TORONTO – A number of faculty and staff at a college within the University of Toronto are accusing their president of misrepresenting the school and shaming students in remarks made at an international conference.
Professors, librarians, past deans and the current registrar all signed the open letter criticizing David Mulroney, president of the University of St. Michael’s College.
They say they felt Mulroney’s comments at the Signis World Congress in Quebec last month negatively portrayed the college’s students by glossing over their accomplishments and depicting them as “party animals and Islamophobes.”
The letter specifically takes issue with three aspects of Mulroney’s speech to the Congress — a film clip showing provocative images of students, references to a long-standing dispute with the student union, and statements suggesting faculty neglected to encourage strong debates on “human life and personhood.”
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Mulroney says he stands by the comments, which were delivered to a forum of Catholic communicators and were made with that specific context and audience in mind.
He says several of the issues he referenced took place in the past and noted that he has considerable pride in the college and its students, but says maintaining progress sometimes involves frank acknowledgment of difficult topics.
Mulroney said he was “disappointed” but “not incredibly surprised” to receive the open letter, which features roughly 20 signatures and was dated July 31.
The letter asserts Mulroney squandered an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of St. Michael’s students at the congress, which took place at Laval University in Quebec.
“You used an international forum of communicators, educators, and religious leaders to stigmatize the students of St. Michael’s College,” the letter reads.
“By profiling only a few negative images in a film clip and taking the administration’s conflicts with the St. Michael’s College Student Union to such a public and well publicized congress, you actively promoted a clear impression of SMC students as party animals and Islamophobes. We believe this is a distorted picture.”
Mulroney acknowledged that he did air a 15-second clip of a short student-produced video called “Cowboys and School girls,” which was not sanctioned by the college itself.
He described the video as depicting students dressed in provocative school-girl outfits, adding that he found the depiction “demeaning” and “disrespectful.” He said the clip was relevant in the context of a speech to communicators, saying he used it as an example of why organizations need to maintain control of their own messaging.
“My contention was this was the slickest and best communications product put out anywhere on campus, but it just wasn’t an image that’s really helpful to our students,” Mulroney said in an interview.
“You don’t want people to think you’ve gone to a party school, you want people to think you’ve gone to a great academic centre.”
The long-standing issues with the student union, he said, date back several years and involve allegations of financial mismanagement. The results of a forensic audit posted to the college’s website did conclude that members of the student union used funds inappropriately or received kickbacks.
Mulroney said he did not believe it was inappropriate to reference the fraught history in a public forum.
He also defended his comments about faculty, saying he felt staff could have encouraged more vigorous debate on the issue of euthanasia when he assumed the presidency in July 2015. He said open conversations are now more prevalent on campus.
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Mulroney said he assumed the college presidency as an outsider, having worked most of his career as a diplomat before entering the world of academia, and said part of the appeal of the job was the freedom to speak candidly on difficult subjects.
“Unless you speak frankly about where you’ve been, and these problems are not that far in the past, there’s a danger that they could recur,” he said.
He said he has a “profound respect” for St. Michael’s students and praised them in his speech.
Those who signed the open letter, however, felt his remarks fell short.
“Students routinely win academic accolades, present papers at international conferences, contribute to Varsity athletics, and offer service to their community,” the letter said.
“We wish that members of the congress might have learned how Out of the Cold at SMC was a student led initiative at the university,or how our graduate and undergraduate students work for the cause of social justice in the world.”
The letter concludes by saying that Mulroney’s remarks have dishonoured the legacy of the college and shaken faculty confidence in his leadership.
Mulroney said any further action would be up to the college board, but said he has not changed his plan to step down from the presidency in the summer of 2018.