MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT: Elections 2002
Due to changed personal circumstances, a candidate has withdrawn his name from the upcoming election. This means we now have only 9 candidates for the 9 positions, and all will be therefore elected by acclamation. The President will declare the slate of candidates elected on March 16, 2002.
It is somewhat disappointing that we will not have an opportunity to go through the election process. However, I’m confident that all of new Council will work very hard and do their utmost to ensure that they always represent the student body responsibly. Thank you to everyone for your interest in the election. Watch this site for more information on the nine men & women who will form your new AUSU Council!
Debbie Jabbour,
President, AUSU
Council News
This has been an exceptionally busy couple of months. Elections are underway, a CRO has been appointed, and ballots will be mailed out this week. Some other highlights:
“¢ The peer portal is under development through AU’s International Consortium for the Advancement of Academic Publication initiative. S. Barg has been working with the members of this team to ensure students’ views are represented and that AUSU remains involved in this venture, since it will be of great benefit to all concerned. Students will sign into the peer portal, then will access things such as course-specific boards, chat, FAQ’s, links, and a variety of student services.
“¢ A new ad hoc committee has been formed, with M. McInnes as chair. This committee will focus on website and Voice planning and development.
“¢ Council discussed the need for a grad student association (based on feedback and inquiries received) and will be looking at initiatives for grad students, with the goal of assisting in the formation of a grad student association linked to AUSU. This will build valuable collaborations with other organizations and will be in line with AU’s focus on increased growth in grad programs.
“¢ G. Dulai submitted a proposal for a variety of new scholarships for our members. The proposal has been referred to the Finance Committee for review.
“¢ Emergency bursary and computer bursary are being revamped to make implementation more cost-effective.
“¢ Members of AUSU executive met with AU President Dominique Abrioux and VP Finance Andy Woudstra regarding tuition costs. S. Barg travelled to Athabasca to represent AUSU on the Budget Advisory Committee February 7/8.
“¢ S. Barg is arranging a seminar on board development with Alberta Community Development. This will involve the attendance of all on Council, to be held after elections.
“¢ Bylaws are still being worked on, in conjunction with research on board development. The goal is to simplify and streamline our bylaws, while implementing more detailed policies.
“¢ The Centre For Learning Accreditation Steering Committee has had an initial meeting and another coming up in March. They have invited two student representatives to sit on the committee, D. Jabbour and N. Palamarchuk.
“¢ The Strategic University Planning Committee circulated initial discussion papers within the University for feedback. As student rep on this committee, D. Jabbour has been working to ensure student interests are taken into account in all university planning. Students with inquiries regarding the SUP can contact D. Jabbour or any member of the committee.
“¢ Congratulations to AUSU staff member Christine Lynch on becoming an AU student.