Where to next, York?
Concern for the new University Academic Plan, the Shared Accountability and Resource Planning budget model, and the Institutional Integrated Resource Plan continues to mount as the future of York is being laid out.
Accordingly, concern over funding prioritization have been raised over the last few months.
A closer look at the Sunshine List, a document listing Ontario’s top public sector earners, reveals the professors of York’s business and law schools have a disproportionately larger amount of $150K-plus earners than other faculties.
Excalibur compiled the data by tallying professors listed on faculty webpages.
Osgoode Hall Law School topped the Sunshine List with 43 out of 60 faculty members making $150K-plus, totalling 71.6 per cent. Schulich School of Business came in second with 99 out of 180 faculty members making over $150,000 per year, totaling 55 per cent.
Schulich’s site lists 103 faculty members by alphabet, and 180 by academic specialization.
Lassonde School of Engineering came in third at 34.7 per cent, with 34 out of 98 faculty members making $150K-plus.
Liberal Arts and Professional Studies finished fourth at 30.9 per cent, with 196 out of 634 faculty members making $150K-plus.
The Department of Health and the Department of Science finished at 26.7 per cent and 28.2 per cent respectively, with School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design finishing last at 8.8 per cent.
Liberal arts faculty have been asking whether York’s new direction will give less priority to the liberal arts, based on the current market environment, which appears to favour the professions of law, business, and engineering.
It remains to be seen how the new campus in Markham will shape the future of liberal arts at York.
Enrolment and funding challenges facing the post-secondary system is part of a volatile environment York is attempting to deal with. Over the next few years, faculties will be required to balance their in-year budgets in an effort to reduce cumulative deficits.
Vice President Finance Gary Brewer explains that faculty deficits are not due to “overspending,” but rather to shortfalls arising from current enrolment declines.
One of the biggest concerns in the senate has been losing the core fundamental foundation of York, which senators such as Craig Heron and Ricardo Grinspun allege, is the humanities and liberal arts.
Questions remain regarding faculty funding prioritization.
Story By Ryan Moore
Data compiled by:
Ryan Moore
Alex Kvaskov
Tatiana Prisiajny
Victoria Goldberg
Hassam Munir
Jenny Mao
Michael Zuzev
