Laurie Adkin

Laurie Adkin is Professor Emerita of political science at the University of Alberta and a researcher with the Corporate Mapping Project. Her fields of teaching and research include comparative politics, feminist theory, social movement theory, European politics, Canadian environmental policy, the political ecology of knowledge production and innovation policy, and the political economy/ecology of Alberta. Her current research focuses on the climate crisis and green transition strategy for Canada. She is the author of Politics of Sustainable Development: Citizens, Unions, and Corporations (Black Rose Books, 1998), and editor and co-author of Environmental Conflict and Democracy in Canada (UBC Press, 2009) and First World Petro-Politics: The Political Ecology and Governance of Alberta (UT Press, 2016). Her Parkland Institute reports include Knowledge for an Ecologically Sustainable Future? Innovation Policy and Alberta Universities (2020), and Higher Education: Corporate or Public? How the UCP Is Restructuring Post-Secondary Education in Alberta (2022).

Twitter: @LaurieAdkin

authortag: author_laurie_adkin

Higher Education - Corporate or Public?:How the UCP is Restructuring Post-Secondary Education in Alberta

research | May 30, 2022

The United Conservative Party (UCP) government has, from 2018 to 2022, cut the operating support budget for Alberta’s PSEIs by 18.8%, resulting in a trail of destruction across the province’s universities, colleges, and technical institutes. This report addresses two questions. First, we ask what the agenda and actions of the United Conservative Party government of Alberta mean for higher education and research. Second, we ask how institutional factors explain the sector’s lack of autonomy and ability to resist the corporatization agendas of governments.

Retelling the Story of the UCP Government’s Budget and its Meaning for Post-Secondary Education in Alberta

blog | Mar 15, 2022

In his response to the UCP government’s February 24, 2022 budget, President Bill Flanagan of the University of Alberta characterized its allocations for post-secondary education positively, as a “turning point for the University of Alberta.” In his statement, Flanagan highlights a UCP initiative called “Alberta at Work,” which promises to invest $171 million over three years to increase enrolment in programs selected by the government, and asserts that the U of A will move quickly to take advantage of this new funding program (along with 21 other post-secondary education institutions, or PSEIs).

Government takeover of post-secondary education: Upheaval at UAlberta

blog | Dec 11, 2020

A group of hand-picked UCP insiders are asserting political control over post-secondary institutions. Laurie Adkin, Michael Lang and Mark Shakespear outline the government's five overlapping strategies and the effects on the University of Alberta.