These truly are exciting times. Spring is fast approaching, the school year is coming to a close, and the University of Saskatchewan has decided to look into offering a program for architectural education.

The university is spending much of March hosting discussions on a possible architecture program at the school. Isn’t it great that the U of S can still explore new options for colleges and programs while there’s a projected deficit of $44.5 million by 2016 and as the health sciences building is being “scaled back”? Give me a break.

Talk about poor timing, right? While 50 university staff members have lost their jobs in recent months, the cuts have only just begun. Perhaps an architecture school is feasible in the future, but initiating talks about it at this point seems in bad taste.

Here’s a thought for school administrators: don’t introduce new programs if the ones already in place cannot be maintained.

Maybe all this architecture school talk is a public relations stunt in more ways than one. If administrators can prove the future here still holds promise by introducing new programs — even if only hypothetically — all the students, staff and faculty upset about job and program cuts on campus might forget about their frustrations.

Administrators might also want to seduce arts students — those lovers of literature, human nature and the theatrical and visual arts — into other colleges that are more practical. I mean, you can’t really get a job with just a bachelor of arts, can you?

Programs with more immediate benefits to the economy, like the applied sciences and architecture, are often the ones for which funding and support is provided before it is allocated to arts programs.

A great minor for a potential student of architecture would be a language of some kind, since many architects work throughout the globe for international companies. But oh, dang! Those programs have experienced cuts too.

An architecture program at the U of S would be wonderful. The discipline invites collaboration between numerous subject areas. Students from art, engineering, environmental sciences and mathematics could all benefit from a school of architecture. Indeed, architects are few and far between in Saskatchewan, so it might be wise to begin educating them here.

But this only makes sense if we have the money, the buildings and the staff to make the program a success. With those caveats in place, there are obviously severe issues with timing when it comes to launching discussions about this college right now.

I’m curious as to how the U of S prioritizes its new program initiatives. Why is the potential for a school of architecture being publicized while there’s definite desire for a college of speech pathology from linguistics students?

Naturally, there isn’t enough money for everything everyone wants, but it seems to me in this case, there is no money at all. We have certainly been led to believe that there are severe financial issues on campus.

I hope that one day a school of architecture does exist in Saskatoon, but I also hope the U of S is able to maintain all of its other programs and colleges in the interim.

—
Illustration: Cody Schumacher