until Harper's first Speech from the Throne in April, in which he will outline the legislative agenda of the Conservative government. ■
Take a number. Doctor Most survey respondents said the administration provides "none" or "very little" support for faculty members. While profes sors praised the services provided by their departm ents-citing a positive work environment assis tance with course administration and help with grant fundingmany said their faculties offered little support. Professors from the School o f Environment and the Faculty of Engineering pointed to the absence of funding from their faculties for computers, travel research and book funds. Other professors noted that the Faculties of Arts and Science pro vide funding for teaching assis tants, but wished there were more in grading-intensive classes. And do professors ever experience that famed McGill red tape? "This is like asking if the Pope is Catholic,” Chemical
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Engineering professor David Copper wrote in an e-mail. Another professor, who wished to remain anonymous, said processing reimbursements from her own research account often takes two months or more. History professor Elizabeth Elbourne said implementing changes in the interdisciplinary program she coordinates is extremely difficult. "The process for getting small changes to the course line up is absurdly cumbersome, bureaucratic and lengthy," she wrote. Others said that the sheer size of the bureaucracy makes it difficult to get things done quick ly, but admitted that the situation is not necessarily different from other large universities. In good company Professors rated their rela tionships with their colleagues highly and noted the ability to share ideas as one of the most positive aspects of the work envi ronment at McGill. All respon dents said they had positive rela tionships with other professors in their department and felt respect ed by each other, although some said they didn't have enough tim e for interaction in their packed schedules. Biology profes sor Richard Roy emphasized the support he receives at both the scientific and personal levels from other members of his depart ment. “It is one of the major factors that keeps me at this university," he said. "We are a very good unit with complementary interests and scientific goals.” Professors also said that working with McGill students is a major reason they enjoyed work-
See PROFS, page 5