Representatives and committees

FAUW ensures that faculty members’ voices are well represented at all levels of the University and within FAUW itself, coordinating more than 100 faculty seats on internal and external committees and working groups.

If you are interested in participating as a FAUW representative or appointee, contact the Nominating and Elections Committee or see what seats we're currently looking to fill!

Board & Council | FAUW committees | University committees

You are welcome to contact any of your representatives with questions or suggestions.

How we represent you

Our work is governed by our elected Board of Directors with input from the Council of Representatives, committees, and all members.

Board members meet with the University administration biweekly through the Faculty Relations Committee (FRC). We also manage, with the University, faculty member appointments to dozens of other committees that help to shape faculty working conditions.

All Board, Council, and committee positions are filled by voting members of FAUW.

Keeping you informed

Our representatives report to members throughout the year, through:

reports and answering questions at our fall and winter general meetings
monthly updates about key developments to all units through the Council of Representatives
Board meeting summaries on our blog
highlights in our email newsletter, sent to all members every 2–3 weeks

FAUW Board & Council

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors sets the strategic direction for the Association. It meets meet biweekly September through June.

Council of Representatives

The Council of Representatives provides two-way communication between our Board of Directors and each academic unit at Waterloo. Each department or school selects one faculty member to act as a liaison with the Board. You can approach your representative about any concerns you think should be brought to the Board's attention.

If you would like to represent your unit, please declare your interest in joining the Council to your chair/director.

Supporting roles

Supporting the Board, Council, and/or general meetings are the FAUW parliamentarian and the general meeting chair. Katy Fulfer is FAUW's first parliamentarian, and the 2022 Spring General Meeting will be chaired by Moira Glerum.

FAUW's internal committees

Academic Freedom & Tenure (AF&T)

The Academic Freedom & Tenure (AF&T) Committee provides confidential support to individual members with workplace issues of all kinds.

Compensation Negotiating Team

In each round of bargaining, a team of three FAUW members negotiates a new compensation settlement with the University, in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement.

Elections Committee

The Elections Committee organizes FAUW elections and solicits nominations for the president and Board of Directors.

Equity Committee

The Equity Committee is a standing committee that engages in educational and advocacy activities related to equity issues, and liaises with related committees of the University, OCUFA and CAUT.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee consists of the president, past president (when there is one), vice president, and treasurer, as well as any other board members sitting on Faculty Relations Committee. It is responsible for advising the president in establishing the agendas of Board and general meetings, and helps triage new issues as they arise.

Lecturers Committee

The Lecturers Committee is a standing committee that gathers information and discusses matters pertaining to the working conditions of lecturers, and conveys issues raised by lecturers to the Board.

Nominating and Elections Committee

The Nominating and Elections Committee oversees elections for the FAUW Board and president and helps to recruit FAUW members for the Board, FAUW seats on University committees, and other roles within FAUW.

Working groups

FAUW sponsors two working groups of faculty. These are member-led initiatives supported by FAUW but not established or appointed by the Association.

Indigenous Priorities

The Indigenous Priorities Action Committee advocates for changes at the University of Waterloo to improve the experiences of Indigenous faculty, staff, and students.

Climate Justice

The Climate Justice Working Group brings together faculty members at the University of Waterloo to generate collective action on campus—and within our broader communities—to help foster a just, climate-safe future.

University and joint committees

Some University committees require representation from the FAUW Board or its committees. Others have faculty positions appointed by FAUW (or jointly with the University) from among the FAUW membership.

Only FAUW appointees are listed here. The University has other committees with faculty members who are not appointed by FAUW. Similarly, some of the committees listed below also have additional faculty members who are not appointed by FAUW.

Representatives from the FAUW Board of Directors or its committees

Committee	FAUW Representative(s)
Faculty Relations Committee (FRC) At FRC, five FAUW Board members meet with five University representatives biweekly to negotiate changes in working conditions (except salary). FRC approves changes to policy and the Memorandum of Agreement, and resolves non-policy issues. Learn more about FRC in our YouTube video.	Lori Curtis Trevor Charles Heidi Engelhardt Mario Ioannidis Kate Lawson
Senate The FAUW president holds an ex-officio position on Senate. The Secretariat's website lists other elected faculty representatives on Senate, some of whom happen to also be FAUW Board members.	Lori Curtis (as FAUW President)
Senate Executive	Lori Curtis (as FAUW President)
Senate Long Range Planning Committee	Joel Dubin (as a FAUW Board member)
Return to Campus Task Force	Mario Ioannidis (as a FAUW Executive Committee member)

Appointed from the FAUW membership

Committee	Faculty Representative(s)
Academic Integrity Advisory Committee	Heidi Engelhardt (Biology)
Accessibility Committee	Zara Rafferty (Recreation & Leisure Studies)
Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision Committee	Johanna Wandel (Geography and Environmental Management)
Copyright Advisory Committee	Joan Coutu (Fine Arts)
Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) Committee	Katie Damphouse (chair; FAUW staff) Daphne McCulloch (Optometry)
Provost's Advisory Committee on Equity (PACE)	Aimée Morrison (English Language and Literature)
Equity Data Advisory Group	Nancy Worth (Geography and Environmental Management)
Gender & Sexual Diversity Alliance	Daniel Cockayne (Geography and Environmental Management)
Faculty Grievance Committee	Manoj Sachdev (chair) David De Vidi (Arts) Roland Hall (Science) Sriram Narasimhan (Engineering) Sanjay Nepal (Environment) Paul Stolee (Health) Kirsten Morris (Mathematics)
(Task Force on) Graduate Student Supervision	Kate Lawson (English Language and Literature)
Hagey Lectures Committee	Rahim Moosa (chair; Math) Ori Friedman (Arts) Dara Gilbert (Science) Heather Mair (Health) Nadine Ibrahim (Engineering) Jeremy Pittman (Environment) Julie Kate Seirlis (AFIW)
Healthy Workplace Steering Committee	Jay Dolmage (English Language & Literature)
Joint Health and Safety Committees	Main campus: Philip Bigelow (Kinesiology and Health Sciences), Michael Chong (Chemistry), Laura Deakin (Chemistry) Architecture: Marie-Paule Macdonald Health Sciences campus (Pharmacy): Emmanuel Ho Stratford campus: Cayley McArthur
Pension and Benefits Committee	Ranjini Jha (School of Accounting and Finance) David Saunders (Statistics and Actuarial Science)
Pension Investment Committee	Ranjini Jha (School of Accounting and Finance)
Research Data Management Group	Joel Dubin (Statistics and Actuarial Science/Public Health Sciences)
University Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee (UTPAC)	See the UTPAC membership list maintained by the Secretariat
(Advisory Committee on) Traffic Violations and Parking	Mathieu Doucet (Philosophy)
Transportation and Commuting Working Group	Mathieu Doucet (Philosophy)
Wellness Collaborative	Jay Dolmage (English Language and Literature)

Policy review committees

Policy	FAUW Representative(s)
Policy 67 – Employee Assistance Program	Katie Damphouse (FAUW staff) Craig Hardiman (Classical Studies)
Policy 76 – Faculty Appointments & Policy 77 – Promotion & Tenure	Su-Yin Tan (Geography and Environmental Management) Kate Lawson (English Language and Literature)
Employee Accommodations	Lori Curtis (Economics) Jay Dolmage (English Language and Literature)

Representatives and committees