Notes from Council: Shaping Our Values, plans for RATT, and executive updates

At the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) Students’ Council meeting on August 26, a project establishing U of A’s values called “Shaping Our Values” was presented.

Additionally, Vice-president (operations and finance) Nathan Thiessen presented his plans to use Room At The Top (RATT) more effectively.

Mardhani-Bayne and Leblanc present “Shaping Our Values”

Logan Mardhani-Bayne, strategic development manager for the Office of the Provost and vice-president (academic), and Shannon Leblanc, strategic initiatives officer, presented their partnership with the UASU on “Shaping Our Values.”

According to their presentation, the U of A has never had a single set of permanent institutional values. Mardhani-Bayne and Leblanc are partnering with the university and the UASU to define long-term guiding values that define the university.

The process of creating these values is based on approximately three years of community engagement using a steering committee. The most important words according to the community were found to be: community, integrity, curiosity, impact, discovery. The values have been refined to curiosity and community.

“What is really critical about these is that at the end of the day, the values feel like something that every member of the university can see themselves in and be proud of,” Mardhani-Bayne said.

These values are meant to be foundational. They are supposed to guide the university’s culture, decision-making, and strategy for the foreseeable future. These values are meant to unify students, staff, faculty, and alumni.

The major themes are still under discussion, but are meant to be finalized by the end of 2025. One of the next major goals is to bring the proposed values to General Faculties Council (GFC) and the Board of Governors (BoG) by the end of this year.

“They really speak to who we are, what we’re about, and hopefully help create a sensible belonging and connection,” Leblanc said.

Plans for RATT

Thiessen shared his plans for expanding café service in RATT starting September 8th. The café will run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It’s purpose is to create a lounge-style café space for students, and to utilize the space more.

It will offer coffee and tea, pastries, and other speciality products like dirty sodas that distinguish it from Daily Grind. The café will not sell or distribute any alcoholic beverages. It will be run entirely by students. Thiessen said it will incur minimal costs, and not have any major capital expenses.

“This isn’t meant to compete with Daily Grind or Dewey’s, it’s something different,” Thiessen said.

Thiessen acknowledged that although RATT is more difficult to access than the other coffee places on campus, but he believes that the appeal of a quiet lounge experience will draw in traffic.

Executive updates

Vice-president (student life) Logan West discussed the executives attendance at the Augustana Campus move-in day, as well as Lister Residence move-in day. The purpose was to connect with new students and let them know what the UASU is.

Thiessen highlighted the importance of UASU social media engagement.

Vice-president (academic) Katie Tamsett reported on meetings with the university about academic governance and student representation, as well as working on issues around academic policy, student appeals, and curriculum consultation.

Vice-president (external) Abdul Abbasi recalled the Downtown Student Housing Incentive. With the approval of Edmonton City Council, the program directs $15 million towards student housing projects.

President Pedro Almeida mentioned that university Campus Services made a five-year agreement with Coca-Cola.

“This agreement was done, according to them, to see funding continue to scholarship’s anniversaries, but it is being done at a reduced amount,” said Almeida.

The university, with the exception of the Student’s Union Building, will exclusively sell Coca-Cola products.