Dear students,
I am honored to be your Vice President Operations and Finance for the 2021/2022
academic year. The portfolio I oversee has two main components, one half of the
portfolio focuses internally on the operations of the ULSU, this consists of
but is not limited to: the organization’s financials, policies and practices.
The other side of the portfolio is outward facing and works with external
stakeholders, forging strategic partnerships, and sponsorship and donor
relations. Both are equally important and are a big factor in why I chose to
run for this position. Ultimately, regardless of what I am able to accomplish
this year, I swear to be much more than a Chief Financial Office for the ULSU.
The three main ideas I campaigned on are, innovation, accessibility,
experience. Innovation is a necessary force when it comes to creative problem
solving, the U of L, and by extension the ULSU is limited by its capacity and
budget as we are on the smaller end of Comprehensive Research Universities in
Alberta. That being said, we make do with our resources and can make them
stretch much further if we rely on innovative forces that we have at our
disposal in our university community. Accessibility, in a university setting is
a tall ask, but as students and as representatives of the student voice we need
to advocate for and organize for as much grass root decision making that our
organization and university allows– this ensures that problems are getting
resolved by those closest to the epicenter of the situation. Lastly, my two
years on the ULSU and multiple other experiences are important to helping me
achieve the goals and satisfy the needs of students, I will not only use my
experience on this campus to improve the student experience, but I also I want
to open doors for students for more opportunities to have a high calibre
experience that goes beyond their education. Whatever the year has in store,
these three foundational concepts will be at the forefront of my decision
making and representation. Although I wish to expand and improve this role in
every which way I possibly can to support students, the 3 key areas I have
personally identified and will spend the majority of my term pursuing are the
following:
-
Student Union Building Renovation Plan: It is beyond overdue to address
the lack of service offerings and the quality of services inside the Students
Union Building, and as well what we want this campus destination to offer to
students and the rest of the U of L community. This plan will evaluate the
Zoo, the SUB Food Court, the other services within the building, and the ULSU
offices and club spaces. This year I will strike up a committee to begin the
steps of consultation, research, and capital planning to ensure a multi-year
plan is approved to improve this very important hub that will not only
provide important services for students but will bring the ULSU more
opportunities
-
Student Representation: This goal has two main components, one of which
is related to my pillar of experience. The first goal is to develop more work
integrated learning opportunities internal to the ULSU so that not only can
we expand our efforts in terms of having more human capital to achieve goals
such as better events or more successful advocacy campaigns. In addition to
this I’d like to add a student employment page to the website where we have
opportunities for students for non course based employment. The second part
of this goal is getting back on the Budget Advisory Committee which is one of
the most important committees that requires student representation. We
mysteriously lost our seat on this committee in October 2019, and have
definitely felt the ramifications of not having this important committee to
advocate for students on. This involves advocating to upper administration,
and utilizing other campus partners in order to work together on getting back
on this important committee or any other bodies where student representation
is necessary as the face of post secondary education changes in the province.
-
Health & Dental Plan: The current financial model for the Health and
Dental plan is unsustainable, and currently the ULSU is doing everything in
its power to ensure we have autonomy over our plan as the health and dental
plan is synonymous with the ULSU and student support. We have already begun
to work on a terms of reference for a Health and Dental plan task force in
order to begin steps to rectify this situation. Although the future looks
grim if we do not adjust course, I am certain with creative solutions and
student consultation we will be able to overcome this hurdle and actually
come out with an improved service that will benefit the most amount of
students we possibly can.
I hope to achieve everything in this plan, alongside the rest of my fellow
executive council and student leaders in the general assembly, we can continue
to improve the student experience and make the U of L live up to its name as a
Destination University.
Tel: (403) 329-2292
Email: su.finance@uleth.ca
Office Hours
Monday: 1pm - 3pm
Tuesday: 10am - 12pm
Wednesday: 2pm - 4pm
Executive Action Plan
EC Reports 2021-2022 - VP Operations & Finance
