GFC discusses Casavant Organ removal, accessibility and SHAPE goals

At the May 25 General Faculties Council (GFC) meeting, faculty of arts member Christopher Lupke proposed a motion to postpone the removal of the Casavant Organ. Additionally, Provost and Vice-President (academic) Verna Yiu presented a three-year report on the implementation of SHAPE: A Strategic Plan of Impact (2023–2033) to the council. Vice-provost (access, community, and belonging) Carrie Smith and Danielle Peers also led a discussion on the Accessible Spaces project.

Three-year report on goals and targets for SHAPE given

Yiu stated that the university is broadly on track to achieve the three-year targets and goals. “We’ve also built some great critical foundations to leverage our unique strengths and set us up to navigate our ongoing complex and changing environment,” Yiu added.

Some major examples Yiu gave were the Integrated Enrolment Growth Plan (IEGP), the first of its kind in Canada. Yiu also mentioned the Igniting Purpose: Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP), and Forward with Purpose: Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation (SPRI). She also mentioned Braiding Past, Present, and Future: the Indigenous Strategic Plan to evidence the accomplishments of SHAPE.

“We’ve made some meaningful progress against our top-level institutional performance indicators, while recognizing that these are long-term measures,” Yiu said. In some instances, the progress will be evident over the 10-year horizon of the plan.

In the next three years, SHAPE will be focused on growth for sustainability, a commitment to outstanding student experience, research and partnership impact, and operational effectiveness, Yui stated.

Motion to postpone the Casavant Organ removal discussed

During the GFC meeting, Lupke, a professor of East Asian studies, proposed a motion that would recommend the U of A postpones the 1978 organ’s removal until a full discussion is had. “For example, a town hall meeting, … an online survey, a discussion with the university senate, and [GFC], and governance review,” added Lupke.

GFC discussed the implications for the university if the organ’s removal were delayed. The discussion focused on accessibility, which has been a main topic of contention surrounding the removal, and the cost of delay in construction. Due to construction already being underway, postponing the removal of the organ would incur daily costs for the university, according to Bill Flanagan, President of the U of A and chair of GFC.

The vote on the motion resulted in a tie. Flanagan abstained from voting, and as a result, the motion failed.

Presentation on Accessible Spaces project

Smith and Peers presented on the Accessible Spaces project. “The purpose of this project is to increase the accessibility of user experiences with the U of A’s built environment,” said Peers.

The first plan of action was to build audit tools for spaces on campus, starting with basically accessibility qualities of those areas. A navigation app is also being created that can be utilized by everyone, not just those with disabilities. The wayfinder will help users find the most optimal route for their needs. Elevator outages and other factors limiting accessibility will be kept up to date so users can be given routes that are actually usable.

The project will be mainly data driven, rather than focusing on the compliance versus non-compliance with the accessibility of a building. Doing so will help make the most impact on accessibility as it will be based on the experiences of those on campus, according to Peers.