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12 * 26 January 1999 Universities get slick donation from ia perial Oil By DEREK CHEZZI Representatives of the bind the university is in,” she ational education standards. Technology and Education and AND KARENFOSTER other recipient universities said. “I think that they need to York also plans to use Monitor the performance of agreed accepting Imperial be careful that they don’t sin- the funds to establish a York- students in any and TORONTO (CUP) -- A Ca- Oil’s money doesn’t compro- gularly focus on industry to Seneca Institute for Sciences, secondary schools. nadian oil giant will donate misetheir integrity. “It’s obvi- rectify the funding crisis.”

$3.25 million to four universi- ties across the country in a move that’s being met with both gratitude and harsh criti- cism.

The Imperial Oil Chari- table Foundation will distribute the cash over the next five years for projects that improve math, technology and science curriculums at the schools.

The University of To- ronto, the University of Al- berta and York University will each receive $1 million. The remaining $250,000 will go to the University of New Bruns- wick.

Barbara Haduke, presi- dent of the foundation, says half of its donations are geared to education.

“Math, science and technology appeared as a real need and that was a good fit with Imperial Oil,” said Haduke. “We recruit from these kinds of disciplines, and in general for our country, we are going to need people with these skills more in this global marketplace.”

Officials from each of the four universities said they were pleased by the news.

“Because it’s focused, I think it’s going to have a great impact in the long run,” said Dr. Larry Beauchamp, dean of the faculty of educa- tion at the University of Al- berta, of the donation.

University officials were also quick to point out that the donation comes with no suspect obligations.

“We just don’t take a donation from any company with strings attached,” said Stan Shapson, associate vice president of York Universi- ty’s strategic academic initia- tive. “They didn’t put strings attached. We think it goes toa good education purpose.”

ously fabulous because there are really no strings attached,” said Michael Fullan, dean of the Ontario Institute for Stud- ies in Education at the Univer- sity of Toronto.

But student groups aren’t convinced the universi- ties won’t have to give some- thing up in return for the cash. They say large donations like the one from Imperial Oil are an indication of corporate in- fluence on universities.

“These deals are really dangerous,” said York Fed- eration of Students president Dawn Palin. “They allow cor- porations to have control over what will be the best-funded programs at university.”

She and other student leaders argue that as more university programs become funded by private dollars, the government will become less committed to funding post-sec- ondary education.

Diane Naugler, presi- dent of York’s Graduate Stu- dent Association, also criti- cized the universities for ap- proaching Imperial Oil for the money instead of lobbying for more government dollars.

All four universities ap- proached Imperial Oil sepa- rately in 1998. “The fact that the universities approached the Imperial Oil foundation means our infrastructure is putting money into finding money,” said Naugler. “We could be spending that same money to find money by approaching governments as well and try- ing to change the tide at the same time.”

Still, Naugler says she understands why the universi- ties approached Imperial Oil in the face of significant govern- ment cutbacks to post-second- ary education.

“I can appreciate the

The University of Al- berta will use the money to fund its centre for the sci- ences, which it plans to re- name the Imperial Oil National Centre for Mathematics, Sci- ence and Technology Educa- tion. It will operate as a linking agency similar bodies across Canada and continue to de- velop new programs for Al- berta’s elementary and high school teachers.

A member of Imperial Oil’s management will sit on the centre’s executive deci- sion-making board. But direc- tor David Blades says the cen- tre’s goal is not to provide Imperial Oil with employees,

ough he can understand the company’s interest in it.

“We do not exist to pro- mote skills for the oil sector, but people do want to hire students with basic science skills,” he said.

Haduke is also adamant that Imperial Oil will have no direct influence on the cen- tre’s projects despite the rep- resentation it will have on the board. “It (will keep) us in touch with what they want to see in the centre,” she said.

At the University of Toronto, Imperial Oil’s dona- tion will be put toward devel- oping a clearing house of teaching materials and estab- lishing the first Canadian jour- nal of education in science, math and technology.

Through York’s new Imperial Oil Science Educa- tion Program, the donation will go toward facilitating the Internet component of the Pan- Canadian Science Curriculum Project.

Moved to York last Sep- tember from Industry Canada in Ottawa, the project was cre- ated by the Council of Minis- ters of Education to develop

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