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Westlock County stands beside Athabasca County on AU convocation debate

Municipality authors letter of support following announcement that convocation will move to Edmonton in 2023
20201002 AU Convocation 01_WEB
Held at the Winspear Centre in Edmonton Oct. 2, Athabasca University's 2020 convocation was a mix of live and recorded speeches and performances.

WESTLOCK – Westlock County councillors have agreed to pen a letter in support of Athabasca County following the recent announcement that Athabasca University will bypass the community in which it resides and hold a hybrid convocation ceremony in June 2023 that will only include an in-person celebration in Edmonton.

In a letter to the AU Board of Governors dated Dec. 8, Athabasca County reeve Brian Hall expressed “deep concern” that in the week after a new investment management agreement (IMA) with the provincial government was signed, on at least three occasions the actions of the university seemed to “contradict the spirit of that agreement.” He also noted that the university had successfully hosted convocation ceremonies at the Athabasca campus for 34 years, with the only exceptions due to COVID-19 and when fires threatened the region.

At their Dec. 13 meeting, Westlock County councillors voted 7-0 to pen a letter in support of Athabasca County, with reeve Christine Wiese saying in a follow-up interview the issue resonates with them and called news of the convocation relocation “unfortunate.”

“We 100 per cent support them. I believe Athabasca County has a right to feel concerned following the contract that was just signed. Being rural, we need to support one another,” said Wiese Dec. 15. “More and more, rural is feeling it time and again with government cuts. We’re seeing shortages in health care, education and EMS service … the light just seems to shine brighter on the urban areas versus rural.

“One of the things that makes Athabasca unique is the university and I think it’s wonderful attribute and they deserve to have equal opportunities to thrive in a rural setting.”

Convocation debate

As previously reported, AU announced in early December that its convocation, traditionally hosted in the Town of Athabasca, will take place at the Edmonton Expo Centre June 15-16, 2023. 

AU is selling the event to grads as an opportunity to “choose your own adventure” and “graduates can choose how they want to celebrate, whether it is in person at the Edmonton Expo Centre or by joining us virtually from the location of their choosing.”

Hall’s letter also takes issue with several statements and actions AU has made since the IMA was signed that he called “nothing but inflammatory rhetoric” that “adds nothing to the dialogue and relations within the University community or between the university and the regional community.”

“Most problematic is the statement that the IMA “gives us the ability to continue to work near-virtually,” with the tired narrative that a near-virtual environment will help AU compete for talent” … is the IMA an inconvenient document to work around in every way possible?” 

The convocation announcement was also discussed at length during the Dec. 10 AU Board of Governors meeting and the university will be looking at bringing at least aspects of the convocation back to Athabasca in 2024. 

Kristine Williamson, AU’s VP of University Relations, told board members that in years where only an in-person event was offered, only about 20-25 per cent of eligible grads attended, whereas virtual events saw upwards of 50 per cent attend, so it was difficult to predict what the numbers would be for a hybrid event. 

At the same meeting, board member Lori Van Rooijen, who was appointed as a public member Oct. 10, stated a lack of communication with the community has created a “significant PR issue.”

"I guess you could probably understand why the community is a bit upset. You've just signed this new agreement that says you're going to focus in on Athabasca and the announcement goes out and says you're not having convocation in Athabasca,” she said. “Did you have a conversation with the community and let them know about this before? Did you provide any of the statistics to them that you just provided us on who attends in person, or the rationale of why you want to do virtual so that you get more students participating in this event?” 

Williamson responded that since the IMA has now been put to rest, building a plan with partners in the community is at the forefront and that the decision to hold convocation in Edmonton as a hybrid virtual event in 2023 was made this summer. 

“We consulted with our learners and consulted the data and survey information that we have about what's the best option for those who've worked so hard to celebrate this milestone but that's also why we also wanted to create an opportunity to collaborate with the community for an alumni homecoming event,” she said. 

Van Rooijen said she liked the idea but lamented that the community wasn’t engaged. 

“I just think that would have been good had you had that conversation with the community so that they weren't sending all of us letters about how disappointed they are,” she said. “I just think it's maybe a bit of a lesson learned that we need, and I'm using the royal word we, that we need to work together to establish a better relationship with the community.”

• With files from Chris Zwick

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