A generous gift from Alfred Bader, LLD’86, deteriorated. For a former staff member at Bader College, Jessica*, it’s time Queen’s take the blame.
Herstmonceux Castle, the home of Bader College, was donated to Queen’s University by alumnus Alfred Bader and his wife, Isabel Bader in 1993. Bader College closed after an inspection revealed significant damage to Herstmonceux Castle in November 2023. Students were quickly sent home and forced to adjust to life in Kingston. In April, 50 staff were laid off and told to pack up their offices.
Jessica was among the laid off staff, where she worked for several years. While Queen’s students and faculty were shocked when they learned Herstmonceux Castle was crumbling, Jessica wasn’t surprised.
READ MORE: Approximately 50 layoffs planned at Bader College by the end of April
The castle hadn’t been inspected for structural damages in 25 years, Jessica said in an interview with The Journal. Bader College’s Board of Trustees—which includes Provost Matthew Evans and three non-university trustees—made the deliberate decision to hold-off on inspections, Jessica alleged.
“There’s always been issues. We’ve always had to have the roof fixed. They [couldn’t] have been shocked,” Jessica said.
It was only when Bader College’s leadership pushed for a survey of the castle that damage was discovered. Since the castle is considered heritage property in the United Kingdom, the University is required to fix any structural damages to the building.
In a statement to The Journal, Queen’s claimed the Executive Director of Bader College conducted a regular inspection of the castle in accordance with requirements in the UK, resulting in the discovery of structural issues. The University didn’t respond to the allegation that inspections had not occurred for 25 years.
According to UK law, owners of heritage properties don’t have a specific duty to keep their buildings in a good state of repair, but local authorities may intervene in urgent cases, such as when a building is at risk of collapse.
Jessica was critical of Queen’s treatment of staff following the castle’s closure and subsequent layoffs. She described the job actions as leaving the staff out on the curb.
The Bader College Board of Trustees hired a part-time human resources consultant to facilitate a 30-day consultation period with remaining Bader College staff. Jessica said this consultation period was aimed at minimizing employee redundancies, whereby employees were laid off because their positions were no longer necessary. Remaining staff prepared several proposals on restructuring the workforce to prevent further layoffs.
Many staff felt the Board was unwilling to consider their restructuring proposals, as they failed to review them until after the 30-day period ended, Jessica explained. Staff had no choice but to find new jobs as they were all made redundant with no job responsibilities for the foreseeable future.
Jessica shared staff felt abandoned by Principal Patrick Deane, whom they haven’t heard from since Feb. 5. Nor did Queen’s istration acknowledge staff’s contributions to Bader College following the layoffs.
“Patrick Deane left us in the dark,” Jessica said. “[This] was disappointing to many because a lot of us put our trust into Patrick Deane who has been a champion of the castle for the last few years.”
The University claims Deane ed staff and communicated with them regularly leading up to staff layoffs in September.
“Regarding outreach to Bader staff and faculty, the Principal held two community town hall meetings in late 2023 after the concerns with the castle were raised. He spoke with faculty and staff at Bader in February,” the University said.
Staff met with only Matthew Evans virtually, but Jessica felt this was insufficient.
“We could have had meetings with Matthew Evans in person,” she suggested. “[Queen’s was] very quick to fly out six people while the students were here, and those six people left after three days and left us with the shambles. There was no from them afterwards.”
Bader staff and faculty created a transition guide to students transitioning from Bader College to Queen’s main campus, but, to Jessica’s knowledge, it was never used.
When asked if she would consider returning to Bader College if it reopened, Jessica declined.
“The istration has shown us what they’re willing to play for and how, and I’m not interested in engaging with that anymore,” Jessica said.
While Jessica was disappointed with Queen’s conduct following the Castles’ closure, others were satisfied with the university’s response and communication.
“People did the best they could with the information they had at the time,” said Anna Taylor, former director of academic affairs and psychology professor at Bader College in an interview with The Journal. “Hindsight is always 20-20.”
Taylor left Bader College in February, prior to the 30-day consultation period, along with all other senior faculty . She is now the Director of Animal Studies at Plumpton College.
While Taylor’s upset Bader College’s closed, she’s grateful for the new opportunities brought by the change.
“Although it wasn’t a choice I would have made then, what happened, happened,” Taylor said. “It’s always sad to lose something you love, but it opens up so many opportunities.”
Bader College will remain closed to students for the 2024-25 year.
*Name changed to protect current employment
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