Former council late embracing idea of university
It was with interest I read in Wednesday's paper how former city councilor John "Jake" McLaughlin wants to petition the government to bring a university to Miramichi.
I found this ironic since McLaughlin was on the council back in September of 2004 when Ian Ross detailed a great plan to bring a university to Miramichi in the first issue of Miramichi Monthly, a magazine we started together back in the day.
Like the rest of that council, McLaughlin never acknowledged the idea, and like most ideas not thought up by those who've sat around that table, it went swirling away like smoke on the wind.
Not that Ross was the first to suggest we have a second chance at having a university on the river. But he had a plan and his was the first in a long time that didn't just comprise of holding our hands out to Ottawa and Fredericton.
Part of Ross's plan was to use existing public buildings and available real estate as a concentrated single campus.
"The campus would be centered around the iconic Newcastle courthouse and use such nearby properties as the vacant Legion hall and the River Inn and annex," he said last week.
"Additional facilities, including those for sports, could be attained and upgraded by sharing with Harkins and the District 16 School Board."
Five years have gone by and the properties mentioned have changed hands. But back then, they were all ready and waiting to be put to use, all within a two-minute walk of each other. The city could have even used money from the Miramichi Prosperity Task Force fund to get the ball rolling.
But council did nothing.
Who needed a university, anyway? The mills were still running on the river then, and forestry was the name of the game like it always had been.
But less than five years later, with just about every industry on the river, forestry or otherwise, gone or gone under, even the possibility of bringing a university to the river looks pretty darn good.
But things would look a lot better if we'd had a university here for the past five years, making money.
The opportunity to attract students from abroad would be a cornerstone of a university business strategy, Ross said.
"Right now, across Canada, colleges are working hard to increase the number of international students that they attract. Many have offices set up in countries like China to encourage students there to consider Canadian schools for their study, as the Chinese economy grows in contrast to ours, and a middle class gains the economic power to seek out such educational opportunities for its sons and daughters."
For example, Moncton Flight College has between 300 and 500 students from China learning to fly on one-year programs each, he said.
"As we speak, tens of millions of dollars apiece are going into colleges in universities to establish new institutes and to facilitate major capital infrastructure programs. Programs such as sustainable management, research into green energy and biological studies of invasive species all represent new directions in which to study for the future."
I think it's a shame McLaughlin and the rest of council didn't even acknowledge Ross's plan back in the day when the money and property were available make a University of Miramichi a reality.
"Had a university been lobbied for more strongly years ago, we would also see more of the government investment that local politicians crave," Ross said.
I found this ironic since McLaughlin was on the council back in September of 2004 when Ian Ross detailed a great plan to bring a university to Miramichi in the first issue of Miramichi Monthly, a magazine we started together back in the day.
Like the rest of that council, McLaughlin never acknowledged the idea, and like most ideas not thought up by those who've sat around that table, it went swirling away like smoke on the wind.
Not that Ross was the first to suggest we have a second chance at having a university on the river. But he had a plan and his was the first in a long time that didn't just comprise of holding our hands out to Ottawa and Fredericton.
Part of Ross's plan was to use existing public buildings and available real estate as a concentrated single campus.
"The campus would be centered around the iconic Newcastle courthouse and use such nearby properties as the vacant Legion hall and the River Inn and annex," he said last week.
"Additional facilities, including those for sports, could be attained and upgraded by sharing with Harkins and the District 16 School Board."
Five years have gone by and the properties mentioned have changed hands. But back then, they were all ready and waiting to be put to use, all within a two-minute walk of each other. The city could have even used money from the Miramichi Prosperity Task Force fund to get the ball rolling.
But council did nothing.
Who needed a university, anyway? The mills were still running on the river then, and forestry was the name of the game like it always had been.
But less than five years later, with just about every industry on the river, forestry or otherwise, gone or gone under, even the possibility of bringing a university to the river looks pretty darn good.
But things would look a lot better if we'd had a university here for the past five years, making money.
The opportunity to attract students from abroad would be a cornerstone of a university business strategy, Ross said.
"Right now, across Canada, colleges are working hard to increase the number of international students that they attract. Many have offices set up in countries like China to encourage students there to consider Canadian schools for their study, as the Chinese economy grows in contrast to ours, and a middle class gains the economic power to seek out such educational opportunities for its sons and daughters."
For example, Moncton Flight College has between 300 and 500 students from China learning to fly on one-year programs each, he said.
"As we speak, tens of millions of dollars apiece are going into colleges in universities to establish new institutes and to facilitate major capital infrastructure programs. Programs such as sustainable management, research into green energy and biological studies of invasive species all represent new directions in which to study for the future."
I think it's a shame McLaughlin and the rest of council didn't even acknowledge Ross's plan back in the day when the money and property were available make a University of Miramichi a reality.
"Had a university been lobbied for more strongly years ago, we would also see more of the government investment that local politicians crave," Ross said.
posted by Street Wise Guy | 12:58 AM
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