To: Dr. Roseann O’Reilly Runte, Carleton University President and Vice Chancellor
cc: Michel Piché, Vice-President, Finance and Administration
cc: Dr. Matthias Neufang, Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
cc: Dr. Rafik A. Goubran, Vice-President, Research (Interim)
cc: Malcolm Butler, Dean of Science
cc: Catherine McKenna, MP, Ottawa Centre
cc: Yasir Naqvi, MPP, Ottawa Centre
cc: Dr. John Stead, Chair, Department of Neuroscience
cc: Malcolm Butler, Dean of Science
cc: Catherine McKenna, MP, Ottawa Centre
cc: Yasir Naqvi, MPP, Ottawa Centre
cc: Dr. John Stead, Chair, Department of Neuroscience
Dr. O'Reilly Runte,
As a student of the Neuroscience department, I can tell you that I was delighted to hear that we would be getting new, updated facilities in the Health Science research building in Sept 2017. This date would dovetail nicely with the completion of my Master's degree and the start of my Ph.D.
However, I am completely disheartened to learn that, in the middle of trying to complete my degree, we will be moved out of our current facilities prematurely, with little planning and forethought, and will lose critical research time and focus.
Earlier this week, public announcements were made regarding the ARISE project which will replace the Life Sciences Research Building (LSRB), yet no formal communication was made prior to this announcement, to the students and staff affected by this change in plans.
On Friday Nov 11, graduate students received an email from Neuroscience Department Chair, John Stead informing us that Carleton University administration has stated that all researchers, staff and students must vacate LSRB by March 1. The Health Sciences building will not be ready for occupancy until the fall and the proposed interim space is inadequate and unconfirmed, with no clear indication of what will happen to our animal research.
As a student of the Neuroscience department, I can tell you that I was delighted to hear that we would be getting new, updated facilities in the Health Science research building in Sept 2017. This date would dovetail nicely with the completion of my Master's degree and the start of my Ph.D.
However, I am completely disheartened to learn that, in the middle of trying to complete my degree, we will be moved out of our current facilities prematurely, with little planning and forethought, and will lose critical research time and focus.
Earlier this week, public announcements were made regarding the ARISE project which will replace the Life Sciences Research Building (LSRB), yet no formal communication was made prior to this announcement, to the students and staff affected by this change in plans.
On Friday Nov 11, graduate students received an email from Neuroscience Department Chair, John Stead informing us that Carleton University administration has stated that all researchers, staff and students must vacate LSRB by March 1. The Health Sciences building will not be ready for occupancy until the fall and the proposed interim space is inadequate and unconfirmed, with no clear indication of what will happen to our animal research.
I am deeply disappointed that the students critically affected by this project have not been consulted, and have had no direct communication or engagement in any process regarding changes to our research facilities.
I am deeply concerned about both the timing and lack of preparation undertaken by university administration for what will be a highly disruptive move.
The proposed option of wet-lab space in Tory building Biology Teaching Labs in summer, is untenable. This proposal does nothing to address the need for wet-lab space as of February 15, which is when we will have to start moving in order to have a hope of fully vacating LSRB by March 1. It also does not address the possibility of slippage in the Health Sciences building readiness. What happens come late August if HS is not ready? The Biology Teaching labs are critically needed for undergraduate courses, and we run experiments on tight timelines. We simply cannot work around classroom schedules. Never mind the fact that the labs are accessed by unskilled undergraduate students, which would put our critical research equipment at risk of damage and loss. There are many pieces of highly specialized equipment that simply cannot be moved to unsecured labs. We have equipment that takes up significant space and separate electrical circuits. For example, where will the nine -80C freezers full invaluable biological samples go?
Additionally, there is still no clear plan for what will happen to our mice, and we need close access to both animals and wet-lab - which will not be available if we are in Tory building or off campus. And I am not the only student affected by this: we have 79 graduate and honours students with degrees in progress that critically rely on the facilities currently in place.
The proposed option of wet-lab space in Tory building Biology Teaching Labs in summer, is untenable. This proposal does nothing to address the need for wet-lab space as of February 15, which is when we will have to start moving in order to have a hope of fully vacating LSRB by March 1. It also does not address the possibility of slippage in the Health Sciences building readiness. What happens come late August if HS is not ready? The Biology Teaching labs are critically needed for undergraduate courses, and we run experiments on tight timelines. We simply cannot work around classroom schedules. Never mind the fact that the labs are accessed by unskilled undergraduate students, which would put our critical research equipment at risk of damage and loss. There are many pieces of highly specialized equipment that simply cannot be moved to unsecured labs. We have equipment that takes up significant space and separate electrical circuits. For example, where will the nine -80C freezers full invaluable biological samples go?
Additionally, there is still no clear plan for what will happen to our mice, and we need close access to both animals and wet-lab - which will not be available if we are in Tory building or off campus. And I am not the only student affected by this: we have 79 graduate and honours students with degrees in progress that critically rely on the facilities currently in place.
I am in the 2nd year of my Master’s degree in Neuroscience, and had planned to continue at Carleton University for my Ph.D. in Dr. Shawn Hayley’s lab in September 2017. In support of my Master’s thesis work, I have developed an important relationship with a collaborator from a US institution who is expecting me to be able to conduct wet-lab research throughout the Winter and Summer terms, and had planned to bring important transgenic mice here in September 2017, for a year-long on-site collaboration into understanding the neurobiology of stress and depression. My master’s thesis is the underpinning for research which I intend to pursue for my Ph.D. If Carleton cannot support this research then I will lose an enormous opportunity and significant credibility.
The research I must complete over the winter and summer terms is not only fundamental to our lab’s reputation and MY reputation with my collaborator, but is essential to me obtaining grants for funding my Ph.D research. Many of my fellow students are in a similar position - we must be fully productive over the next two terms in order to obtain funding from granting agencies.
I had accepted and anticipated there would be some downtime associated with the move to the new Health Sciences building, but had expected this to occur in August-September 2017 - a date by which the research and defense for my Master’s degree would be complete. An additional unplanned move during my Master’s degree will seriously impact my ability to complete research necessary to complete my degree, maintain a credible relationship with my collaborator and publish papers essential to grant applications. The rushed nature of this whole endeavour and the uncertainty due to lack of full transparency from your office undermines both our integrity in the research community, and prospects for the future.
I chose Carleton because of its excellent and rapidly growing Neuroscience degree program, and the highly collaborative nature of the researchers within the department. Prior to starting my degree at Carleton, I worked as an executive and project manager in the high tech industry, managing and overseeing small, medium, and large scale software and data center migrations, and building site moves. Therefore, I fully understand the need for comprehensive and proactive planning and risk assessments for these kinds of endeavours – and we didn’t have the mice and biological samples to contend with. In addition there is the issue of in-progress and follow-on experiments - these cannot be moved to an interim facility, as this would confound results and cost us thousands of dollars and, more importantly, months of lost research productivity in a highly competitive field. In my experience, a move of this nature, on such short notice, with the current lack of consultation, is a recipe for disaster.
Given that:
1) The alternative location of using teaching labs in Tory has not been confirmed, (and does not address all our needs)
2) We have had no communication with a project manager of any kind
3) No two-way consultation with the researchers and students affected has taken place to obtain detailed requirements, or determine if proposed space is viable
...it is clear the projected deadline is untenable for a successful move before March 1.
1) The alternative location of using teaching labs in Tory has not been confirmed, (and does not address all our needs)
2) We have had no communication with a project manager of any kind
3) No two-way consultation with the researchers and students affected has taken place to obtain detailed requirements, or determine if proposed space is viable
...it is clear the projected deadline is untenable for a successful move before March 1.
I understand that the large grant for ARISE is a windfall, but it is appalling that the institution is willing to sacrifice the credibility of its fastest growing department, and their research reputation, not to mention the students who put their faith and trust in Carleton, in order to obtain this funding. The short and long-term fallout costs are too great to faculty and students in the Neuroscience department, and to Carleton’s reputation and credibility as a premier research institution.
To make matters worse, I have only recently found out that in addition to this interim move, the university lacks sufficient funding to finish all the floors of the Health Sciences building. Plus we are being told our new animal housing facility is not going to be ready until November. Yet there is money to build a new building, and move us twice? What is wrong with this picture?
Dr. O'Reilly Runte, I implore you to:
1) Immediately start engaging the students, staff and faculty in the Department of Neuroscience in an open and transparent dialogue about options and include us in planning.Could the new ARISE building be constructed elsewhere on campus, for example?
2) Work with the Federal and Provincial granting agencies to help them understand that choosing an alternate location for ARISE, or pushing back the start date until the Health Sciences building is ready, would provide a viable solution that allows for adequate planning and does not result in failing to meet commitments to existing students and researchers.
2) Work with the Federal and Provincial granting agencies to help them understand that choosing an alternate location for ARISE, or pushing back the start date until the Health Sciences building is ready, would provide a viable solution that allows for adequate planning and does not result in failing to meet commitments to existing students and researchers.
3) Respect and honour your commitments to existing students - do not put our futures in jeopardy by forcing us into a poorly-planned interim move to substandard facilities, and a concomitant loss of productivity and valuable research time.
Please do not make me and my classmates regret choosing Carleton for Neuroscience.
Sincerely,
-Natalie Prowse
MSc Student, Dept of Neuroscience
Carleton University
MSc Student, Dept of Neuroscience
Carleton University
