The UVSS is run for students, by students. We strive to continually improve how the UVSS supports students — the students who run it, and the students who are served by it.
This means ensuring that the work we do is sustainable, represents students, truly supports student well-being, and is guided by equity, diversity, and inclusion. We have heard loud and clear from students that these are the issues that exist within the current board structure, and we are undertaking steps to make sure that these issues are addressed in a meaningful way.
For this reason, we are undertaking a governance review to explore options to see how we can best run the UVSS, in order to improve how we support students. We are seeking an independent third-party with expertise in student governance, equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and/or the non-profit sector to conduct this review. From it, we are looking to gain a holistic, comprehensive, and evidence-based understanding of what board structure would most effectively support our mission.
In 2021, the UVSS completed an equity assessment of the UVSS Board of Directors, the UVSS has received several recommendations from both the UVSS Board and its staff on how to incorporate EDI into the organization. This governance review will guide our implementation of EDI recommendations.
We will also be looking to learn from student society board structures across the country. We’ll be exploring how UVSS Faculty Directors — a new governance change approved at the February 2022 UVSS SAGM — can meaningfully represent and advocate for their constituents.
The UVSS is here to support students in all areas of student life. We want to find the best way to achieve our mission of enhancing the student experience (through services, advocacy, and events) and building a campus community that embodies our values (decolonization, social justice, environmental sustainability, good governance, excellence, and fun). We anticipate that the work on this governance review will begin in May 2022, and that we will be in a position to begin implementing the recommendations from the review starting May 2023.