Do not disperse funding for the Director of Drama Position, currently occupied by Ilkay Silk. Reinvest funds for this position to continue Theatre Saint Thomas.

The Issue

The Drama Coordinator position, currently occupied by Ilkay Silk, is the driving force of Theatre Saint Thomas. Ilkay Silk has been an inspirational part of Saint Thomas University and her role is invaluable. After Ilkay retires this coming Spring, this position should continue to be funded to offer students the opportunity to be involved in Theatre Saint Thomas. It is not feasible for one person to adequately fulfill the responsibilities of this position in addition to having full teaching responsibilities. As such, these responsibilities should not be added to Faculty members, but should remain a separate position. Without a full-time Drama Coordinator, next year TST will suffer and eventually cease to exist. Theatre St. Thomas enriches the St. Thomas community as well as the greater Fredericton community.

**Please note that STU's established Drama Concentration, including the Drama Production courses offered by the English Department, are NOT affected by the loss of this position.**

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Julia CannPetition Starter
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The Issue

The Drama Coordinator position, currently occupied by Ilkay Silk, is the driving force of Theatre Saint Thomas. Ilkay Silk has been an inspirational part of Saint Thomas University and her role is invaluable. After Ilkay retires this coming Spring, this position should continue to be funded to offer students the opportunity to be involved in Theatre Saint Thomas. It is not feasible for one person to adequately fulfill the responsibilities of this position in addition to having full teaching responsibilities. As such, these responsibilities should not be added to Faculty members, but should remain a separate position. Without a full-time Drama Coordinator, next year TST will suffer and eventually cease to exist. Theatre St. Thomas enriches the St. Thomas community as well as the greater Fredericton community.

**Please note that STU's established Drama Concentration, including the Drama Production courses offered by the English Department, are NOT affected by the loss of this position.**

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Julia CannPetition Starter
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The Decision Makers

President Dawn Russell of St. Thomas University
President Dawn Russell of St. Thomas University
Responded
“Thank you for taking the time to post/write about the future of the Drama Co-ordinator position following Ilkay Silk’s retirement this summer. Ilkay has been a valuable member of our community. I know that she has had a significant impact on the students taking part in Theatre St. Thomas, just as Professor Ted Daigle influenced me when I was a student many years ago. While we are not filling her position, we will be making sure that her responsibilities in relation to Theatre St. Thomas and the Black Box Theatre are well covered. I would ask you to consider the following. Ilkay was hired 36 years ago when we had no faculty or staff exclusively dedicated to teaching theatre or to supporting Theatre St. Thomas. At that time, TST was entirely student–run and benefitted from the generosity and goodwill of faculty members like Ted Daigle, Judy Kennedy, and Jim Reither, who produced and directed TST productions each year. Even then TST was successful in nurturing very talented actors and actresses, some of whom went on to act at the Stratford Festival, the National Theatre School, etc. Ilkay was hired, in part, because of this unusual success and at the urging of Professor Ted Daigle, the Chair of the Romance Languages Department, who first brought the Provincial High School Drama Festival to St. Thomas. Ilkay was hired not as a member of the academic faculty but rather as a staff person, though she later taught one or two courses once English began to develop a drama concentration. As an administrative staff member whose full-time job was to support TST, she was able to manage the Black Box Theatre, worked with STU students involved in TST and enhanced connections for STU with Theatre New Brunswick, the Notable Acts Festival and others. We have known for some time that she would be retiring this year. At the same time, the English Department has developed a minor in Drama and the Fine Arts offerings have been expanding. (Indeed, the Fine Arts, including drama, are one the few areas targeted for growth in our strategic plan.) As a result, despite fiscal challenges, we have hired two new full-time faculty members devoted to drama and musical theatre: Robin Whittaker in English and Dawn Sadoway in Fine Arts. These additions are at a time when many universities are reducing faculty positions. These two new full-time faculty appointments have enabled us to expand our course offerings in drama and musical theatre and have increased the number of staff committed to supporting the activities of TST and assisting students interested in pursuing theatre as an enriching extra-curricular activity or in pursuing a career. As well, for the past few years we have employed a theatre technician, Chris Saad, for the Black Box Theatre. We will continue to do so. In short, theatre is alive and well at St. Thomas and will be in the future. We had Ilkay’s last production in the fall and Robin Whittaker's first production a few weeks ago. In the future, Dawn Sadoway will be adding her musical theatre productions and we expect both Robin and Dawn to work with TST. Just as Ilkay honoured and built upon the legacy of Professor Ted Daigle, I know that our new faculty members will carry on her work in their own way and that future students will have as many, if not more, opportunities than students enjoyed in the past. Again, thank you for taking the time to write. Dawn Russell President and Vice Chancellor St. Thomas University ”

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Petition created on March 20, 2014