Vancouver Sun Editorial
Wednesday, July 30, 1997
Page A12
It's fair enough that university teachers' groups are advising their members that the new Technical University of B.C. will be unlike the typical university. Tech U will be different indeed, and anyone thinking of applying for a teaching job there should be aware of the differences. But the teachers' groups, which are planning to call for a boycott of Tech U, are taking too narrow a view.
The new institution, which will rise in Cloverdale in the southeast corner of Surrey is intended to turn out graduates skilled in different fields of technology who are ready to step into jobs. To make sure that its grads have the education and professional qualifications the marketplace needs, Tech U will work closely with the business community.
Unlike Simon Fraser University or the University of B.C., Tech U's board of governors, which will have a majority of outsiders as members, will involve itself in programs and research policies and priorities. Tech U will not have a senate, which usually governs the academic side, but instead will have a university council, which will consult with the president on how to meet the board's objectives.
The teachers' groups say if it's called a university, faculty should have a say over course content and be free to choose research topics. How much top-down control there will be in practice remains to be seen. The intent, the chair says, is to avoid be coming captive to any constituency.
This new venture will try to fill a need for more and better-trained grads who can contribute to B.C.'s economic development. Would-be instructors who are intrigued by the idea will not be put off by others' disapproval.