Board Report: Spring 2025

The UWSA Board of Directors is pleased to announce we’ll be sharing termly updates on Board activities, starting with this first post, with the following highlights from the spring 2025 term:

• Several new directors joined at the end of winter and the beginning of spring 2025. With the support of UWSA staff members and other board members, new directors were onboarded into the processes, procedures, and expectations of their roles. New directors include Mifrah Abid, Tim Ireland, Sarah Landy, and Angela Rooke.
• The Board approved the 2025-2026 UWSA Budget* in April, with instructions to UWSA staff to identify potential cost savings in existing budget lines.
• Several directors were newly appointed into specific officer or committee roles:
  • Angela Rooke was appointed as secretary to the Board.
  • Lewis Fraser and Sarah Landy were appointed to the Finance Committee.
  • Mifrah Abid and Angela Rooke were appointed to the Governance and Nominations Committee.
  • Tim Ireland, Mifrah Abid and Sarah Landy were appointed to the Staff Relations Committee. Agata Antkiewicz and Bill Baer were appointed as alternate committee members.
• The Board moved for the Governance and Nominations Committee to have our lawyer (or another suitable expert) review proposed changes to the by-law and update our articles of incorporation to ensure compliance with Ontario's Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA).
• In response to reports from our Operations Team, the Board had lively discussions about several interesting topics over the spring term, including:
  • upcoming changes to the guidelines for hybrid and flexible work and UWSA’s continued advocacy in this space;
  • Provost's Advisory Committee on Staff Compensation (PACSC) discussions about the future of employee recognition and the Strategic Talent and Performance Framework;
  • changes to Policy 33; and
  • potential changes to the UW pension plan.
• The Board was also pleased to hear of the success of several UWSA events, including the series of Personal Finance workshops, the Navigating Job Loss session, and our annual volunteer appreciation event.

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