24 March 2016

Dear Colleagues:

Yesterday, Mr. Stuart Belkin, Chair of the Board of Governors, sent a broadcast email that included an announcement that the Faculty Association Executive have accepted the Board’s invitation to attend the April 14th Board meeting.

The Executive Committee would like to note for the membership that in response to our query about the format of this Board meeting, we were told by the Board Secretary that “April 14 will be an opportunity for the Board to hear from groups representing all members of the UBC community: faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Each group will be allocated 5 - 7 minutes to present its view, and another 10 minutes will be reserved for the Board to ask questions or seek clarification.”

The Faculty Association Executive believe this format is inadequate to explore the issues that we would raise with the Board with respect to university governance. It is the intent of the Faculty Association Executive to present concrete suggestions for improving the practices of the Board. Serious dialogue with the faculty on governance requires a greater time commitment on the part of the Board and so we are asking the Board to increase the time available for this conversation.

Sincerely,

Mark Mac Lean, President
On behalf of the UBC Faculty Association Executive Committee


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