A high-profile lobbyist with connections to past Alberta Conservative governments and involvement in a controversial effort to open a large private hospital in Edmonton has been named as the University of Alberta's new vice-president of external relations.
U of A leadership, presumably, concluded lobbyist Elan MacDonald has the connections necessary to work with Premier Jason Kenney's United Conservative Party Government, which is imposing crippling 20-per-cent cuts over three years on Alberta's post-secondary institutions.