The current election is for five directors representing the faculties of: Arts, Engineering, Environment, Health and Science. The director representing the Faculty of Math was elected in fall 2023.
Each candidate was invited to submit a statement; candidates' answers have not been altered in any way.
To get a sense of what qualifications you might want to look for in a candidate, learn more about Being a Board member.
Voting runs from Wednesday March 20 to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5, 2024.
The candidates
Arts
Engineering
Environment
Health
Science
Arts: Craig Hardiman
As a university, we are entering uncertain times - changes in administration, budgetary pressures, and a faculty that, more than ever, needs to be strong and united. I am passionate about FAUW's mission and its need to be a strong voice to meet these challenges head on, for the benefit of all, but for the faculty and students primarily. I am a strong believer in faculty rights and responsibilities in general, and in making sure that the administration of the university understands it is there to serve the students and faculty, not the other way around. I have been the beneficiary of FAUW's help more than once and my wish to serve comes from a place of ensuring future faculty can benefit in the same way I did, especially young and precarious faculty. I have served on the FAUW Board of Directors previously, served on policycommittees and on FRC, I have been on University Senate, Chair and Associate Chair of my department and numerous other service roles within and without the university. My approach to such positions has always been one of collaboration and to listen to the will of the faculty. I will always pursue policies and ideas that I feel will be forward thinking and benefit the future of higher education in Canada, but passionate debate is not mutually exclusive to collaboration and consensus building. This is particularly important for the Faculty of Arts. As a group we are challenged with impending re-organization, a provincial government that sees little “value” in what we do and a society that looks for economic reasons for study, yet so badly needs the critical thinking that we provide. It is imperative that we, as a faculty, can promote and champion these issues at the university, all the while ensuring that our professoriate and our student body is served in all of its needs. FAUW is the best “organization” and vehicle through which these desires can be realized. I would be honoured to serve on behalf of the Faculty of Arts, and I would appreciate being able to represent us to the wider community.
Arts: George Lamont
Now that FAUW has completed the P76/77 process, we must tackle new challenges for the common benefit of the UW community. Here’s what I believe we need to do in the next two years:
- Workload review: The P76/77 process could not properly address workload because the University’s central leadership does not solely control workload. We must tackle workloads next with a process that involves the right parties. We need practical solutions for colleagues who report they cannot take vacations, those who cannot take a regular one-in-six term without assigned teaching because of program requirements, and those whose teaching workload appears to be larger than it would be for a similar position elsewhere in the University. To do this, I will help conduct a proper investigation to determine exactly what is happening and why. Then, I will work to take up the University’s offer to develop clearer guidelines to define reasonable workloads, and base those responsibilities in the offices that have the most control over those workloads.
- Protect jobs and promote wise solutions to the budget crisis: The University is responding to external and internal pressures to cut costs. FAUW must draw on members’ expertise to help the University find solutions that practically address the growing post-secondary budget crisis without affecting the livelihoods of members. I am active in this already and will work with all sides to protect jobs and help UW meet this challenge.
- Assessments of teaching: We must move beyond our reliance on student evaluations to assess teaching effectiveness. The 2018 arbitration case in Ontario called for “extremely detailed teaching dossiers” and peer reviews of teaching. FAUW must work with the University to increase fairness and accuracy of assessing teaching without creating unreasonable new workloads in the performance-review process. As the Faculty of Arts Teaching Fellow for the past two years, I am intimately familiar with this issue.
- Clinical lecturers: Clinical lecturers have some special working conditions that were not considered at length in the P76/77 process. I have already started to investigate the needs of these colleagues and seek provisions to address gaps in their working conditions.
- Fiscal prudence for FAUW: I respect the sacrifice that colleagues make to fund FAUW. At a time when costs are going up everywhere else, I will continue to vote to manage FAUW’s money wisely so that FAUW invests its savings ethically but effectively to bolster members’ contributions, maintains a healthy reserve for crises, and has the ability to afford legal support for our negotiations with the University, but without raising its fees for members. FAUW’s rate is low in comparison to associations at other institutions, and I intend to keep it that way.
Engineering: Nasser Mohieddin Abukhdeir
In my current role as a FAUW Board member, I have done my best to act true to the FAUW constitution by promoting fair and equitable treatment of FAUW members and the university community as a whole. I would like to continue my participation in the FAUW Board of Directors because I believe that my contributions over the past 7 months have been constructive and progressive, but many of them remain incomplete. I request reappointment to the Board in order to continue contributing, especially in the following three areas:
(i) improving faculty participation in association and university governance through facilitating "liquid" democratic decision making,
(ii) improving university governance processes through meaningful an ongoing policy changes,
(iii) restoring university operational focus to the support of quality teaching and research.
Over the past decade, I have served in administrative roles which provide me with relevant experience, information, and context that enable me to optimally serve FAUW as a Board member. These roles include Associate Chair of Graduate Studies (Chemical Engineering), Faculty-at-large member of Senate (recently reappointed), faculty representative on the Board of Governors, and my current role on the FAUW Board and Executive.
If reappointed to the FAUW Board, I will continue working together with other Board members to address and solve issues facing faculty members through approaching them well-prepared and well-informed, while keeping an open-mind. Finally, if re-elected to the Board, I promise to do my best!
Engineering: Allyson Giannikouris
The last few months have brought progress in the right direction for FAUW with agreement reached on updated Policy76/77 terms and ratification of the MOA changes. Over the last few years though, it has become abundantly clear that the policy writing process at UW is fundamentally broken. While the 8+ years it took for Policy 76/77 revisions brought the issue to the forefront, one need only attend any FAUW AGM to hear how the issues run much deeper. At every meeting we are presented with a list of open policies, and it is noted that the development has gone on for 3, 4, 5 or more years. There is also the issue of unintended consequences. When issues arise with revised policies, there is currently no mechanism for change short of reopening them. Reopening requires agreement from all sides. I am concerned about what may happen 3-5 years from now when there has been time for the P76/77 changes to be tested in practice and issues are raised. Will we have a formal mechanism to adjust or be forced to use work arounds? We need a better way. I want to be part of the solution. Beyond policy, I look forward to learning more about the current issues related to pension and benefits, and how decisions we make now impact faculty in the long term.
I have previously served for 4 years as a member of the FAUW Lecturer’s Committee. My time there opened my eyes to the complexity of the issues facing many of our faculty members today as well as the need for diverse perspectives and experiences to be represented. I stepped away from FAUW for a few years while I took advantage of P14 (which I have studied in detail) to take parental leave, but I am confident my prior experience and my in-depth knowledge of multiple policies will help me ramp up quickly.
Outside of FAUW I have served for the last year as an Examinations and Promotions Committee representative in the Engineering faculty. This role involves supporting students in difficult situations and handling of sensitive information for which confidentiality is imperative. I also currently sit on the board of the Sanford Fleming Foundation (SFF), which is a charitable organization. I am in my second term, and currently serving as a member of the executive committee. Outside of work I have been a leader with Girl Guides for 15 years. I have developed my leadership skills through planning weekly meetings, weekend camps and special outings all while ensuring the paperwork is filed, finances are in order and policies are adhered to. Collaboration has been core to many of the roles I have or do hold. I feel strongly that we must listen to one another and be open to learning more about perspectives beyond our own to make the best decisions possible. I believe the skills I have honed in these positions will be an asset should I be selected to serve as a FAUW board member.
Environment: Leia Minaker
Elected by acclamation
I became a member of the FAUW Board of Directors in July 2023 and have been serving our association as Treasurer ever since. During my time on the Board, I have deeply appreciated how hard Board members have worked to restore the functionality of the Association, including hiring staff, moving forward with P76/77, and addressing many other issues that affect our members.
FAUW plays an important role in our collegial governance. A hard-working and collaborative FAUW Board is needed now more than ever to ensure that we can navigate challenges related to university budgets, workloads, and equity. On the FAUW Board, I focus on effective communication and action. In my experience so far, good outcomes for our membership are possible when there is a diversity of opinion and respectful communication. This is also true of my experience as a former member of the Board of Directors of Community HealthCaring KW, in my prior role as Director of the Survey Research Centre, and in my current role as Director of the Future Cities Initiative.
Collaboration is key to effective collegial governance. Good collaboration is possible when parties are interested in listening, learning, and problem-solving. Excellent collaboration happens when all parties come to the table, can understand other perspectives without getting too emotionally attached to any one perspective, and can creatively negotiate within the constraints of reality (economic and otherwise). Given the major budgetary challenges universities across Ontario are facing right now and into the foreseeable future, I think the most effective version of FAUW will be one led by folks who have excellent collaboration skills.
I look forward to continuing to serve our members in my role on the Board. I commit to listening to our members, effectively communicating, and doing my best to help solve the problems we collectively face.
Health: Kelly Anthony
Elected by acclamation
I have had the pleasure of serving on FAUW over the last year after a long break from Board service; it has been a pleasure to be back doing this work under solid and stable leadership. The current board is a deeply committed group of people who function very well and stay focused on the needs of our colleagues as they pertain to their jobs and our workplace. My current and previous FAUW Board service and my 7 years of service on the Academic Freedom and & Tenure (AF&T) committee offer sufficient evidence of both my commitment and my effectiveness in this role.
My time on AF&T was one of my most rewarding experiences here at UW; I got to work one-on-one with our colleagues as they faced some of the most difficult challenges of their careers and I was told with each case that my support was invaluable. The shift back to FAUW Board service allows a more 'upstream' way to serve and protect the interests of our colleagues by addressing, ameliorating, and even preventing the kinds of challenges, exploitation, and conflict I saw in my AF&T work. My approach, though consistently collaborative, is also to remain keenly aware of the 'cognitive traps' that may hinder small, cohesive teams such as groupthink, confirmation biases, or in-group preferences. I hope that this approach allows us to function optimally in a highly complex and de facto politicized environment with nuance, diplomacy, kindness, and a clear focus on the collective wellbeing of our members.
Science: Graham Murphy
Elected by acclamation
I am a mid-career chemistry professor with a passion for education and research, and a strong commitment to university service. I was the chemistry representative on the FAUW council for many years, and since Summer ’23 I have served as the Science Director and Vice President of FAUW. Additional roles I currently hold (and would be willing to continue in) include serving on the FAUW executive committee, on the Faculty Relations Committee (FRC) and as the Board delegate on the Lecturers Committee.
If reappointed, I would build on my recent FAUW experience to continue helping define and execute the Association’s short- and long-term objectives. As the current Science Director, I brought an analytical, evidence-based perspective to strategic planning discussions, particularly when advocating for the rights of faculty members. This perspective allowed me to consider diverse opinions and experiences as part of my decision-making process, and to ultimately choose a best course of action. I am committed to working with the other Board members to continue rebuilding a productive, functional relationship with the University, and to continue delivering positive outcomes for FAUW members. Most importantly, I look forward to devising and implementing initiatives that ensure the strength and viability of the Association, to further bolster the trust and confidence of its diverse membership.
Over my 11 years at UW, I have created a large network of contacts both within Science and across the other Faculties and Schools. Through these contacts, I have learned that faculty members at UWaterloo encompass a very diverse range of working conditions, experiences and perspectives, each with many unique characteristics. Over the past year, I have often relied on this familiarity with others’ experiences to better understand and empathize with them, and to make me an effective advocate for all. This was invaluable when making recent governance decisions related to policy negotiations, to resolving issues on FAUWs standing committees, and to rehiring FAUW’s staff complement.
Other key strengths include my work ethic and my ability to work effectively in a team environment. I am committed to building consensus whenever possible, by listening to and considering other viewpoints, and by compromising for the greater good. I also place a strong emphasis on maintaining confidentiality in such professional activities, with a proven track record of this on the FAUW Board, and on key committees within my department, within the Faculty of Science and on Senate. I firmly believe in upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct, and if re-elected as the Science Director, I will continue to show the same work ethic, discretion, and integrity. As my nominators for this Board seat were the Department chairs of Chemistry & Biology and the Director of Optometry, I hope to receive equally strong support from my Science colleagues, and I look forward to again representing them on the FAUW Board.