Faculty group questions UNB's use of outside help during strike

The president of the Federation of New Brunswick Faculty Associations says he's surprised by the amount of money the University of New Brunswick spent on outside help during a faculty strike in 2014.

A right to information request by The Daily Gleaner newspaper found the university spent more than $315,000 on additional public relations and security help during the labour dispute.

"You wonder what goes into the thinking and rationale to justify this expense," said Jean Sauvageau.

"They are fully equipped, it seems to me, on the inside, to handle these situations, so why they felt the need to go outside and sign these very expensive contracts, [it's a] mystery to me."

Sauvageau says money like that could be used to pay for many other pressing needs on campus, such as teaching and research.

He says the move toward using outside help is part of a trend that sees universities becoming more like corporations.

Sauvageau says more and more businesspeople are being appointed to sit on the board of governors for universities, and they're bringing their business philosophies with them, such as a focus on reducing costs and making money.

This attitude, coupled with inadequate government funding for universities, means that universities have had to become more self-sustaining, says Sauvageau

"It drives the mission of the university from a different angle," he said.