At the meeting of September 17th, the NSCAD University Board of Governors passed the following resolution:
“Be it resolved that NSCAD management proceed with the planning of an exit strategy from the Fountain Campus facility on or before the year end 2019.”
The resolution passed unanimously, and without contention.
The art and design school’s decision to leave the Fountain Campus (their campus located within Historic Properties) shows a marked difference from the hostility and direction that has shaken NSCAD in the past.
From 2011 to 2014, NSCAD was hit with much contention between the Board of Governors and various other bodies, including faculty, staff, and students, in various capacities as what some termed to be the implementation of an “austerity budget.”
This would materialize in various forms, from increases in fees to the development of a lockout between the FUNSCAD (Faculty Union of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) and the university to merger discussions with other Nova Scotian Universities, like Dalhousie.
Despite this past, Gabriel Soligo, the president of SUNSCAD (Student Union of Nova Scotia College of Art and Design), indicated that the relationship between these parties and the Board of Governors has improved:
“Our predecessors did a lot of work to mend ties with the Board of Governors last year […] this whole shift has come about, and a lot of people have come into their roles not satisfied to keep the status quo,” says Soligo.
“We don’t agree on everything, honestly we don’t. But when we can find common ground, we jump on it, just at least for a minute, and make some forward progress. And that’s really refreshing, to have our voice validated by the people in power.”
The proposed move from the Fountain campus is seen as a part of a better realization of accessible and available space to students within the university.
The Fountain Campus as a whole is made up of 13 different buildings that have undergone many renovations in the 45 years that they have been occupied by NSCAD. Many of the classrooms, studios and other places are difficult to access for some students.
The space itself has been recognized as a significant and historic part of the downtown core of Halifax.
In 2012, the entire Granville Block, of the adjacent Granville Mall and the Fountain Campus (at the time referred to as the Granville Campus), underwent a restoration and subsequent designation as a National Historic Site of Canada.
Formerly known as the Granville Campus, NSCAD’s campus within Historic Properties was renamed to the Fountain Campus this spring, following a $3 million donation by Margaret and David Fountain.
Currently, NSCAD also occupies the Academy Building at the corner of Brunswick and Sackville as well as the Port Campus, just adjacent to the Seaport Farmers Market along the waterfront.
For the moment, what will become of NSCAD’s campuses or of the Fountain Campus on Granville is unknown besides the fact that plans are in the works to leave the space by the end of 2019.
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