U of W gets funding boost from the feds

Cash to go towards the construction of the science complex

Manitoba universities and colleges recently received a funding boost from the federal government amounting to $65.5 million, and the University of Winnipeg hasn’t been left out.

The projects that received the cash were eligible under the government’s Knowledge and Infrastructure Program (KIP), a national program with a budget of $2 billion to fund research and development infrastructure in Canadian post secondary institutions.

The University of Winnipeg was among the recipients, receiving $18 million for the construction of the new Richardson College for the Environment. The project started in 2006 with a $3.5 million donation from the Richardson Firm, Family and Foundation, as well as $25 million from the Manitoba government.

The $18 million contribution comes as part of the federal government’s $12 billion infrastructure commitment in their recent stimulus budget, $2 billion of which makes up KIP.

“The program has done precisely what it was supposed to do,” said University of Winnipeg vice president of finance Bill Balan, explaining that the initial 2006 budget for the projects relied heavily on private donors who were no longer able to contribute after the economic downturn last fall. The money is only for the construction of the building and excludes operating costs.

According to Balan, operating costs for the main 515 Portage Avenue campus are about $9.50 a square foot.

“We fully expect that operating costs for the new building will be significantly less than that [the main campus] because it will be highly energy efficient,” said Balan “However, we will have to go to the provincial government for a contribution toward operating costs, most likely in the fall.”

Diane McGifford, Minister of Advanced Education and Literacy, would not comment on whether the provincial government will contribute to operating costs for the new building.

“Although I can’t comment on next year’s budget I can say that we’ve been very generous to the University of Winnipeg,” said McGifford.

From 1999 (when the NDP formed the government) to present, the University of Winnipeg has seen an 88 per cent increase in provincial funding, she said.

“I think that the Science Complex is part of a larger vision for the U of W, I think that Lloyd [Axworthy] is highly committed to sustainable growth in the inner city and, further, to the sustainable development of the University of Winnipeg.”
The University of Winnipeg is not the only institution being showered with federal money.

The University of Manitoba received $20 million from the federal government as well as over $20 million from the province for an infrastructure development program, a renovation program and a new research technology lab.
Red River College also received $9.5 million to convert the Union Bank Tower into classrooms and a student residence.

A number of smaller universities have also received funding through KIP, including Brandon University, which received $562,520. Half of Brandon’s contribution was provincial money.

“It was for our campus computer network,” said Kelly Stifora, acting director of the president’s office at Brandon University “We got the money essentially to move the server room away from the basement where it was subject to flooding… This is an enhancement for our students and makes their learning environment safer and more secure.”

The money does not come without strings, however.

The program only allows the federal government to contribute half of the money required for infrastructure programs with the remaining 50 per cent coming from private donors, the school itself or the provincial government. As a private, faith-based institution, Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) experienced this drawback first hand.

“The project we submitted [to KIP] was for a chemistry lab slated to cost $605,000,” said CMU president Gerald Gerbrandt. “There is nothing in the program that obligates the provincial government to match the federal money so we went to the province and they agreed to pay 50 per cent of the remaining 50 per cent.”

The province contributed a total of $151,250 to the construction of the new lab, consistent with the past practice of supporting the CMU operating program with reasonably less gusto than a public university, said Gerbrandt.
The remaining 25 per cent of the funds must be made up by private contributions.

Published in Volume 63, Number 28 of The Uniter (June 18, 2009)

Related Reads