Updates to Board meetings

Due to a disruption at the scheduled March Board meeting, the Board of Governors was unable to conduct business that is critical to the functioning of the university, causing a delay in the approval of the 2024–25 university budget and tuition fee schedule.

The Board values hearing from members of the SFU community. Groups who wish to present to the Board of Governors can make a request through the process outlined on our website, and the Board is currently developing additional processes to facilitate dialogue on matters that are important to students, faculty and staff.

Moving forward, community members are invited to attend open session Board meetings by webcast. This change will ensure the Board can conduct necessary business while also increasing accessibility for members of the community who wish to view open sessions from diverse locations. Please register to view future open sessions by emailing board_admin@sfu.ca.

Changes in Board membership

As of March 19, Angela Paul, Alumni Order-in-Council, has resigned from her position on the Board due to her extremely busy schedule. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Angela for her service as a member of the Board, and I know she will continue to be engaged with SFU as an active alumnus moving forward. The B.C. Crown Agencies and Board Resourcing Office is aware of this change and will be supporting SFU to fill this vacancy.

I am pleased to welcome incoming members to the Board of Governors following recent elections:

• Emmanuel Adegboyega has been elected to an undergraduate student position on the Board for term of office from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025
• Colin Gervais has been elected to a graduate student position on the Board for term of office from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025
• Dr. Mark Collard has been elected to a faculty position on the Board for term of office from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2027

Thank you to Abhishek Parmar, outgoing undergraduate student representative, Tracy MacRae, outgoing graduate student representative, and Dr. Eric Gedajlovic, outgoing faculty representative, for their contributions to the Board.

Serving as a Board member is a volunteer commitment that takes a significant amount of time and energy and I am grateful that members of the SFU community contribute to the university in this way. We look forward to welcoming Emmanuel, Colin and Mark to the Board.

Budget

As I shared in a message to the SFU community on April 15, SFU’s 2024–25 Budget and Financial Plan was unanimously approved by the Board.

I am grateful to all those who contributed to the budget and financial plan to ensure that SFU has a balanced budget for 2024–25, as well as a view of long-term financial sustainability. I am confident that this plan sets SFU up for success while protecting values-based priorities across our community, including financial support for students, funding for teaching and research and our commitment to become a Living Wage Employer.

It is very important for our community to understand SFU’s current financial situation and future plans, and I encourage you to read the full budget and financial plan. 

SFU Medical School

The Board was glad to hear that the provincial government will provide funding for the SFU Medical School through Budget 2024. The joint Board-Senate working group on the medical school has met twice and had very productive discussions. I look forward to continued collaboration with Senate, in our respective governance roles, to ensure that the SFU Medical School advances through the proper channels of approval.

Board governance update

Thank you to those who shared their feedback on the repeal of Policy B 10.02. As shared in an email to the community last week, the Board voted to repeal Policy B 10.02 and to re-establish its structure and practices per the parameters of the University Act. The Board of Governors and its committees will continue to operate per the parameters of the University Act and publish agendas, minutes and ToRs on the Board website. For more information about SFU Board governance and the parameters outlined in the University Act, please see the FAQ on the Board website.

Next meeting

The next Board meeting will be on May 23. Community members are invited to view the open session meeting via Zoom by emailing board_admin@sfu.ca. A full schedule of upcoming meetings is available on our website.

Angie Lamarsh
Chair, Board of Governors
Simon Fraser University