Bite the Ballot: Board of Governors Representative

The Undergraduate Board of Governors Representative is elected directly by students to serve as a voice for the undergraduate body. They hold one of the 21 voting seats on the board, along with the university president and the chancellor, the Students’ Union and Graduate Students’ Association Presidents, academic and non-academic staff representatives, alumni representatives and members of the public appointed by the provincial government. The BoG Rep is also a voting member of Students’ Council and General Faculties Council (GFC).

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This year, the Board of Governors representative (BoG rep) position is uncontested, with Dave Konrad, the incumbent, being the only candidate. Konrad shows both weaknesses and strength in his campaign proposals. Similar takeaways emerge when analyzing the advocacy work he has done over this past year. Will it be best to re-elect Dave Konrad or have a vacant position?

Dave Konrad

Dave Konrad presents an ambitious platform focusing on three main points: finances, representation, and communication. 

First, when it comes to student affordability, Konrad has an optimistic plan regarding tuition increases for both domestic and international students. Konrad mentions he plans to advocate against an increase in domestic tuition as he is convinced this will harm students. Also, Konrad promises to advocate to the Office of Advancement that they build a case on the value international students bring to Alberta, to help create a donor base for international students. 

On a similar note, he says he would advocate so that the Maskwa House project gets funding outside of the provincial government in order to be completed. The $30 million project, promised in 2015 by the university administration, would create a building on campus dedicated to Indigenous programming and ceremonies. However, serious progress has yet to be made on the project.

At multiple points in the campaign, Konrad has expressed his desire to make the project a priority. He acknowledges there are challenges but, at forums, has discussed some strategies to address the situation. One suggestion he gives is working with Aboriginal Students’ Council (ASC) and other groups to help identify and incite donors to participate in funding the project.

Nonetheless, it is unlikely that enough resources will be obtained solely from external donors in the case that the university does not receive significant funding from the provincial government. This issue calls for alternative and more attainable proposals to resolve this situation. 

One thing in favour of Konrad is that he has already been in the role for one year now. He claims that after the past year, he better understands university governance structures, has developed working relationships with board members, and has encountered more issues that still need to be addressed. If we take this into account, we could say that Konrad will be a good fit for the role this year, and this is in part true. 

But, this previous experience also gives us the opportunity to assess Konrad’s track record throughout the year. One of the main issues that stand out is that Konrad did not attend enough meetings with vital student groups. A prominent example is ASC, where one executive claimed he only came to one of their meetings last year and did not formally consult with them on his platform around Indigenous issues.

This begs the question of how efficient communication will be with stakeholders around the university, and whether there will be ongoing meetings and consultation throughout the year, not only during the first weeks. 

Lastly, regarding board communication and consultation, it was not the strongest this past year either. Beginning with academic restructuring, there was a perceived disconnect and distrust from the students towards the board, which was damaging to the process in general. 

Recognizing this issue, Konrad proposes a series of strategies to increase transparency. First, the development of a podcast that will allow students to hear firsthand board members’ perspectives around student issues. Another idea is inviting board members to Students’ Council to nurture a better relationship between the board and students. I consider this a viable option that could benefit students and strengthen the communication with student governance representatives. 

Nevertheless, this year we did not experience as much consultation as Konrad’s proposals suggest — indeed some student associations at the forums expressed that very little happened. Looking at his promises for this year, we can only hope there will be a stronger and ongoing consultation so no student is left behind.

Who will win, and who should win?

Because the position this year is uncontested, and considering the performance of candidate Konrad  in the forums, I believe Dave Konrad will be re-elected for the role. 

Even when some of Konrad’ proposals do not seem readily possible and there are issues Konrad could have addressed better this year, I also believe he should win. This is mainly because having Konrad in the role is certainly better than having a vacant position at the board.

Because he has been in the role for the past year, he already has experience in university governance that can be useful to better advocate for students’ issues next year. Looking at Konrad’s overall strengths and weaknesses, and accounting for his enthusiasm about his advocacy projects over next year, Konrad has my vote.

The Gateway as an apolitical organization does not endorse candidates. Authors who write “Bite the Ballot” pieces follow the races or referendums that they write about with the expectation they attend or watch every forum and read all relevant campaign materials in their entirety. The views expressed in this piece reflect the author’s best informed judgment.