Thanks to the fundraising efforts of university faculty and pay cuts taken by staff and administration, students this year received nearly the same level of financial aid as past years, despite the weak economy.

As The Uniter reported on July 17, the endowment investments the University of Winnipeg relies upon for scholarship and bursary funding were hit hard by the recession. This threw into question how much funding students would receive.

Senior executive officer Dan Hurley explained that because some money is restricted to specific scholarships, the university used an unrestricted fund to make up some of the difference.

“[This] help[ed] meet part of the need, but not all of the need,” Hurley said.

For the rest, the university asked donors for more money.

In addition, the administration and support staff raised $200,000 for the cause. To raise this money, over 300 support staff agreed to take days off without pay and senior administration took pay cuts ranging between six and 10 per cent.

The University of Winnipeg Faculty Association raised approximately $95,000 through payroll donations.

“ We are very concerned about the possibility that students might be negatively affected by the current economic situation.

Pauline Greenhill, U of W professor

Pauline Greenhill, professor of women’s and gender studies and organizer of the UWFA fundraising efforts, said an overwhelming amount of faculty made donations.

“We are very concerned about the possibility that students might be negatively affected by the current economic situation,” she said.

Greenhill also said some faculty who are still paying off their own student debt still made contributions.

Angela Failler, assistant professor of sociology and women’s and gender studies, is one of the faculty members who contributed to the UWFA scholarship fundraising efforts. While she is still currently paying off her own student debt from finishing her PhD, she still felt compelled to help U of W students out financially.

“Yes, it is financially challenging for me to contribute to this fund, but in terms of principle it is not,” she said. “The spirit of the faculty contributing to the scholarships fund is to say that we are all about opportunities for students. We support the effort to make the university a more affordable and accessible place.”

Hurley agreed with Failler and is proud of the university’s overall efforts.

“People have had to make sacrifices and have had to make some personal decisions to help with the cost … but it is important that when difficult times come, they come together,” said Hurley.

Greenhill said the close relationships between students and professors at the U of W inspired the extensive measures.

“We care about our students. We see one on one the effect that our students’ economic situation has on them and the stress that it has on them,” she said. “We didn’t want [lack of funding] to keep people from coming to university and continuing in university.”

Published in Volume 64, Number 4 of The Uniter (September 24, 2009)