Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union
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| Motto | "To provide the best student experience to our membership" |
|---|---|
| Institution | Wilfrid Laurier University |
| Location | Waterloo & Brantford, Ontario |
| Established | Established 1963, Incorporated - 1975 |
| Members | Approximately 17,000 |
| Affiliations | OUSA |
| Colours | Blue & White |
| Management Team |
President & CEO Olivia Matthews Chair of the Board & CGO Colin Aitchison VP University Affairs Laura Bassett VP Programming & Services Kaipa Bharucha VP Clubs & Associations Nicole Kuindersma VP Finance & Admin. Joanna Sadgrove VP Programming & Services Kaela Roemmele AVP University Affairs Matt McLean AVP University Affairs Raelle Ricci AVP Finance & Admin. Tiffany Tong AVP Clubs & Associations Nicole de Soysa |
| Website | yourstudentsunion.ca |
The Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union represents undergraduate students at both campuses of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario and Brantford, Ontario Canada. It operates the Fred Nichols Campus Centre in Waterloo as well as the Students' Centre on Laurier's Brantford Campus. Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union's Arms, Supporters, Flag and Badge were registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority on January 15, 2003.[1]
Governance
The Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union is governed by a Board of Directors made up of 12 Directors who are elected at large by the undergraduate student body. The Students' Union has adopted Policy Governance as a guide for its governance structure which has led to many recent changes. For instance, The President and Vice President: University Affairs no longer serve as members of the Board. However, the President, all Vice Presidents, and all Associate Vice Presidents attend meetings of the Board for informational purposes.
The Management Team is composed of the President & CEO (elected) the Vice Presidents (hired),the Associate Vice Presidents (hired), as well as the Chair of the Board & CGO (elected), who represents the Board of Directors on the team.
The Chair of the Board is elected by the incoming Board of Directors following the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the corporation in early February. The role serves to liaise between the day-to-day organization and the Directors as well as greater community surrounding the University. The Chair, as Chief Governance Officer, the President, as Chief Executive Officer, and the Executive Director, as Chief Operating Officer are the sole officers of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union.
The Current Chair of the Board & Chief Governance Officer is Colin Aitchison. This is the person who headed the secret meeting that unjustly disqualified Board of Director's candidate Anthony Zambito this 2016 election period.[2]
Directors are faced with the challenge of representing student concerns, while making effective corporate decisions.
Management Structure
President & CEO The President’s Department is responsible for the oversight of the entire organization. The President directly manages, supervises, and delegates to the members of the Management Team. The President is responsible for operating the organization in a manner that is inline with the policies by the Board of Directors and ultimately for meeting the ends prescribed by the Board of Directors. The President oversees all of the Vice Presidents. They are the Vice President: University Affairs, Vice President: Programming & Services (Waterloo), Vice President: Programming & Services (Brantford), Vice President Finance & Administration, and the Vice President: Clubs & Associations. The President also oversees the Executive Director & COO. The President & CEO is overseen by the Board of Directors.
The current President & Chief Executive Officer is Olivia Matthews.
Finance & Administration Department The Vice President: Finance & Administration is responsible for overseeing the recruitment, hiring, training, and appreciation of staff and volunteers involved in the Students' Union. They are also responsible for all of the financial aspects of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union. All human resources and finances are overseen by the VP:FA with the aid of full-time staff members and an Assistant Vice President. The VP: Finance and Administration hires an Associate Vice President: Finance and Administration for the Brantford Campus, who looks after the human resources and finances of the Students' Union on the Brantford campus. The VP:FA is responsible for overseeing the Hiring and Recruitment committee. They act as a support for all departments within the Students' Union.
The current Vice President: Finance & Administration is Joanna Sadgrove.
Club & Associations Department The Vice President: Clubs & Associations is responsible for overseeing the Students' Union's Clubs & Activities Department. They oversee one Associate Vice President as well as several volunteer coordinators. With over 120 clubs and faculty associations, the VP:C&A hires the Associate Vice President: Campus Clubs & Associations which oversees the Campus Clubs & Associations on the Brantford Campus. The department has multiple clubs and associations under them, including the Lazaridis Students' Society (LazSoc), Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS), and the Faculty of Science Students' Association (FOSSA).
The current Vice President: Clubs & Associations is Nicole Kuindersma.
Programming & Services Department The two Vice President: Programming & Services' are responsible for the overseeing the Students' Union's Programming & Services department on both campuses. The Services Department has the largest volunteer base with hundreds of students devoting time and effort to the seven services offered by the Students' Union. The two Vice Presidents hire their coordinators to run the programming and service committees on both campuses. They also both hire an Orientation & Transition Coordinator for their respective campus, who is in charge of planning and executing Orientation Week on their campus. .
The current Vice President: Programming & Services (Waterloo) is Kaipa Bharucha. The current Vice President: Programming & Services (Brantford) is Kaela Roemmele.
University Affairs Department The Vice President: University Affairs is responsible for overseeing the University Affairs Department and represents the Students' Union on their provincial lobbying affiliate, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance. They oversee two Associate Vice President: University Affairs, one for each campus. With the implementation of the two Associate Vice Presidents, the Vice President: University Affairs no longer manages volunteers on either campus, and focuses on the municipal, provincial, federal and institutional lobbying efforts of the organization.
The current Vice President: University Affairs is Laura Bassett. She is also sits on the Steering Committee at the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.
Membership
All undergraduate students at Laurier are part of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union. Waterloo has approximately 15,000 students and Brantford has approximately 3,000. Each registered undergraduate student of Wilfrid Laurier University pays an obligatory fee to the Students' Union at the beginning of every school year which funds the operation of the Students' Union, programs, business operations and campus clubs.
Waterloo Campus
The Fred Nichols Campus Centre is home to the Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union in Waterloo. The FNCC is a four story building found in the middle of the Waterloo campus. It includes all of the businesses and services that are provided by the Students' Union. All businesses are owned and operated by the undergraduate students at Wilfrid Laurier University. Businesses include The Turret Nightclub and Wilf's Restaurant & Bar. The Students' Union is the landlord for the Terrace Food Court which includes Harvey's, Pizza Pizza, Smoke's Poutinerie, Extreme Pita, Union Market, William's Coffee Pub Express, Bento Sushi, Mr. Sub. It also is the landlord for the privately operated International News convenience store.
Brantford Campus
The Students' Centre is home to the Brantford Operations. The building houses the offices for the staff members there, a workspace, office space for Foot Patrol, the Student Affairs Coordinator, a multi-purpose room, and a large lounge open to all students. The building also houses Student Affairs for the Brantford campus including Director of Student Affairs Office, OneCard Service, Accessible Learning, Counseling Services, Health Services, Career Centre, Aboriginal Services and Student Affairs.
The Brantford campus is also home to the student owned and operated William's Coffee Pub, and Golden Grounds Coffee kiosk, located in the heart of Brantford's downtown.
External Representation
The Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union is a founding member of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance. Federally, the Students' Union helped found the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations in 1995. As of 2013, the Students' Union has withdrawn their membership from the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations and has created their own federal lobbying initiatives under the guidance of their Director, Policy Research and Advocacy.
See also
References
- ↑ http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=76 Arms and Badge
- ↑ Zambito Disqualified from Elections, the Cord, February 2nd, 2016
External links
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