$21 M allocation gives USudbury ‘a solid foundation to build on’

The recent Ontario budget’s promise of $21.6 million over three years for Université de Sudbury is “exactly what we were hoping for,” president and vice-chancellor Serge Miville told University Affairs in an interview this week.  

“This is the first time we’ve seen the numbers this clearly spelled out in black and white in the province’s budget documents. It’s a major recognition that gives us the confidence and clarity we need.” 

According to Dr. Miville, this investment will bring financial stability to the institution, nearly five years after it was cut loose from the larger Laurentian University in the midst of a financial crisis. 

“It will go towards covering the salaries of academic and administrative staff, renting classroom and lab space, and delivering our academic portfolio. At this stage, we are focussed on healthcare, social sciences, the arts and commerce. It gives us a solid foundation to build on,” said Dr. Miville. 

An expert in the history of French Ontario, Dr. Miville lost his position at Laurentian in April 2021 when the university declared bankruptcy and undertook a painful restructuring process. As part of that process, Laurentian unilaterally broke ties with three smaller institutions — Université de Sudbury, Huntington University, and Thorneloe University — with which it had been federated since the 1960s. This threw the future of those three small institutions into doubt.  

Dr. Miville, a franco-Ontarian, was named president of Université de Sudbury in June 2021 and has led its transformation into an independent francophone university. The need for such a university in northern Ontariohas grown more acute since Laurentian cut many of its French-language offerings during its restructuring. 

Université de Sudbury also struck a groundbreaking agreement with its Indigenous partners. 

“It’s something I’m really proud of,” Dr. Miville said. “We’ve given all of our online courses to Kenjgewin Teg, a well-respected Indigenous post–secondary institution on Manitoulin Island. They manage, oversee and disseminate this content using their own infrastructure, while remaining part of Université de Sudbury. It’s a remarkable model of knowledge sovereignty.”  

SEE ALSO: Université de Sudbury : renaissance ou relance à risque? (French only) 

Dr. Miville explained that the funding is project-based, rather than ongoing, and is currently channeled through partners, notably Université de l’Ontario français. This mechanism is similar to models used in Western Canada, where funds are “directed toward clearly defined objectives,” providing the kind of flexibility that’s needed at this stage of a restructuring. “Looking at this investment today, it’s the culmination of a long struggle to ensure the continued existence of our institution,” he said.