Media release: Faculty union confounded by removal of president at NSCAD University

28 June 2020 

For Immediate Release 

Faculty Union Confounded by Removal of President at NSCAD University 

Late last week, the Board of Governors of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD University) removed the President, Dr. Aoife Mac Namara. The President had been in her post for less than a year. There was no consultation with the University community. Members of the Faculty Union Executive are shocked and appalled at the actions of the Board who made this decision in the middle of a global pandemic. 

“The President was building bridges and trying to bring the University together after the strike last March at the same time that the entire University is having to pivot to online teaching because of COVID-19, a truly challenging and unprecedented time. She was very present to the whole university community. In our experience as a union, she was honest and empathetic in her role, open to listening and to explaining her position in transparent language. FUNSCAD has been especially impressed by Dr. Mac Namara’s stand in support of Black Lives Matter, and her efforts to bring transparency to the actions of the Administration and the Board. The Board’s decision is completely opaque; their actions at this time do not seem to be in the best interest of the University,” says Mathew Reichertz, President of the Faculty Union of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (FUNSCAD). 

The Faculty Union of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design calls on the Board to reverse their decision to remove Dr. Mac Namara and for far greater transparency about this and other decisions that impact students, staff and faculty.