In 2025, professor and consultant Deanna Davies faced a convergence of personal tragedy and professional instability. While navigating her mother's passing and her own health scares, Davies also dealt with job insecurity at St. Lawrence College.
The collisiion of St. Lawrence College's enrollment drop and personal grief
The year 2025 proved to be a period of profound instability for Deanna Davies, a project management consultant and professor. As she navigated what she calls the "In-Between Year," she faced a convergence of professional uncertainty at St. Lawrence College and intense personal loss. This intersection highlights a growing, often ignored tension in modern leadership: the struggle to maintain high professional standards while simultaneously enduring significant private trauma.
The report notes that Davies' professional life was destabilized by a sharp decline in international student numbers at St. Lawrence College. This shift triggered significant budget cuts, leaving Davies, who serves as a program coordinator, in a state of constant job insecurity. As the college administration offered little reassurance, the pressure to perform for students and colleagues intensified even as her own position felt increasingly precarious.
A year of melanoma surgery and family medical emergencies
Beyond the walls of the college,Davies' personal life was marked by a series of health-related crises. She underwent surgery for a malignant mole after discovering melanoma, while simultaneously managing medical emergencies involving two of her three daughters. According to the account, these events were compounded by the terminal illness of her mother, who suffered from both heart disease and cancer.
Davies describes this period as a time when "roles collapsing without warning" became her reality. The psychological toll of these overlapping crises meant that Davies' nights became restless and her decision-making felt increasingly heavy. This experience serves as a case study in how personal grief and professional demands are not separate entities but layered burdens that impact a leader's physical and mental well-being.
The contrast between York University’s empathy and administrative silence
A significant theme in Davies' experience is the disparity in how different institutions hanlde human vulnerability. While the administration at St. Lawrence College remained silent during her period of greatest need, a different approach was modeled at York University , where Davies also teaches.. As Davies sat by her mother's hospital bed, a new leader at York University sent a brief message expressing the team's support.
This small act of empathy provided a stark contrast to the isolation Davies felt while "bracing" for professional changes. The report suggests that such simple acknowledgments can be more impactful than formal institutional policies. for leaders, the lesson is clear: acknowledging the humanity of staff members is essential to maintaining a functional and resilient workforce.
What remains unknown about the St. Lawrence College budget cuts
While the personal toll on Davies is well-documented,several critical details regarding the institutional crisis at St. Lawrence College remain unverified.. The source does not provide the specific scale of the enrollment decline or the exact number of positions affected by the recent budget cuts.. It is unclear whether the college has implemented any formal support systems for staff facing similar levels of job insecurity.
Furthermore, the report does not clarify if the administration's lack of communication was a deliberate strategy or a byproduct of the ongoing budget crisis.. Without more data on the college's long-term restructuring plans, it is difficult to determine if the instability Davies experienced is a temporary fluctuation or a permanent shift in the institution's operational model.
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