Candidates: FSA Board Elections 2016

Candidates: FSA Board Elections 2016

UPDATED (March 7, 2016): A candidate has stepped down for the position of Director, Associate members therefore a vote is no longer necessary. All positions, see below, have been acclaimed.

As per FSA by-laws, the 2016-2018 elections are for the FSA President and Vice-President and also, due to a vacancy, a by-election for one of the Director, Associate Member positions on the board. Nominations were accepted from Feb 10th until Feb 26th for eligible positions. Based on nominations received President and Vice-President are acclaimed as is the position of Director, Associate Member.

Please take the time to read over the candidate statements (below).

Questions can be directed to the FSA or to the Chief Returning Officer, Frances McLafferty.

President

Acclaimed 

Teresa Place

I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent most of my career working in two fields that have done so much enhance the quality of our lives: education and healthcare. If I’ve learned one thing from my ten years in healthcare and my fifteen years at BCIT, it’s that you have to keep fighting for what’s important. Despite the efforts of the provincial government to hinder bargaining, we need to be able to negotiate with our employer about the issues that matter: the inability of some programs to recruit and retain experienced staff due to financial constraints, ongoing workload issues, and the lack of support and benefits for part-time faculty and staff. Our success in resolving these issues will help our students succeed, and their successes in turn will contribute to the social and economic health of BC.

Vice-President

Acclaimed 

Kenzie Woodbridge

Kenzie Woodbridge has been working at BCIT since she started as a BCGEU Auxiliary at the Bookstore in July of 2000. Kenzie has been working in Web Services in Information Technology Services since 2004, where she is currently the Web Content Community Coordinator, supporting and training BCIT’s community of Marqui users; the Knowledge Base Administrator for ITS; and where she has a new role as Loop Community Manager, with a focus on training and support for all Loop users. Outside of work hours Kenzie spends a lot of time playing with her great kid. Kenzie is an occasional modern quilter and practices weekly with a local community concert band, playing euphonium and tuba.

Director, Associate Members

Acclaimed

Paul Mills

Greetings.

For those who don’t know me, I have been a PTS instructor for the School of Computing and Academic Studies since the Winter term 2001. I enjoy a full course load and have developed some of the more popular Computer Programming courses over the past 15 years. I have a rewarding working relationship with BCIT and have managed to connect with a large number of fellow PTS members during my time at BCIT.

I believe my extensive teaching experience and relationships with my PTS colleagues has had a positive impact on my life. While enjoying my time at BCIT I have also become aware of the issues all FSA members face. It is my desire to obtain a position in the FSA that will allow me to address issues directly to have influence on improving our overall standing with the institute. As an Associate Director I would be especially committed to addressing the concerns of PTS members.

Many of my PTS colleagues feel that while the institute openly acknowledges the importance of Part Time Studies to the bottom line, they don’t seem willing to compensate us accordingly with pay, benefits and support. As a Director I would be addressing these concerns. Although the institute does appreciate the work we do in PTS I believe they are handicapped by an operational model that is out of date. We face a desperate need for an institute-wide shift in attitude towards Part Time Studies.

One of the main problems we face as PTS staff is the lack of coordination when it comes to uniting us as a single voice. With 60% of the student population attending PTS classes our time has come to take on a more prominent role in the growth of the institute. All sides need to embrace this. We, as PTS staff, have to take ownership of our own future. As an Associate Director I would be pursuing options with the Board of Directors to facilitate the means to bring people together in a united effort to foster change.

We need to look at the next four years as a lead up to contract negotiations. There are two seats on the Board of Directors, which have been made available to PTS representatives. Given the opportunity to fill one of those seats I would work closely with the other Board members on all issues, and in particular those that are most important to PTS staff.