Rejected USSWORD motions

The following motions were presented by USSWORD senators and rejected because the Senate Executive Committee, "was guided by the principles underlying the draft procedures and bylaws that will come before Senate at the upcoming meeting, and also by the belief that these matters are outside the purview of Senate." A discussion of the proposed bylaws can be found here. 

Motion A

  

PRESENTED BY: Mary Jean Hande, Member at Large and Jordan Miller, Member at Large

DATE OF MEETING: April 21, 2012

SUBJECT:             Clarification as to actions taken by the Board of Governors Chair and the                                    President to avoid potential conflict of interest.

DECISION REQUESTED:

                        It is recommended:

That the Senate assembled here asks clarification from the Board of Governors as to whether or not Ms. Hopkins and Dr. MacKinnon recused themselves from the discussion and vote regarding appointment of the CCNI board of directors on December 9, 2011 and, if they did not, to determine if these governors were in a conflict of interest by participating in that discussion and vote.

                       

SUMMARY:

The University Conflict of Interest Policy (http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/policies/operations/4_01_01.php) sets out that it may constitute a conflict of interest should employees or governors of the University:

·       Accept gratuities, gifts or special favors from entities or individuals with which the University does or may conduct business; or

·       Influence the appointment of family members, relatives and affiliates to positions at the University.

The University Board of Governors appointed the board of directors for the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation (CCNI) at its meeting of December 9, 2011.

The Digest of Board of Governors minutes indicates that Cameco vice-president Engie Ozberk was among those appointed to the CCNI board of directors. However, this digest of minutes does not indicate whether or not President Peter Mackinnon and Board of Governors Chair Nancy Hopkins recused themselves from the discussion and vote regarding appointment of the CCNI board of directors on December 9.

In light of the fact that Ms. Hopkins is a shareholder and member of the Cameco board of directors, and that Dr. MacKinnon accepted a gift of an excursion to Cameco’s northern operations and its lodge on Yalowega Lake in 2009, as reported to the Board of Governors in October 2009, there is reason to believe their apparent failure to recuse themselves from the above mentioned discussion and vote constitutes a conflict of interest.

Motion B

PRESENTED BY: Sandra Finley, Member at Large and Mary Jean Hande, Member at Large

DATE OF MEETING: April 21, 2012

SUBJECT: Developing an explicit policy to outline standards of conduct regarding political endorsements by University administrators

DECISION REQUESTED:

                        It is recommended:

That the Senate assembled here urges the University Administration and the Board of Governors to develop an explicit policy to outline the standard of conduct regarding political endorsements by University administrators.

                       

SUMMARY:

The Bylaws of the University Board of Governors (III. 5) stipulate that it is the responsibility of all governors “to protect and defend University autonomy.” To that end it has always been convention that the University President maintains public neutrality in partisan political affairs.

However, in the 2011 provincial general election the current University of Saskatchewan President publicly endorsed the candidacy of the current Minister of Advanced Education.

In one of his election campaign brochures, the Minister Norris, candidate in Saskatoon Greystone, quoted Dr. Mackinnon as saying, “"Rob Norris is the finest minister responsible for post-secondary education that I have been privileged to work with in my thirteen years as President of the University of Saskatchewan."

The President gave explicit permission to the Minister to use this quote for his campaign material as documented in an article in The Star Phoenix: “Norris's office asked for permission and MacKinnon said he did not object” (David Hutton, October 28, 2011). In fact, the President stated that the Minister "was entitled to use it” and the Minister noted that, "(Endorsements are) appreciated as they arrive" (ibid). These facts are corroborated by reports of private conversations with both Dr. MacKinnon and Mr. Norris.

ATTACHMENTS:

1.     David Hutton’s October 28, 2011 article in The Star Phoenix, “MacKinnon comment a conflict: prof.”

SP Article on Corporate Influence at the U of S

U of S senators want more public input 

Rory MacLean

October 11, 2011

University of Saskatchewan senators who this summer called for the board of governors chair to resign because of her ties to Cameco Corp. are now saying the senate itself has a democratic deficit.

They formed the group University Senators in Saskatchewan Working to Revive Democracy (USSWORD) earlier this year to criticize the corporatization of the university.

The group was created after environmental lawyer Stefania Fortugno penned a letter that accused board of governors chair Nancy Hopkins of having a conflict of interest between her financial interest in Cameco and position as chair of the search committee for the next university president.

Elected senator Mary Jean Hande said a number of senators and faculty have since voiced their support for USSWORD, but are afraid of repercussions if they should be seen as aligning themselves with the group.

"They're afraid to speak out about these things because they're worried about repercussions," she said. "They're worried about bullying and they're worried about harassment."

Hande wouldn't specify exactly how many senators are involved, but she admitted it is less than half of the 28 elected to the body.

It's been difficult for the group to communicate with the other senators, said Hande, because communication is vetted by the senate secretary and the senate email list has recently been disabled.

Motions submitted by USSWORD to be put on the last senate meeting agenda calling for an investigation into Hopkins' apparent conflict of interest were rejected twice for being out of order.

"They told us there wasn't enough time to discuss these motions at the meeting, so they basically rejected them. They don't have the power to do that," said Hande.

Hopkins earlier denounced the accusations as "absurd," saying they stemmed from the fact that Cameco is in the nuclear business, "which is a big flashpoint for many people."

A recent chart issued by USSWORD outlining different corporate ties at the university reveals a nuclear focus, bearing the title Radioactive Trinity: A study of partnerships of government, industry and the U of S, though it also outlines links to several oil companies among university governors. These connections call the university's autonomy into question, said Hande.

"The university is a public institution. Its role is to serve the university community. That type of influence takes the university away from the influence of the people of Saskatchewan. We're concerned that the university is being transformed into some sort of think-tank for the energy industry."

USSWORD will be bringing three motions to the next senate meeting and is asking any interested members of the public to attend. The Occupy Saskatoon protesters will attend the meeting, which starts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in Room 150 in the College of Law building.

PROTEST COMES TO SASKATOON

The growing Occupy Wall Street movement demonstrating against corporate power and economic disparity hits Saskatoon on Saturday.

The Occupy Saskatoon event starts at 9:30 a.m. at the University of Saskatchewan, where the rally will support a group of academic activists and elected officials speaking out against corporate influence at the university.

The rally then marches to downtown Saskatoon and stops at Friendship Park for the day-long demonstration.

Occupy Wall Street is a continuous demonstration that has attracted thousands of people to New York to protest corporate influence in American society and government.

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/senators+want+more+public+input/5529876/story.html#ixzz1aV0CjbM9

Senators intend to present motions regarding Autonomy, Corporatization, Transparency and Communication at U of S Senate Meeting

The following are summarized motions that were submitted to the U of S Secretary, by elected senators, for inclusion in the October 15^th U of S Senate Meeting Agenda.  The motions were twice rejected by the Senate Executive on the basis that they were not “in order” and that they would like to “ensur[e] that sufficient time is given to the substantive issues that are on the fall meeting agenda.” As they are currently drafted, the U of S Senate Bylaws do not restrict individual Senators from placing motions on the agenda and the Senate Executive has conceded that these motions can be presented at the Senate Meeting for inclusion in the agenda.

That these motions were rejected by the Senate Executive, is just another example of the impoverished democratic climate on the U of S Senate, and emphasize the urgency of having motions such as these on the agenda. These are substantive issues that deserve proper consideration and discussion at the upcoming U of S Senate meeting and these Senators intend to see them discussed. If you’re concerned about Autonomy, Corporatization, Transparency and Communication at the University of Saskatchewan, we encourage you and all Saskatchewan community members to attend the October 15^th U of S Senate Meeting to show support for these motions.

Summaries of the three motions:

1. In light of an astonishing number of harassment and intimidation cases at the University of Saskatchewan, the senators seek clarification from the Board of Governors around the apparent dysfunctional role of the University administration in matters of dispute mediation and resolution.

2. In the past year alone, it was brought to the attention of the Board of Governors that their chair, Nancy Hopkins, appears to be in a significant conflict of interest by concurrently serving as a Cameco board member; and corporate and government interference has resulted in the inappropriate earmarking of $30 million of public money for the U of S Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation. Concerned that these instances represent a growing trend, the senators request clarification of issues regarding the apparent inability of the Board of Governors to protect the university autonomy from corporate and government influences. 


3.  At present, communication amongst U of S senators is restrictive and vetted by the University Secretary. USSWORD senators seek the formation of a committee to facilitate communication amongst all senators.

What: University of Saskatchewan Senate Meeting

When: 9:30AM, October 15, 2011

Where: Room 150, College of Law , University of Saskatchewan

Infographic Update

An updated infographic with footnotes has been added to the infographic page.  The infographic visually represents what appears to be a high degree of interconnectedness between the university, the government, and industry.

University/Corporate Connections

UPDATE: A new version of the chart, along with footnotes, is available here!

The following is a draft of a chart that graphically displays some of the connections between the University and the nuclear and oil industries.  It requires careful perusal, but raises some questions about the corporatization of the university.  A more developed and refined version will be available soon, so stay tuned.

USSWORD in The Star Phoenix

On Wednesday, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix published an article outlining the presidential search controversy. The following is an excerpt:

"Senators want board chair to step aside
By Janet French, The StarPhoenix August 17, 2011

A handful of University of Saskatchewan senators are calling on the chair of the board of governors to step aside because of her ties to one of the world's largest uranium producers.

The senators also say lawyer Nancy Hopkins's position as a board member for Cameco Corp. puts her in a conflict of interest chairing a search committee for a new university president."

Read more: 
http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=df82baea-a6c5-43bd-bdc3-26214c577bdd

USSWORD in The Star Phoenix

Today the Saskatoon Starphoenix printed an article summarizing the presidential search controversy thus far:

Senators Want Board Chair to Step Aside

In the article, Mary Jean Hande says:

"I think it would be very difficult to maintain that public research goal and vision of the university if it was run by somebody who was working in the corporate sector as well."