Could you describe the role of the Board of Regents? Why is it important to the Vic community?
The Board of Regents is the highest ranking administrative body at Vic; it could be thought of as the board of directors in a company that makes the important administrative decisions. Board members sit in various sub-committees that govern their respective aspects—for example, Campus Life and Property Management. Among the Board’s representatives are the Chancellor, the President, and six student representatives, one of which is the President of VUSAC. We would be representing student interests at the Board level, which I believe is important considering the Board is usually very distant from student life.
You served as the finance chair of VUSAC this year. Why is the Board of Regents your next step?
Through my position on VUSAC, I’ve developed an interest in understanding how Victoria University functions at the higher administrative level. My personal and academic interests lie mainly in finance and management, and being Finance Chair led me to start looking at how this relatively large institution operates. I was dissatisfied with the lack of information that’s easily available to students and the public regarding the higher administrative activities of their university. They have their audit financial statements online, which essentially conveys a very broad picture on their assets and liabilities, however I’m interested in understanding aspects like their budget allocation process for the many events hosted by the Dean’s office that we see.
Do you have any specific plans or ideas you’d like to bring to the Board? Why is this platform important to you?
I think that students often don’t pay attention to the financial side of the institution, whether for lack of interest or lack of accessibility, but something I’d really love to do with the Board that I’ve also tried to do with VUSAC is to provide students this knowledge that’s available in a way they can understand. I study actuarial science and I’ve been exposed to financial jargon, so I can grasp what’s going on in the institution’s financial statements. I’d like to try and publish a report in relatively simple terms to outline large events or changes that are happening in the university such as budget changes. Making information at the Board level more accessible at the student level is something I’d like to accomplish next year. In more general terms, I feel the Board is currently somewhat out of touch with the student body; that phrase has a negative connotation but there’s no denying that the student body rarely interacts with the Board asides from these representative positions, and I’d like to try to close this gap. For example, VUSAC commissions and commissioners have specific goals and interests, which I believe would gain much traction if elevated to the board level and provided with that platform.
Which sub-committees on the Board are you interested in and why?
I’m interested in the more finance-related sub-committees. For example, Finance and Audit of course, but a few of the other important ones include Campus Life, Investments and Property. I believe I can bring a fair amount of experience and background knowledge to these committees and being able to provide information from that platform to the student body is important to me as well. Especially with groups such as Leap UofT and the Sustainability Commission calling for divestment, it’s important to utilize that platform in the Investment Committee and elevate goals such as divestment from fossil fuels to the board level and hopefully make progress in that aspect.
What challenges do you anticipate in this position?
I imagine having a voice at the table may be a challenge for any student representative in that role, especially if giving input requires understanding of administrative jargon. I’m lucky enough to be in a position where I could comprehend the entire discussion in a meeting in the Finance and Audit Committee for example, which means I’d be able to contribute ideas as well. I think there’s a pretty steep learning curve for everything that goes on in those circles and the challenge comes with being heard. However, I believe that bringing the ideas and discussions of other student groups to the table will give more confidence to the student representatives on the board, knowing that they carry the interests of the student body with them.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
