Students at Brescia University, Canada’s last publicly funded women’s college, push back against merger plan

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Students and faculty at Brescia University College are pushing back against a proposed merger with Western University in the hope they can stop the country’s last publicly funded women’s institution from being absorbed by its larger neighbour.

Brescia, a women’s college in London, Ont., founded by the Catholic Ursuline Sisters in 1919, announced last week that its board had approved a plan to fully integrate with Western, signalling it will wind down operations as an affiliated college by May, 2024.

Staff and faculty at the school of roughly 1,200 students, which offers courses in the liberal arts as well as other disciplines, were stunned by the news. Brescia’s faculty said they weren’t consulted and weren’t aware such a proposal was under consideration, while students worried they would lose the small classes and the focus on women’s leadership that defined the school.

A Save Brescia rally is planned for campus Wednesday afternoon.

Hermione Ramsay Speers, a second-year history student at Brescia, said she was blindsided by the announcement. She launched an online petition that describes the merger as a blow to women in Canada. It had more than 4,500 signatures Tuesday.

“I am cautiously optimistic that we can stop this from happening,” Ms. Speers said.

She added that students were upset by the wording of the announcement from Brescia president Lauretta Frederking, which, in their view, suggested the need for a women’s educational institution had diminished now that female students are the majority at many postsecondary schools.

Dr. Frederking, who was not available for an interview, said in a statement that gaps in education look much different from how they looked at Brescia’s founding.

“Women now make up more than half of students at most universities, yet students from many backgrounds continue to be under-represented in our postsecondary institutions,” Dr. Frederking said.

“With this integration, we are seeking to pro-actively respond to change while continuing Brescia’s mission of bridging gaps in education.”

According to the announced plan, which was also approved by Western’s board of governors, Brescia will offer an advanced preparatory program for international and domestic students, including English-language proficiency. The intention is to broaden pathways for students from under-represented groups. Current Brescia students will be able to remain in their programs of study. Western will assume Brescia’s assets and liabilities.

The agreement also states that Brescia’s full time and contract faculty will be offered employment at Western.

Brescia’s faculty association condemned the decision to fully integrate with Western and said it was deeply troubled by the way the decision was handed down, which in its view lacked consultation and ignored the principle of collegial governance. It described the decision as an affront to students who signed up for a women’s institution less than a month ago, in some cases, but will have to finish their degrees at Western.

Andrew Chater, president of the faculty association, said most professors were aware that the school needed to boost enrolment, but had no idea full integration was being considered.

The school’s 2022 financial statements show a nearly $3-million operating deficit (on $28.5-million in revenue).

Prof. Chater said there were a lot of tears at a recent meeting with faculty to discuss the news. There are roughly 37 full-time faculty and a little more than 100 contract faculty at Brescia, and many have questions about their job security, despite the assurances the university has issued.

“There were a lot of strong emotions. People are very upset. Our students are very upset. They came to Brescia because they believe in Brescia, they believe in women’s education,” Prof. Chater said. “Women’s leadership was a central theme of our teaching.”

The school’s strength is its ability to offer small classes and a close-knit community, where professors know their students and students know their classmates, Prof. Chater said. It’s different at a large campus like Western, he added.

Maude Barlow, Brescia’s chancellor, said it is hard to see “our beloved Brescia” come to an end. But, she added, Brescia had financial challenges as it emerged from the COVID period, which were set against a broader decline in the number of women’s universities and in their enrolment.

“We found ourselves needing to find a new path and wanting to make a transition in a way that preserves the values and culture of Brescia but gives us a way to move forward,” Ms. Barlow said.

“My greatest wish is that the values of community service, social justice and women’s leadership will be preserved in the new institution that comes out of this change.”