Administration rules out controversial arrangement with Hebrew U, and study tour

Michael Chmielewski
The Carillon

REGINA (CUP)—A group of students, faculty, and community members under the banner of “Coalition for a Free Palestine” held a rally at the University of Regina (U of R) Monday, Aug. 11. Those on campus saw upwards of 50 people start the rally in the Riddell Centre, and then moved to dean of business Andrew Gaudes’ office, eventually ending the rally on the fifth floor of administration humanities, in front of the president’s office.

The office was closed during the rally. There was nobody from the administration available to give comment right away. Gaudes was also out of his office, with the faculty of business office door firmly locked.

The Coalition to Free Palestine is concerned with the U of R partnering with Israeli institutions, which the U of R has been recently pursuing, specifically with Hebrew University. Any talks of a relationship with Hebrew University seem to have stopped now.

Dean Gaudes told the Carillon, “we do not have any relationship with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. We have explored it as having courses being delivered with our students in it; that’s been in the past that we explored that. We have found nothing that is consistent with what we want to deliver with our MBA Public Safety, and we don’t think we’re going to see one.”

The Carillon has tried to reach Hebrew University to comment, but no one was available for an interview.

For the initial story that the Carillon broke, click here.

Valerie Zink, one of the Coalition’s organizers, said that ““The partnership with Hebrew University was the one that was in the most advanced stage of development. Dean Andrew Gaudes has made statements to the media that the partnership is no longer being pursued. To me it’s obvious that is because of the growing public opposition. However there are still 5 universities that are being considered for a study tour as part of Israel’s MBA public safety.”

The coalition was also concerned about a potential study tour that would have been in both Jerusalem and Ramallah.

The administration and Andrew Gaudes released a statement today ruling out both the partnership with Hebrew University and the study tour.

The release, signed by Gaudes, says “we did have some preliminary discussions about our students being able to take courses for credit at Hebrew University. Although these talks were undertaken in good faith, we are no longer pursuing such an arrangement, as the course content offered by Hebrew University did not meet our program needs.”

“We are also no longer pursuing a study tour in the region.”

The press release continues, “it is critical to note, however, that even if either of these options had been pursued further, subsequent approval of the agreement would have included faculty input, collegial votes, and consideration of the concerns expressed, particularly those pertaining to the safety of our students.”

Provost Thomas Chase, who was in meetings during the rally, met with organizers later. He said, in the same release, ”this afternoon I had a good meeting with representatives from the group that held the rally. It was a collegial discussion, and I appreciated their input. Although our University has had discussions with Israeli institutions in the past, I am aware of no current or ongoing talks.”

Members of the coalition and other concerned faculty are meeting with dean Gaudes on Aug. 12 to discuss the ethical framework as well as partnering with institutions.

The Carillon will have more on this story as it develops.

 

This story was originally published in The Carillon the University of Regina’s student newspaper