OPINION: Losing Beinn Mhabu name plight among several Gaelic College issues

Many Gaelic College Foundation (GCF) members wish to underscore that we’ve not received acknowledgement on any of the disquieting governance concerns we raised over the last three months in letters to the Gaelic College Board (GCB), and expressed in letters to the editor to the Inverness Oran.

To add insult (as we awaited answers to these related concerns), the Gaelic College president anounced (letter to the editor, Oran) that our college campus (Beinn Mhabu) would be losing its precious, deeply cherished, Beinn Mhabu branding.

What a gut punch to an unsuspecting community – so proud of its Gaelic place name.

Do they (president and GCB) not have any sense of what the community (e.g. CND congregation, Joe Shannon and family, the Mabou Gaelic and Historical Society (MGHS), the local Gaelic community, local stakeholders, past and present students/staff, etc.) have invested, and engaged, with this name?

To the academic community, it’s but a name; to the Mabou Gaelic community, it’s been their loved identity the last five years; giving young and old a bounce in their step; a reason to dream.

In lieu, we’ll get name plates on the front and back door (we should all take up a collection of $10 each (say $1,600) to give for the name cost extras (as per the president’s release) and make moves to take back Beinn Mhabu, which, to us, is priceless).

This tone-deaf governance decision reminds one of the fiasco of 13 years ago, when the president and GCB approved adding ‘Royal’ to the ‘Colaisde na Gaidhlig’ name because the Queen was granting same (For a moment, imagine our Acadian neighbours being told that Universite Sainte-Anne was to have a prefix of Royal to their cherished name (keep in mind ‘le Grand Derangement’ and you’ll have an idea of the eruption that would ensue).

The Gaelic community was, obviously, dumbfounded upon learning of this transformative incursion upon their college.

College foundation members, appropriately, decided to resist, and called a special meeting.

Members voted, overwhelmingly, nay (no way), by a 2-to-1 ratio.

The board subsequently met (again) and overturned their decision (from four months earlier) and sent the ‘Royal’ prefix back to Buckingham Palace.

This was a preeminent case of the GCB not listening – or even taking the time – to listen to its constituency (we’re full confident that the slate of governors we proposed nominating to the GCB would not have voted affirmatively to rename Beinn Mhabu – no matter if it was a recommendation from staff).

The Beinn Mhabu plight, however, is just another of the many GC governance issues we brought to light, to the public, over the last three months.

All of these issues are still waiting to be answered.

A brief note of the more problematic ones follow:

– VP of Beinn Mhabu getting dismissed without GCB approval (how could they without the required board quorum?);

– The inaction from GCB, on at least two requests, to call a special meeting on behalf of GCF members;

-The turfing of GC foundation letters as invalid due to using wrong portal to address GCB members;

– The resignation of five GCB members (within eight months) and still no reason forthcoming for the abandoning of their position(s);

– Why wasn’t the vice president of Beinn Mhabu campus able to get the information (from the president) to execute his role of responsibilities (over his last nine months of hire) for GC academics, and the Beinn Mhabu campus?

– Where was the demonstrated oversight by the GCB and President when the new residence was being built on the Beinn Mhabu campus (with no obvious students to populate in the Fall?);

– What was the makeup of the board nominating committee (in late August) given that there was only one active member of the GCB then, and the GCB bylaws required two board members (plus the president) to constitute its legal structure?

Lots of important questions from the GCF members; no answers forthcoming; and, as seen above, continuing controversy as we speak.

The new/old GCB wish us to go to a strategic planning meeting on Oct. 29th (as usual: in the middle of the week, in the middle of the night, in St. Anns).

Truly, I think I’ll just defer the charade and go to a masquerade (two days later).

One catch-22: why would any board volunteer (not compensated) sit through this morass when they could peacefully watch from the sidelines?

Is this why Dr. Richard MacKinnon withdrew his name from nomination to the GCB? Is it the same reason why 70 per cent of the penultimate GCB resigned?

Don’t know, but we’ve asked the question as stakeholders – they were our voice on the governance of this public institution.

Thanks to the Cape Breton Post for giving us the opportunity to discuss and debate these important public issues in this space.

John Archie Rankin

West Lake Ainslie and Dartmouth