STU rehires international student coordinator for the academic year

On Sept. 11, the St. Thomas Students' Union posted a press release stating that the university administration extended Saa Andrew Gbongbor's contract as the international student coordinator. (Polina Kozlova/AQ)

St. Thomas University students are raising concerns after several key student support positions — including the International Student Coordinator — were left vacant just as the new academic year began.

Ryan Sullivan, STU’s associate vice-president of enrollment management, confirmed that the positions were lost after the provincial government discontinued the Access and Success funding program, which previously funded term roles designed to support student success.

 “Unfortunately, the provincial government discontinued that funding,” said Sullivan. “So the positions that were supported by those projects were on term contracts to coincide with the funding we already had. Without support from the province to help us to ensure that those continued, we weren’t able to renew the contracts.”

The loss of the international student coordinator role is being felt most acutely by international students, who pay significantly higher tuition fees and often rely on such roles for guidance and advocacy.

Sullivan said the university faces a widening gap between its expenses and provincial funding, with its operating grant increasing by only 1% this year — far below the 3% annual increase in the cost of delivering services.

 “There are only two real revenue sources for the university: the provincial government and tuition from students,” said Sullivan. “STU has been very focused … on trying to keep tuition as manageable as possible. But when provincial government reduces their support, that puts pressure on us to look at how we can prioritize what services are needed and how they are delivered.”

Saa Andrew Gbongbor, STU’s cultural diversity coordinator, said his focus remains on making sure students are supported even amid staffing cuts.

 “My priority is not the staff, but students’ well-being,” Gbongbor said. “I don’t feel comfortable how everyone fights for my position, like I’m not doing anything — when I’m just here doing my job.”

Following a meeting between student leaders, Sullivan and STU President Nauman Farooqi, the university extended Gbongbor’s contract for the academic year. 

He said this was an important step, but there is still more work to do to restore support for international students.

Student leaders are now calling for increased provincial funding to post-secondary institutions to prevent further losses. Nationally, groups like the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations have warned that stagnant operating grants and rising costs threaten student success across the country.

On Sept. 11, STUSU posted a press release informing the student community that Gbongbor will be reinstated as international student coordinator for another year. 

Camila Baquerizo, VP of education, said that after their first press release, senior administration reached out to the St. Thomas University Student Union and announced the extension of Gbongbor’s contract.

“I think they acted thanks to the voices that students shared with them, thanks to the voices that we were able to communicate through our press release,” said Baquerizo. 

She said rehiring Gbongbor gives her hope for filling the other vacant student services positions.

Baquerizo said that while this is a “win” for students, the fight to advocate for the vacant positions is “not over.” 

“We still have no LGBTQ+ coordinator on campus. We still have no student success coach on campus … there are still changes going around campus that still need student voices to be acknowledged,” she said. 

“We are still going to raise our voice and let people know that we are concerned, that we do not accept those changes, especially if they were made for us, not with us.”