TRU professors trying to save recently cancelled Bachelor of Fine Arts program with petition

KAMLOOPS — Thompson Rivers University (TRU) has cancelled the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program.

Enrollment stopped last Thursday (April 20) and there is a three-year window for current students to complete their studies. A petition was started earlier Tuesday by TRU Professor Darlene Kalynka to change their decision.

Kalynka has dealt with the cancellation firsthand as she has been teaching within the BFA program for 35 years. Alongside her colleagues — she has struggled letting go of the program she helped grow.

“I think at this point we are in a stage of mourning because the four-to-five of us have really spent our entire lives supporting the bachelor of fine arts and putting it first and putting our students first,” Kalynka says.

Students come from across the world for the program. Showcased pieces from Russian, Chilean, and Indigenous students are scattered throughout the school. Other students use the BFA program as a steppingstone to finish other programs.

“I think people just don’t understand that visual arts is also a teachable subject for education,” Kalynka says. “One of our grads has just gotten into the education program with her BFA and others have done the same.”

Kalynka hopes that the petition she has started will keep gaining traction as former, current and future students support the movement. Currently more than 950 people have signed as Kalynka hopes that it will reach the provost so they can reconsider.