@justtracyjustcause: An Institutional History of Renison University College September 1, 2000–May 30, 2023 Institutions tell their histories through presidents, buildings and programs. But institutions are arrangements of people, authority and money. Faculty create knowledge; administrators govern its conditions; staff maintain the institution; students provide its purpose and revenue. Renison’s history was governed by: Trends—the ideas that acquired authority. Trusts—the people, money and purposes entrusted to the College. THE PRECEDENT John O. Towler became Principal in 1974 and entered a College divided over ideology, academic freedom and authority. Dismissals led to protest and arbitration. In Chaos and Academic Mobbing, he described becoming the designated problem onto whom Renison displaced conflicts it could not resolve. He left one question: When administrators and faculty disagree, who possesses the authority to define reality? THE COLLEGE I ENTERED When I arrived in September 2000, Renison was small, interdisciplinary and personal. Then it grew. Programs became revenue centres; a Principal became a President. Public language centred reconciliation, equity, identity and belonging. Some changes asked necessary questions. Others changed the vocabulary without changing power: poverty became marginalization; homelessness became houselessness; administrative preference acquired the language of equity. THE UNDERGROUND ECONOMY By May 30, 2023, my experience resembled Towler’s—not in circumstance, but in pattern. I encountered inflated egos, ideological certainty and public virtue substituted for accountable conduct. Towler became one institutional scapegoat. A generation later, I became another: the scapegoat for what I call Renison’s Underground Economy. “Underground” does not necessarily mean illegal. It means unwritten, difficult to audit and protected by relationships. Beneath official policies operated another economy: Loyalty. Access. Patronage. Silence. Reputation. Reciprocal protection. Its visible outcomes appeared in salaries, expenses, appointments and promotions. Were standards consistent? Did loyalty and access influence who advanced, benefited, was protected or absorbed blame? Questions arose about overlapping interests involving the ELI, Wendy Fletcher Originals, and the International Education and Experience Program. Outside interests are not inherently improper. Were they authorized and disclosed? Did institutional resources serve private benefit? THE TREASURY Similar questions surrounded pensions, investments, endowments and awards. Pension deductions changed from even monthly payments to accelerated annual contributions between January and June. Who authorized it? Where was the interest credited? Was there a transparent accounting? These concerned money held in trust. My final policy discussion concerned pandemic-relief money Renison intended not to return. I advised and voted against that position. Again, I was in the minority—the dissenting record a majority could outvote but not erase. A majority establishes what an institution decided—not that it was right. OPEN THE BOOKS Did Renison preserve a truthful record of who built, governed, maintained and challenged it—and who paid when authority protected itself? The official ledger recorded salaries, grants and programs. The underground ledger recorded who was favoured, credited—and blamed. A treasury records what an institution possessed. A trust establishes what it owed—and to whom. My becoming Renison’s Minority Report is not the conclusion. It is the reason for opening the books. ⸻ FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES Just Tracy, Just ’Cause. Parsimony. Clarity. Virtue. © 2026 Tracy Peressini. All rights reserved. #trust #truth #justice #education #Home

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Saturday 29 August 2026 01:45:16 GMT