Students brought up to date at forum January 30, 2006
Posted by mwj as governance, politics, twu, twusa. trackback.An open forum was held in the TWUSA office last Thursday to share information about the allegations surrounding president Snider and the chairman of the Board, Allan Hedberg. Members of Student Council read prepared statements, shared documents, and answered the questions of the 80 or so students, faculty, alumni, and staff that were present.
Andrea Norrish, Executive VP of Student Council, presented a short powerpoint outlining the issues that have been raised by different groups. Most of these groups expressed concern about a perceived lack of transparency and accountability in the senior areas of TWU’s administration.
According to the presentation, parents have raised concerns about the possibility of abuse of power and “would like to see that possibility removed by implementing a change in policies controlling the President’s powers.”
In a letter sent on December 23, The TWUSA Senate asked which policy changes were specified in the harassment settlement between Snider and the complainant, and inquired about the proposed timeline for implementation of these changes. The letter also asked why, if Snider was innocent and the university was not complicit in providing support and protection from the individual, does the university feel it necessary to change policies.
Dr. Saffold confirmed that the actions of the President were improper, and said “there was no attempt to say that nothing had happened or that there was no need for an apology.” He also outlined one aspect of a proposed policy change which involves “an independent investigator in cases where the complaint is against a senior member of the University’s administration.” He also said that the full revisions will be circulated on campus after the Board has met in February.
Another document unanimously passed by the Faculty Association calls for more accountability and appropriate representation on the Board of Governors. The document cites the eligibility requirements of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, which require each member institution to have a Board of Governors that functions in an open and transparent manner, is accountable to the public, and has appropriate representation from the public, academic staff, students, and alumni.
To comply with these standards, the document recommends that “full Board and all committee meetings be open to the public excepting only [a] small minority.” It also recommends adding elected faculty, student, staff and alumni positions to the Board, and asks the Board “clarify” to whom it is accountable and how it “holds its senior officers accountable.”
After meeting with President’s Cabinet on January 18, the TWUSA exec released a letter to the student body about the issues. The letter informed students that the exec will be meeting with the Governance Committee, a sub-committee of the Board formed to deal with the questions of appropriate governance structures that have been raised.
The letter also pointed to the “underlying dynamics of the organizational government of the university,” and asked again for a “thorough diagnosis of our policies and structures [to] validate the authentic moral intergrity we all seek.”
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