LETTER
TO ALUMNI AND FRIENDS
The following letter was sent to alumni and friends on August 28, 2002:
Dear fellow alumni and friends,
Some time has passed since we,
Vincent Leung and Erik Hansen, both now past presidents of the Associated Alumni of Acadia
University, have commented on the alumni scene.
A number of changes have occurred since last we wrote, affecting the
relationship between the AAAU and Acadia
University. We want to update you as we
believe that the impasse is even greater than it was four years ago. We, along with Dr. Bill Beveridge,
Ms. Sue Roberts, and later Mr. Alan Baker resigned from respective Executive
positions on the AAAU Board when the "Friends of
Acadia" group managed to push through the Clarke document. We continue to hold the opinion, supported
by our legal counsel, Mr. John Merrick, that the Clarke document contravenes
the AAAU Constitution and will reduce the AAAU to a department of the University.
You may recall that the much publicized Lorne Clarke tentative agreement
seeking to resolve the outstanding issues between the University and the AAAU, while approved by the Board of Governors of Acadia
University, was rejected by the Board of Directors of the AAAU
on two occasions. The result was largely
a stalemate with the AAAU trying with difficulty to
continue to function as an autonomous organization and the University
Administration trying to circumvent the seemingly clear legal rights of the AAAU.
In the spring of 2000, the Board
of Governors submitted a bill (Bill 44) to the Nova Scotia Legislature to
dramatically change the governance of Acadia University. This was done without consultation with the AAAU, faculty or students.
The resulting opposition to this bill, on and off campus, was sufficient
to convince the Government to reject it.
Surprisingly, this spring, 2002, the Administration again submitted Bill
44 to the Legislature without significant consultation and the Government once
more rejected it. The possibility
obviously exists that it may be once again submitted in the autumn of
2002. Surely, the message from Acadia alumni, faculty, and
students must be considered, they should not have to go to the barricades just
to have their voices heard. At risk is
Acadia's reputation as a University.
With President Ogilvie's
resignation announced as of August 2003, this crucial matter should be left to
his successor. Faculty, students, alumni
and Acadia deserve that much consideration.
At the general
meeting of May 2001, a new group, "Friends of Acadia" appeared in
support of the Administration of the University. By their numbers, they dominated the meeting
and elected a slate of directors for the AAAU from
their own ranks, ignoring various parts of the Constitution to do so. The result was that almost 50% of the Board
of Directors of the AAAU were suddenly "Friends
of Acadia" members. This process
occurred again at the Annual General Meeting in May 2002, so now almost all the
officers and directors, including the President of the AAAU,
come from that source.
Fresh blood coming
into the AAAU Board of Directors is normally a good
thing, but key members of this group, apparently encouraged by the University
Administration, had their own agenda as is now evident.
Attempts to meet with the University
Administration and clarify the Clarke document were unsuccessful and the AAAU was told, "sign the Clarke document and then we
will talk." Last fall the Board of
Directors of the AAAU signed the document to try to
make progress but nothing constructive has occurred apparently since. Meetings and golf games between the
Administration and the "Friends" have only resulted in new demands
from Acadia's front office without resolving any of the issues.
Our fear is that these same key members of the
"Friends" will steer the present Board of Directors of the AAAU to:
i) Approve of amendments to the Acadia Act (formerly called Bill 44) as proposed by the Board of Governors and twice rejected by the Nova Scotia Government, reducing AAAU representation from 12 to 3 members.
ii) Surrender the AAAU tax number and its constitutional mandate to the Annual Alumni Fund.
iii) Compliance with the Administration takeover of some of the funds owned by the AAAU through bequests, including legacies from the estates of Constance Hayward '27, Allan D. Fouls '27, and Lucy Gates Shelzi '26.
iv) Essentially
relinquish its constitutional mandate to publish the "Acadia
Bulletin."
It is clear now,
that with the President of Acadia University and the Board of Governors in
virtual control of the AAAU, the independence of the AAAU as described in the Statutes of the Province of Nova
Scotia and in the AAAU Constitution for over one
hundred and forty years, is rapidly disappearing. The return of assets, the Annual Alumni Fund,
the Bulletin, the use of Alumni Hall, holding alumni branch meetings, providing
a significant number of members of the Board of Governors, are AAAU activities and responsibilities that are all on the
slippery slope to extinction. Perhaps,
saddest of all, the AAAU will clearly become
irrelevant.
Perhaps, under a new
University Administration, the relationship between the Associated Alumni and
Acadia University can be re-examined and redefined so that Acadia can once
again work with, and benefit from, the unreserved enthusiasm and support of its
more than 23,000 alumni.
Regards
to all,
Erik Hansen ‘49
75 Kent Avenue
Wolfville, NS B4P 1V5
Vincent Leung '64
185 West Long Island Road
Grand Pre, NS B0P 1M0
PS Steve Pound is alive and well and a School
Superintendent in Maine, U.S.A. and his address is: Dr. Steve Pound, Superintendent of Schools,
Box 864, Greenville, ME 04441, USA; work telephone: 207-695-3708.