NSCAD University, one of Canada's oldest and most revered art schools, faces an uncertain future this week as it struggles to stay afloat financially, having already watched Queen's University suspend enrolments to its fine arts program last month over a lack of resources. The storied but cash-strapped Nova Scotia College of Art and Design awaits the final draft of a report to government on ways to slash its ongoing deficits. For months, the province has publicly entertained thoughts of merging NSCAD with another university as a way of trimming costs – something the college's community has vehemently opposed.
NSCAD officials and faculty are increasingly optimistic the report, authored by former provincial deputy minister Howard Windsor, will leave the university independent, thanks partly to doubts about whether a merger would actually save money. But with no new funding expected, there are hard choices ahead about how to cut spending without harming the quality of the costly studio-based education that has groomed such nationally renowned graduates as conceptual sculptor Micah Lexier and multimedia artist Kelly Mark. Sarah McLachlan attended for a time, and Joseph Beuys, Michael Snow and Joyce Wieland have lectured there.
The NSCAD community has rallied to argue that its freedom is central to nurturing its smart, spirited culture of experimentation – the “mix of head, hands and heart” that has defined it, says Karin Cope, an associate professor who has helped spearhead the response.