Check out what the BUSU Vice-President, University Affairs, Carleigh Charlton, has been up to this month
Finances
All accounts payable and EFTs are up to date and have been approved and completed on time. The VISA statements have been reviewed up to the start of my vacation time on the week of April 7-11. I was unfortunately off sick the week following, but will have all VISAs reviewed ahead of the completion of my term.
Brock Hiring Committees
The Vice-President Administration search is on-going, yet on track to be complete ahead of the end of my term. These are confidential searches, but I am confident we will an find amazing candidate.
New Student Centre
We have been working with the NRT to understand their fare unification which will go into effect mid summer and will have some impact on the subsidized spring summer u-passes we sell.
We will be rolling out the sale of these passes shortly, in time for the end of the U-Pass period, and I have put together some FAQs and an info sheet for the website and for the front desk staff to help support students in selecting the best pass for them.
Senate
On senate we have had some wonderful wins this year, especially including the update of the Student Absence self-declaration form, which is now open to professors excepting more than once per term (at their discretion) but a minimum of 1 time, and specifically outlines mental health, housing crisis, GBSV and food insecurity as reasons a student can use the form.
Open Education Resources
Regarding OERs, something I have been very passionate about, we have finally had an OER grant recipient in each faculty, and these projects have saved students over $566k and have had over a 24x return on investment. An area Brock is leading in in the province and something I’ve been very proud to see grow. We just celebrated and gave a thank you letter to all of our current grant winners.
Services
This year we continued to support students with tax clinics, free rides home during exams and connecting them with Niagara legal aid clinic for free legal aid services. With this exam season wrapping up, this semester’s drive home program ends this Thursday.
New Student Centre
Students and Alumni alike had the chance to say their goodbyes to the space last month, at two dedicated events, and the growing excitement and energy for the project is noticeable. I am very proud of the work that has been done on this project thus far, and incredibly exciting to be supporting bringing this project to the Brock Board of Trustees for the approval needed to move forward to demolition, on May 1st.
I look forward visiting and seeing this space we’ve dreamed up, come alive, and I am very excited for the future Brock students who will get to call this new space home.
Finally, as we prepare for transition, I want to wish the incoming board members, student senators and executive team good luck, and I hope those who will still be next year will offer a very warm welcome to these student leaders. Finally, I would like to offer a thank you to my fellow executives for their support throughout the year, and a congratulations for making it through our term.
Read more updates from BUSU VPUA here.