By Lisa Schick

U of R not sure how it’s going to pay for million dollar event

Jan 17, 2015 | 7:48 AM

A University of Regina is bringing a prestigious academic event to the city in 2018, the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, but it doesn’t know where the million dollars to pay for it will come from.
 
The congress is “the largest multidisciplinary academic gathering in Canada,” according to a news release from the University. In the announcement Friday, representatives of the university said they were proud to have been chosen, and excited for the event.
 
“This will be a great opportunity to highlight our world-class scholarship and research, while also demonstrating outstanding prairie hospitality to our visitors,” said Vianne Timmons, president and vice-chancellor of the university, in a news release.
 
The congress will cost between $800,000 to $1.2 million to host. The University said it will figure out how the gathering will be paid for in the next three years; no significant budget will be needed until 2017/2018.

The school said sponsorships and community partnerships like with the City of Regina, and the Hotels Association will make up a big part of the money. But a spokesperson with the school said that ultimately they expect the event will actually generate revenue for the school.
 
Money has been a concern for the University of Regina recently. When it didn’t get as much as it wanted in the 2014/2015 provincial budget, the University of Regina’s president, Vianne Timmons, said there would have to be cuts made.
 
In announcing the school’s budget for the 2014/2015 academic year, the University said it had managed to balance the budget, but only by raising tuition and makes cuts.

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