The future of the ARTS at Keyano

I have found myself in an uncomfortable position over the past 48 hours. As the social media world lit up with cries of Keyano College being “Heartless” owing to its supposed utter abandonment of the arts and treatment of released staff and faculty, I was in one moment the official spokesperson for the institution and in the next, a highly visible arts advocate that people were looking to for a response. I was in a position of conflict, and as I said to the cast of The Farnsworth Invention before Friday night’s performance: I would not be able to say anything about this in the public realm…until now.

President Nagel has encouraged me to give my perspective and insight, in my personal voice as opposed to that of Keyano as an institution. To be completely transparent, I’m going to run this by him, and our Vice President Academic before posting – not so they can distill or distort what I write, but so they can confirm the accuracy of what I’m saying, and any conclusions I’m offering based on my unique knowledge from being within the college leadership structure.

First of all, and most importantly, when you have to lay-off good people it is painful, and while it isn’t meant to be personal, it absolutely is. And several individuals were profoundly affected by what happened on Friday. The emotional toll on many of us was evident.

All of that said, the operational changes that drove the layoffs, needed to happen. I know that’s going to be tough for some to hear. But it’s true. Enrolments were not strong enough to sustain the level of staffing and operational costs required to keep going in the same way. Something had to change.

There remains an unflinching dedication to the arts at Keyano, in spite of the optics, rumour and conjecture that resulted from Friday’s staff changes. The arts will survive and ultimately, thrive, at Keyano College with a more of a community orientation than was possible before. Keyano Theatre Company is continuing to move back to its original community theatre roots, producing four homegrown productions in their 2012-2013 season. They will continue to offer a diverse line-up of concerts as part of their Syncrude Arts Alive presents series. Keyano Conservatory, which has grown year after year, will get additional resources and focus as it becomes the primary delivery mechanism for fine arts training. The community and our students will continue to have access to professional instructors so they can pursue their artistic passions. Community ensembles will still give a wide range of artists a venue to explore their talents in a group setting. Enhancing access so that the entire community can take advantage of these beautiful facilities will become a new focus.

The direction from the top has been absolutely clear: Keyano Theatre & Arts Centre is going to move from being academic-focused to being community-focused. Through partnerships, innovation and community consultation, we are going to begin maximizing these incredible cultural spaces for the benefit of all.

People interested in the arts, once again, have had a gut-level response to change, which I completely understand. In the absence of good information you glom on to whatever is available. I’m just as guilty at taking a series of Facebook posts as fact before checking to see if what was being said was accurate. It is human nature to take what is being thrown at us at face value.

With the assistance of President Nagel and Vice President Academic Ann Everatt, I drafted an open letter to hopefully address much of the confusion, misinformation and falsehoods that erupted after the events of Friday morning. Written from the institutional perspective, it provides tremendous context for what has happened and why, and an articulation of the College’s continued commitment to the arts. I encourage you to take the time to read it and get a comprehensive picture of the future of arts at Keyano.


  1. I understand change, and the need for it. What I don't understand is the manner in which it was carried out. It shows Keyano's complete disregard and contempt for the arts. I am sure that if these cuts had been publicly announced prior to the 15 minutes notice that the staff was given, there would have been a public outcry that they would have had to face, and defend their actions. This makes Keyano College's board a bunch of cowards in my books. Disgraceful. And because of this heavy handed slimy approach, I have a hard time believing you Russel.

  2. I appreciate your skepticism Scott, especially in light of the emotion that this situation has caused. I wrote what I know and believe to be the truth. And while I expect people to challenge and question my assertions, I hope they join us in supporting, illuminating, and growing the arts in Fort McMurray...just in new and different ways. Thanks for your candid comment.

    1. Russell, you should not be so quick to explain-away the public reaction as just a knee-jerk reaction to "the emotion that this situation has caused" -- that is a condescending attitude. It sounds like you're saying -- like a parent to a child -- "there, there now, I understand you're upset now but someday you'll understand". People are not just over-reacting emotionally to the recent news -- rather they are reacting to notion that the college has finally acted upon a bad decision that you tried to keep secret but that everybody knew was coming.

  3. As a Visual Art and Design student at Keyano, I can only say that I am ashamed and embarrassed. Our college wont even support it's own students!

    You said in your open letter that it is the students fault. You blamed us for not having the registrations. You do realise, that there is only a certain amount of room in the program, right? How there is only room for maybe 8 students in second year? Plus the fact that there is little advertising for the arts programs. Everything goes to the trades! It is NOT the students fault for the numbers. It's the college's plain and simple.

    They should have given us fair warning, so we could have applied to other institutions, instead they waited until everyone was gone to drop the news. It's too late to apply now, and we don't even know for sure what will happen to our program. For all I know, Keyano could have easily wasted a year of my life.

    Forgive me if I am getting any of my facts wrong, but in recent event what can I really trust to be true anyways?

  4. My information tells me that outside of the visual arts, 7 other instructors were laid off. Why don't they get any mention in this letter or your or in the Twitterverse?

  5. The losses were not restricted to the Arts; six instructors were lost from other areas. In the case of University Studies, mismanagement ultimately resulted in the layoffs. Despite not being fiscally sound to begin with, the program was expanded. In typical Keyano fashion there was no planning for the future. There was an opportunity for immediate pay-off (start-up grants etc) and management jumped on it, but they had no plan to make it sustainable. Like everything in University Studies, management had an idea, but once initiated they abandoned it with the hopes that someone on their staff would pick up the ball and make it work. When it came time to fire people, commitment, seniority, teaching ability and community service meant nothing. The individuals that cared enough about the College to question the direction of management were the ones that got the axe. University studies is clearly moving towards an industry/research focus. It used to be that Keyano was focused on helping students. Students who might not survive the first year at a big institution got the one-on-one personal assistance they needed to build their confidence and develop the skills required to succeed. This made Keyano profoundly different from research-driven universities. Keyano had heart.

    The way instructors were let go was heartless and cowardly. Instructors need to focus on teaching; management needs to focus on learning….otherwise, close the doors.

  6. It's just easier to reply as anonymous, but for the record my name is Norm Francoeur.
    It is a sad fact of life that when losing your job that is the manner in which it is handled. There are many very good reasons for this approach such as protecting other staff and protecting the people affected. It does not seem or feel right, but that is the reality we live in these days. I do not speak out of the blue or theory. I was called in to a meeting last summer and was let go after 16 years. I am still saddened by it but have moved on. Literally - I now live in Ontario.
    That being said, I believe that you are still in a delicate situation and do not fault you for your response. It is true that Keyano Theatre has its roots in community, the VPA was added later. The VPA program was a huge asset to the theatre and will be missed. From my view from afar I can only surmise that it is not a simple question to answer. As in life it is more than one thing that end up pushing something over the edge. The province's formulas for funding, the need for administration to balance the books, strong mature voices for the arts having left over the years, hard financial times for donors, advertising and recruitment, vision of the general public what the arts really means are just the ones that come to mind. There is enough blame to go around.
    My heart goes out to those affected both directly and indirectly, as I am sure so does Russel's. The new question to be asked and acted upon needs to be, how will the arts be sustained and thrive from this day forward. Don't wait for it to happen again.

  7. Russell, here is a well thought out response to your letter from Keyano. As you have open this up to debate and discussion I have posted this responce from Facebook. Enjoy the read!

    A dissection of Keyano's open letter.!/groups/201105896588726/doc/407366969295950/

    Ok, so the truth is wanted. The MIR program had 13 applications for the 2011/2012 school year but were told no. MIR still get enquireries, considering they have had no promotion from the marketing depatment, that is significant to reach the larger public that is a good stat! The MIR program was only requested to hold 17 FLE's to be at full strength and that would have been achieved. The entire program additional costs were only $150 k for everything! misdirection showed a $900K expense attached to the department.

    Another example: Accounting had 27 students preparing for a class on Monday with two instructors that were let go, the students were told it was cancelled on Friday. Doesn't seem like a lack of enrollment here?

    I guess the biggest question for the college and you to answer is why was the results of the Music and MIR committee's not made public and why the marketing department, which was a significant discussion regarding the effectivness left out or not addressed?

    I can understand your role in the college and you have to spin this stuff, but you're almost in conflict as a Councellor and the role you play with regards to the community.

    So, hopefully you will read this reply and think of the spin you have created and how it affects the community and you as a Councillor for the RMWB. The college is a Community asset and we should have been part of the discussion. Arts without accreditation limits all of us. This is more than Arts, and that is an even bigger issue for the community to deal with.

    Please read the Facebook page cited. It is worth your read as your blog is.

  8. While I appreciate the reasoning gven, let us stop and think about what a post-secondary institution is supposed to do for the people who come to it to further their professional training - because that is what has been lost sight of here. Yes, the theatre is returning to its community roots. But should it? With Fort MacMurray increasingly under scrutiny nationally and internationally, do you really want to send the message that the arts are only some kind of community hobby, not worth the investment?

    Enrolment was low. The answer to that: find ways to make the programs more appealing. With steadily increasing population, and most other schools in Alberta seeing increasing enrolments, the only reason why enrolment would be dropping in those programs would be because Keyano didn't know how to manage them effectively.

    It sounds like Fort Mac/Keyano has accepted the image the outside world wants to put on it: just there to help the US or China get the natural resources. Anything that might have another focus is to be shuttled off to "community interest" as opposed to offering real choice of career training and development in arts-based professions. (Personally, I am not a big fan of the way most universities "teach" the fine arts and I actually think a conservatory method might be a better approach - EXCEPT the university degree opens doors in a way that an undersupported conservatory designation will not). And now, with a conservatory approach and a focus on community rentals for Keyano, students will likely always be competing to get access to the facilities they need if they are to advance in their craft.

    An appropriate course of action would have been to involve your valued staff over the`past year in developing the solution rather than this ugly approach. The choice Keyano made to treat the staff as they have makes it hard to believe any of the fine words offered now, about how much the arts are appreciated etc. If that were true, more energy would have gone into longterm planning that respected the input of the instructors.

    Some of the statements made in the letter to the editor were really intriguing. I m trying to imagine how one could interpret an intensive class with only 8 to 4 students per professor as somehow being disadvantageous to the students.

  9. Mr Thomas, I prepared a long reply to your blog post, overflowing with anger and emotion. But I decided not to post it, after reading your condescending remarks about the so-called emotional reaction of so many of us. Instead, I'll leave two quotes, one from one of the instructors you dismissed, and one from a colleague here at the U of Alberta.

    1) The instructor posted this anonymous comment on Michelle Boyd's blog: "Randy, I was one of the staff affected and can tell you that this is an accurate account, although the timing occured throughout the morning." (

    2) "Because if there's one thing Ft. McMurray needs LESS of, it's the Fine Arts."

  10. My name is Paul Neiman and am a graduate of the Visual art and design program at keyano college. I would like to say that I was in a state of disbelief when I heard how one of my instrctors and everyone else were escorted out of keyano. This action alone showed how little keyano actually cared about the arts. To me keyano feels more like a corporation than a college. This could have been handled way better, we are treated like numbers and not like people. We need to invest in the arts that we have, not cut out vital members. I'm very sad to see what is happening with what I spent two wonderful years studying. Keyano has made a terrible mistake.

    1. Paul, there is already a new nickname circulating for your college: Corporate LacKeyano College.

  11. Russell i really liked your blog. You care about Fort mcMurray and the arts. I could feel that in your posting.

    FM is a great city. I doubt there will be less arts, because there are many talented people there sharing their talents. I look forward to seeing how Keyano will move forward and Im personally happy that you are there working and caring for the arts community, Keyano, and FM

  12. How does making the college's programing less accredited a possitive change for the community in any way at all? And that "low enrollment" thing, as far as the visual arts program goes, is just not true. But I'm sure you already know that?

    Cutting arts education in the city, just as it begins to develope the government and community structures for those resources is ridiculious. I suppose though, that supporting our two sports shrines is more important?


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