Acadia Community Devastated by Recent Layoffs
On Wednesday, March 11th, Acadia University announced layoffs of staff working in key support positions. Students were notified just before the end of the day on Wednesday about the updates by Scott Duguay, Vice President of Student Experience. In his email, Duguay did not mention which positions would be lost, only that “some of which directly affect services for students.” Duguay also clarified that there were “no further staffing reductions planned,” indicating that they wanted to prevent “prolonged uncertainty and to allow everyone to begin moving forward together.” While Duguay did not provide a list of affected services, students quickly learned about the closure of Healthy Acadia and the Wong International Centre on Instagram. These were not the only staff cuts, as an article by CTV News reported that “thirty-one positions were eliminated.”
After cuts were announced, Acadia students quickly mobilized to show their support and make clear that the cuts to support staff were unacceptable. Students organized two separate protests, the first one outside of University Hall on Thursday at 1pm. Members of the Acadia Students’ Union (ASU) were present for this protest, and students were provided the opportunity beforehand to make signs at the Student Union Building (SUB). Once gathered, Acadia University’s senior administration team met outside of their offices, listening to the questions and remarks that students made. After approximately thirty minutes, students were invited into Convocation Hall for a Q and A session. Despite nearly all of Acadia’s senior executives taking the time to listen to students, there was one notable exception. Dr. Jeff Hennessy, Acadia University’s President and Vice-Chancellor, was not present.
For many students, this was not enough. Students wanted answers from their President. This led to a second protest outside of Huggins Science Hall during the 44th Annual Huggins Science Seminar. This seminar discussed attosecond science and was led by Acadia alumnus Dr. Paul Corkum. At the end of the seminar, a special presentation was made by President Hennessy. Hennessy announced that $1 million was donated to the university to go towards a scholarship fund. Additionally, Hennessy declared that room 10 of Huggins Science Hall would be renamed to the ‘Corkum Auditorium.’ As dignitaries left the auditorium for refreshments in the lobby, they were greeted by protestors. This resulted in a rather impromptu Q and A session with Hennessy and some of the administration team (Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo, Provost and VP of Academics, and Nancy Handrigan, Vice-President of External Relations).
Despite the unfortunate timing, it should be made clear that this event, alongside the announcement, was planned months in advance, and certainly without the context that layoffs would be made the same week. It should also be noted that the donor specifically donated the $1 million towards a scholarship fund. This means that regardless of the current financial state of the university, these funds cannot be reallocated to any other cause. This is similar to the funds for renovating the SUB, which were raised through a mult-year fundraising campaign.
I personally attended the Huggins Science Seminar, and also witnessed most of the Q and A session. One of the things which I noticed was the volume of questions which were repeated by students. I understand how frustrating it is that we are not getting all the answers we want. I also fully agree that Acadia University did not take the correct approach to announcing these layoffs. Even Acadia’s administration told us firsthand that they acknowledge they made many mistakes with the delivery. From what I understood (it was quite hard to hear all of what was said from my angle), they have agreed to give more information by Monday*. It is completely fair not to hold trust in them, but they gave us their word. I think we ought to give them one more chance.
Why? We’ve done our job as students to share our concerns. The greater student body has spoken to all of Acadia’s senior management team. They had two options. The first option was to make broad claims on the spot, many of which would likely end up being claims they could not commit to. The second option was to only share information they were solid on, sit down and have a long discussion, and work on a plan that can actually be executed. Acadia’s administration team was smart, and they chose the second option. Rather than say anything they would later regret, the administration team was careful. To make it clear, I am NOT saying we shouldn’t question their word, because Acadia needs to be held accountable. However, I would rather the future of our university be made in a boardroom, not during an impromptu gathering on a Thursday night.
I also want to highlight how Acadia University should have come up with a more thorough plan before announcing layoffs. Releasing a plan at the same time as the layoffs would not have completely prevented the pain we are suffering, but it wouldn’t have left us in the dark. However, this may not be entirely Acadia University’s fault. I highly encourage watching the January 27th Town of Wolfville Council Meeting. During this meeting, President Hennessy presented a ‘State of the University,’ where he went into great detail about the current review of Acadia by the Province of Nova Scotia. He talked about Bill 12 (An Act Respecting Advanced Education and Research), as well as the Nova Scotia Academic Program Review. One of the points which sticks out is how tight the turnaround is for many phases of this review. This included a comprehensive review of finances, programs, and services, all of which had to be submitted to the Province of Nova Scotia.
Now, regarding future actions by Acadia. It is greatly disappointing that many students are continually asking the senior management team to release the names of employees who lost their jobs or request a discussion about specific employees who were laid off. The university has already committed to releasing the services which have been eliminated*. This is all the university can do. All the employees who were laid off by the university have a right to privacy, and do not deserve to be brought into the spotlight if they do not wish to do so. It is not Acadia University, President Hennessy, or any other senior manager’s place to discuss personnel matters publicly, nor is it professional. A complete list of employee names would undoubtedly be shared with the media. Exposure of this nature can have detrimental effects on their mental health, along with their future job prospects.
I also want to give some credit to our senior management team for spending several hours listening to student feedback. Sure, many of the answers weren’t what we wanted to hear, but realistically, they are somewhat legally tied, and they also just flat out don’t have answers. Senior management could have taken the easy route and hid from us in their offices. They could have left Huggins immediately after the seminar. They didn’t have to invite students into Convocation Hall for a Q and A. But they did. Yes, it is NOT enough. Yes, we should expect better from them. However, Acadia University is also in a tight financial situation. This is clearly visible in the financial statements that are publicly available to browse online. With ongoing pressure from multiple levels of government, there are no winners. Whether we agree with what services the university cuts or not, we have no choice but to wait and see what’s to come. Universities do not move fast – have you seen how long it takes research and peer-reviewed work to come out? Sweeping effects from the cuts at all levels of government will sting.
These changes impacted every member of our campus community, and my thoughts are with every staff member who lost their job. Additionally, my thoughts are with the students who have lost core resources, which, now that they are cut, will greatly impact their ability to receive a post-secondary education. This is especially true for our international students, who lost the Wong International Centre. This was an invaluable resource that was relied on by many. As students, we have a right to be angry. We also have the right to share our displeasure and disappointment with Acadia University, the Province of Nova Scotia, and the Government of Canada. While doing this, we must also remain peaceful, something I believe the student body has (mostly) done a good job at. We also must look at what questions we are asking, and who we are asking them to. And most importantly, we must all stick together, especially in these times of turmoil and uncertainty.
*UPDATE: Since this document was written, Scott Duguay released a statement via email to all students and faculty. This email included a full list of eliminated positions, alongside who to contact regarding many of the concerns expressed by students. This email also mentioned that they would be introducing opportunities to engage with Acadia University management, including an upcoming budget information session for students.
**UPDATE 13/03/2026: Additionally, international students also received a separate email this evening from Janique Ellis Panza, which provided some further insight into how she will be expanding her support to international students.