VP Academics Report
Dear fellow Graduate Students,
The following is my report as Vice-President Academic of the GSU for the period from April 2009 to March 10th 2010.
UNIVERSITY COMMITTEES: As VP Academic, I prepared for and sat on the following list of university and senate committees, where I represented the GSU and graduate student interests:
v Senate
v Senate Executive
v Senate Elections Committee
v University Senate Committee on Copyright
v University Space Committee (Infrastructure)
v Student Affairs and Services Advisory Committee on the University Chaplaincy
v SGS Academic Council
v SGS Academic Council Executive
v SGS Academic Appeals
v SGS Nominating Committee
v SGS Steering Committee on Graduate Orientation
v Faculty of Arts Academic Planning
v Faculty of Arts Graduate Studies
v Faculty of Arts Research
v Faculty of Arts Faculty Council
GSU COMMITTEES: This year, I also sat on the following GSU committees:
v Employment Relations Committee
v Elections Committee
v Executive Committee
v Board of Directors
v Academic Committee
v Committee for Students with Disabilities, both Visible & Invisible
v Committee on the Constitution
v Steering Committee
v Legal Committee
v Employment Relations Committee
v Finance Committee
STUDENT REPRESENTATION:
As VP Academic, I focussed on recruiting students to the various committees at the various levels of the university. I am proud to report that the great majority of these positions are, for the first time in a number of years, filled with interested graduate students. Recruited most of the new members to our Board of Directors. In early August, I sent individual emails to each Head of Department, Graduate Officer, Secretary or Administrative Assistant whose academic unit was not currently represented on the Board. I invited them to contact their incoming students as well as their existing students to invite both these groups to consider representing their units. I responded to their many questions, guided them in the process, and facilitated the graduate students’ selection of candidates. I then sent eight separate calls for nominations, responded to questions, and guided students in the selection of candidates. Our Board of Directors is now the largest I have seen in my five years working with the GSU. In order to fill these seats,
Ø I sent individual emails, over the entire course of the year, to each Head of Department, Graduate Officer, Secretary or Administrative Assistant whose academic unit was not currently represented on the Board, inviting them to contact their incoming students as well as their existing students to invite both these groups to consider representing their units.
Ø I responded to their many questions, guided them in the process, and facilitated the graduate students’ selection of candidates.
Ø I sent eight separate calls for nominations, responded to questions, and guided students in the selection of candidates.
Ø I attended two coffeeshops organized by LGBT-MUN in order to fill their seat on the BOD, and approached volunteers at the Volunteer Fair.
Ø I approached, on multiple occasions, the President of the International Student Centre to guide them in recruitment efforts.
Ø I also recruited students to GSU Committees, and am happy to report that EVERY committee on the GSU now had quorum. I personally approached a number of students regarding the remaining BOD seats, attended a number of LBTG-MUN coffeehouses to try to recruit an LBTG-MUN rep, and sent a call to the Academic Committee to fill open positions.
RECRUITMENT FOR GSU COMMITTEES: Every committee on the GSU now has quorum. In order to fill these committees,
Ø I sent out a number of calls,
Ø I responded to numerous questions,
Ø Met one-on-one with students to discuss the roles and responsibilities of committee members.
ONE-ON-ONE WORK WITH GRADUATE STUDENTS
I have met in person with a good number of graduate students to discuss the problems they face and the best possible ways to proceed in solving them. To best serve these students,
Ø I have met with a number of university administration and staff to help ensure a proper, timely, and adequate resolution to the matters at hand.
Ø I have accompanied many of these students to meetings with university administration, officials, and other employees to act as witness and as advocate.
Ø I have also spent a number of hours reading up on university regulations, procedures, and Canadian law to ensure that certain cases are not dismissed.
Ø I have represented some of these students’ interests at the various committees where their cases have been heard (the great majority have been successful in their appeals).
Met with students on a number of occasions regarding a very serious problems, communicated via email, guided these students in the rectification of the situation and in the various complaints processes, accompanied them to a number of meetings with administrators at various levels of the university, and met one-on-one with a number of administrators in order to discuss possible avenues for rectification. Met with a number of students to discuss their various needs and concerns, and communicated via email with a number of others. Other cases with which I helped included sexual harassment cases, information meetings regarding the process of changing supervisors, special funding requests to SGS, problems with the organization of internships, and a number of student requests for information regarding the process of appeals for grades. I counselled students facing funding difficulties, the preparation of appeals, complaints of harassment, sexual harassment, and complaint about the GSU’s Feild Hall residence. I also met with students to discuss cases of identity theft by other students, issues with supervisors and the process of switching supervisors, and the 24-hour limit of hours worked imposed by SGS.
GRADFEST
Attended a number of Gradfest events, and actively worked to recruit new members to our GSU committees and to the GSU’s Board of Directors. At the Gradfest BBQs, I managed to recruit, by encouraging them to apply prior to the close of nominations, two new members. I facilitated the Gradfest Brass Lunch, worked as a soundperson, and helped serve the meal. I volunteered to be in charge of the Paintball Games and ended up with three nice welts to prove it. I was in charge of the Quidi Vidi Brewery Tour, led an open mic there, and acted as the soundman. Though I was a little off my game, we got great performances by everyone else! We had guitarists, singers, fiddlers, violinists, and a guy playing percussions on an empty bucket using glue sticks as beaters! I attended the Gradfest Breakfast, where I managed to recruit two students to some GSU committees, and the first portion of the Downtown Tour, where I again announced my role as the VP Academic and that the GSU was actively recruiting new members to its BOD and its committees.
SCHOOL OF GRAD STUDIES ORIENTATION
Worked in conjunction with the School of Graduate Studies to recruit students and faculty to act as facilitators, discussants, speakers, and volunteers for the School of Graduate Studies Orientation. Met with some of the discussants to cover what should be addressed during the orientation, and prepped for and attended the three organizational meetings set up by SGS. I also spent the entire Orientation day (from 7:00am to 4:00pm) working at the Orientation, making sure students were taken care of, managing some of the volunteers, getting them to join our GSU List-Serv, speaking with them about their expectations of their supervisors, facilitating the discussion on “Roles and Responsibilities of Supervisors and Graduate Officers,” and giving campus tours.
MISCELLANEOUS WORK
v I worked in conjunction with the School of Graduate Studies to recruit students and faculty to act as facilitators, discussants, speakers, and volunteers for the School of Graduate Studies Orientation. I met with some of the discussants to cover what should be addressed during the orientation, and prepped for and attended the three organizational meetings set up by SGS. I also spent the entire Orientation day working at the Orientation, making sure students were taken care of, managing some of the volunteers, getting them to join our GSU List-Serv, speaking with them about their expectations of their supervisors, facilitating the discussion on “Roles and Responsibilities of Supervisors and Graduate Officers,” and giving campus tours.
v I participated in many Gradfest events, where I spoke to countless graduate students and encouraged them to get involved with the GSU. At the Gradfest BBQs, I managed to recruit, by encouraging them to apply prior to the close of nominations, two new members. I facilitated the Gradfest Brass Lunch, worked as a soundperson, and helped serve the meal. I volunteered to be in charge of the Paintball Games and ended up with three nice welts to prove it. I was in charge of the Quidi Vidi Brewery Tour, led an open mic there, and acted as the soundman. I attended the Gradfest Breakfast, where I managed to recruit two students to some GSU committees, and the first portion of the Downtown Tour, where I again announced my role as the VP Academic and that the GSU was actively recruiting new members to its BOD and its committees.
v I had the names for the winners of the GSU Awards (since 2005) engraved on the plaque in Bitters (with the help of Hans, Donald and Nate).
v Attended the career fair held in the Feild House.
v Attended the SSHRC Town Hall meeting with SSHRC President Chad Gaffield.
v Worked as multimedia coordinator and soundperson for the SSHRC information session at Bitters.
v Attended the “Introduction to Faculty Learning Communities” workshop offered by IDO.
v With the help of the Academic Committee, I prepared the Academic Survey, one of the five surveys the GSU is administering this semester.
v Attended a number of TAUMUN meetings, and worked to ensure TAUMUN’s presence at the Gradfest events and the SGS Orientation.
v Kept in touch with IDO and individual workshop organizers. Gave input regarding workshops to be organized by these organizations.
v Met with the person overseeing the work to be done on the electrical system powering Feild Hall.
v I met with Donna Ball (one of the university staff currently working on the tuition –vs- continuance fee issue).
v Prepped for and met with Dr. Noreen Golfman, the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, to discuss the GSU’s position on the creation of a Board to replace the existing SGS Appeals Committee. I shared our membership’s concerns about representation, the implementation of the natural justice system, and the dangers of relying on positive “cultures” instead of set standards for practice. This is still in the works.
v Met on a few occasions, along with the remainder of the Exec, with Keith Dunne of the CFS to discuss issues, concerns, and plans.
v Attended the Canadian Federation of Students’ Skills Symposium, along with the remainder of the Exec and two other BOD reps. I felt we did very well at this meeting. Our needs were voiced, and members of the CFS committed the organization to helping us meet many of these needs this year.
v Prepared my Semi-Annual Report as VP Academic to be presented at the October Semi-Annual General Meeting of the GSU.
v I met with a number of university administration and staff to help ensure a proper, timely, and adequate resolution to various individual students’ concerns and problems. I also spent a number of hours reading up on university regulations, procedures, and Canadian law (all of which, in my term as VPA, have been broken by university employees to the detriment of students) to ensure that students’ cases are not dismissed.
v Catherine, Doug Gorman (General Manager of our Facilities Division), and I had a meeting with the person overseeing the work to be done on the electrical system powering Feild Hall.
v Updated the plaque for the winners of the GSU Awards.
v Each of the members of the Executive Council prepared a survey regarding her/his position. This 5-survey campaign, which was administered to the graduate student population in the Fall, was very successful, with each of the surveys getting a good proportion of the population. As VP Academic, I was be responsible for creating the survey concerned with academic considerations, the results of which were presented to our Board of Directors and SGS Academic Council.
v I began preparing for a campaign calling for a revision of the university regulation relating to the hours full-time students may work (which I tailored to go hand-in-hand with the bargaining that TAUMUN would do), but this project was abandoned in the wake of the Continuance Fee issue.
v Met with Donna Ball (one of the university staff working on the tuition –vs- continuance fee issue).
v Met with Dr. Noreen Golfman, the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, to discuss the GSU’s position on the creation of a Board to replace the existing SGS Appeals Committee. I shared our membership’s concerns about representation, the implementation of the natural justice system, and the dangers of relying on positive “cultures” instead of set standards for practice.
v Prepared monthly work reports for the GSU Board of Directors.
v Attended the GSU Costume Bash.
v Anumber of one-on-one meetings with Dr. Noreen Golfman, Dean of Graduate Studies.
v Photo shoot for Christmas Card.
v Assisted the welcoming ceremony of MUN’s new president.
v Attended the TAUMUN meeting of August 31st, and worked to ensure TAUMUN’s presence at the Gradfest events and the SGS Orientation.
v Attended a great number of workshops organized by IDO, and spoke to the organizers about our GSU’s Academic Committee co-organizing a workshop
v Had a luncheon meeting, along with the remainder of the executive, with the Dean and Associate Dean of SGS.
v Attended the School of Graduate Studies Christmas party.
v Attended the Student Affairs & Services “Resolutions Event”
v Attended the launch event of the URock Awards, where I met our MPA and the minister in charge, along with Dean Walker.
v Along with Emma, Catherine and Nate, we met with a representative from the University Awards & Medals Committee.
v Contacted the Secretary of Senate and drafted a recommendation regarding the transformation of the Senate Committee on Committees into the Committee on Senate Elections (on which I sit as the GSU representative).
v Attended the MITACS workshop on “Basics of Intellectual Property, Patents, and Trademarks” (I have been the GSU representative on the Senate Committee on Copyright for three years now).
v Represented the GSU at the MITACS workshop on Intellectual Property.
v Attended the “Author’s Rights and the Shifting Landscape of Scholarly Publication” workshop organized by the Office of the Vice-President Academic
v Attended the “Graduate Studies at Memorial University” workshop offered by SGS and HR
v Participated in the MUN-DISC-organized Accessibility Audit; prepared a statement and represented the GSU and the Committee for Students with Disabilities, both Visible and Invisible in a story on CBC’s “Here and Now”
v Met with the University President, the Dean of SGS and the VP Academic to discuss the “temporary measures” taken by SGS to address its budget shortfall. Also attended a prep meeting with Keith Dunne (CFS) and Adam Daniels (MUNSU rep on Board of Regents).
HANDOVER OF DUTIES
In order to simplify the task of recruitment for the next VP Academic, I have also created a document that contains all committees – committees of the GSU, committees reporting to the GSU, the various Academic Units, the University, and the Senate.
I was away from campus from June 4th until July 30th, and from December 19th to January 6th. If you have questions, comments, or issues that you think I might be of assistance with, please do not hesitate to contact me ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Thank you for reading!
-Sébastien Després
Vice-President Academic, Graduate Students’ Union
Memorial University of Newfoundland
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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