SILOS & STOVEPIPES: THE RATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NOVA SCOTIA DURING THE 1990s. By Karl Williams TURNER A Thesis Submitted to Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts degree in Atlantic Canada Studies February, 2011 Halifax, Nova Scotia © Karl Turner, 2011 Approved: Dr. John Reid Supervisor Approved: Dr. Robert Berard Examiner Approved: Dr. Peter Twohig Examiner Date: 11 February 2011 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre inference ISBN: 978-0-494-75790-1 Our file Notre re'fe'rence ISBN: 978-0-494-75790-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION SILOS & STOVEPIPES: THE RATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NOVA SCOTIA DURING THE 1990s. by Karl Williams TURNER A Thesis Submitted to Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts degree in Atlantic Canada Studies February, 2011, Halifax, Nova Scotia © Karl Turner, 2011 Approved: Dr. John Reid Supervisor Approved: Dr. Robert Berard Examiner Approved: Dr. Peter Twohig Examiner Date: 11 February 2011 ii ABSTRACT SILOS & STOVEPIPES: THE RATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NOVA SCOTIA'S DURING THE 1990s. By Karl Williams TURNER ABSTRACT: This thesis looks at the rationalization negotiations between the Nova Scotia provincial government and its universities during the 1990s. The first chapter of this thesis places these negotiations into an historical context by looking at previous amalgamation attempts. In this section it is argued that, during the Carnegie Federation Scheme in the 1920s, Dalhousie University was exposed to and later embraced an institutional paradigm inspired by German research universities founded during the 19th century. The second chapter of this thesis explores the forces that brought about the founding of the Nova Scotia Council on Higher Education (NSCHE), the arm's-length organization created by government in consultation with the universities during the 1980s. The final chapter traces the rationalization negotiations during their apex. Ultimately it is argued when the rationalization process became politicized Dalhousie's response was to push for amalgamation. This resulted in a counter-proposal, which the provincial government supported. 11 February 2011 iii NOTE ON SOURCES This thesis approaches the topic of the rationalization of Nova Scotia's universities during the 1990s primarily through university records and interviews with the leading participants. A complete list the people who were interviewed can be found in the bibliography section of this thesis. Copies of these interviews have been donated to the Saint Mary's University Archives. Although most of the interview subjects granted unrestricted access to public, a few have placed time restrictions on the material. Researchers wishing to access this material should contact the University Archivist for details. Each of the recordings is accompanied by a transcript that includes notes made by the author on when and where the interview took place, as well as some observations made during the interview. All of the interviews were recorded on a Sony MD Walkman MZ-NH700 Digital Recorder using a Becho-Voice 635A Dynamic Omni Directional Microphone. These recordings were later converted to WAV format and stored on CD-R discs. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All journeys begin with a question and the one that inspired this thesis - why go to university - appeared easy enough to answer. We go to university to get an education so that we can get a good job, to maybe study something we feel passionate about or learn to be a critical thinker. When you think about it there are lots of answers to this question, but thankfully none of them satisfied the high school students who I began my career in higher education attempting to recruit. This forced me to take the question more seriously and, of course, once I did, I quickly realized that no one has a really good answer to that question, and when I say a good answer I mean one that not only justifies the cost to society, but to the individual students as well. An undergraduate degree takes a minimum of three years to complete. Attrition rates are high and student debt for some can be crippling. When viewed through the same critical lens that academics use to critique society, a university education is a rather odd phenomenon. My own journey though graduate education took longer than I thought, was harder than I expected and has in the end left me indebted to three people. The first person is Kim Kierans, who I suspect will be a little surprised to see her name here. I must admit I did not expect to write it until, after a period of careful reflection, I came to realize just how profoundly her support at crucial points in my life has altered it for the better. Indeed, she is the person who when I began asking questions about universities directed me towards the second person to whom I am indebted, Dr. John Reid, my thesis advisor. While on an academic conference a few years ago I found myself in the company of a number of his gradate students. To my surprise we all shared two sentiments towards him. The first was that we had all at one point or another been gripped by a paralyzing fear that we might not have within us the academic rigor needed to meet his standards. Thankfully, this was a passing terror for the second sentiment was a humbling sense of awe that someone with so much talent could be so generous and supportive with their time and so willing to believe that, yes, we did in fact have within us the ability to reach higher than we had ever reached before. The third and final person to whom I am indebted is my wife, Margaret Langley. Over the last five years as we raised children and renovated houses you have loved and supported me. I suspect that was not always easy for those years were punctuated with long silences occasionally shattered by one-sided chatter as my mind weaved with the thoughts that will soon follow. You have tolerated my research related absences, the tapping of my keyboard late into the night, and the interruptions to your sleep when I climbed back into bed. Suffice it to say that without you I would have never started this journey. V TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of Examination i Abstract ii Note on Sources iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents v Introduction 1 Chapter One: Faith, Democracy & Higher Education, 1821 -1929 6 Preface 6 Faith, Democracy & Higher Education, 1821 - 1921 7 Chapter Two: Growth & Governance, 1912-1988 33 Preface 33 Growth & Governance, 1912 - 1988 34 Chapter Three: Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, 1992 -1996 58 Preface 58 Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, 1992- 1996 59 Conclusion 120 Bibliography 125 1 INTRODUCTION In early 1995, less than two years after the Nova Scotia Liberals formed a majority government under John Savage the Chronicle Herald ran a feature-length article by education reporter Cathy Shaw entitled, "The Courtship: Halifax Universities play hard to get in the face of Dalhousie's merger proposal."1 Stories covering the ongoing rationalization discussion between the provincial government and the universities had appeared in the media ever since the Royal Commission on Post-Secondary Education released its report in 1985. However, Shaw's two-page spread in the paper's Saturday edition - complete with dramatic profile shots of the seven Metro university presidents - caught the public's attention. The article painted a bleak picture. On one side of the debate, and pushing hard for amalgamation of the metro universities, was Howard Clark, president of Dalhousie University. Clark had good reason to push for a union. From the moment he arrived at Dalhousie, eight years earlier, he had struggled to get the university's finances under control. The 1980s were lean years during which Dalhousie teetered on the verge of losing control of its finances. As the largest and most government-dependent university in the province Dalhousie had the most to lose from expected cuts to transfer payments by the federal government." According to the province's calculations annual funding to higher education would drop from $196 million annually to $160 million within a single 1 Cathy Shaw, "The Courtship: Universities play hard to get in face of Dalhousie's merger proposal."' Chronicle Herald, 14 January 1995,5.