Earlier this week, UNBC and the City of Prince George hosted a discussion with the Governor General of Canada to contemplate the future of our university and city as we celebrate anniversaries - 25 years for UNBC; a century for Prince George. The message from the Governor General, himself a former university president, was simple: the university belongs to the community, and the community belongs to the university. In that spirit, I feel a responsibility to provide an update on the status of negotiations with our faculty association and I thank the Prince George Citizen for providing this forum.
I am a founding employee of UNBC. Most of my 21 years at UNBC have been as a faculty member. When I first arrived, I was most impressed by three things: the strong regional and community support for UNBC; the commitment that UNBC had to the North; and UNBC's profound commitment to excellence. This commitment to excellence was manifested through the architecture of the campus, the composition of our degree programs, our early and sustained success in research, and the calibre of our faculty, staff and students. The university's commitment to excellence in teaching and learning is at the forefront of Canadian universities. UNBC has been an amazing success. It is an excellent university; one that has spawned successful and rewarding careers for me, many of my colleagues, and importantly our graduates.
Today, this commitment to be an excellent, regionally responsive university has been paramount as we negotiate the first collective agreement with our faculty since they unionized last spring. Since May, we have come to an agreement on the vast majority of articles. Compensation remains. The university acknowledges that compensation is a critical issue for faculty association members, and has sought to address this concern while remaining consistent with the provincial government's economic stability mandate for all public sector employees.
The university has proposed a reasonable and respectful compensation package that includes a minimum general wage increase of 0, 1, 1.5, 1.5, and 1.5 per cent over the five-year agreement. This proposal is consistent with agreements that have already been reached with more than 200,000 public sector employees, including teachers, college instructors, and other public sector employees. Faculty at Royal Roads University have also accepted a similar compensation arrangement. Beyond this, the university has found innovative ways and savings to further address compensation concerns. Further details about this proposal can be found at www.unbc.ca/faculty-relations.
The total compensation package proposed by the university over the five-year agreement adds $4.5 million to FA member compensation.
In order to foster excellence, the university must ensure it operates in a fiscally responsible and sustainable fashion. UNBC has a number of different demands for increased funding, including student services, investments in research, and regional delivery. At the same time, the university faces some significant challenges that this newspaper has correctly referenced. Some of these challenges include UNBC enrolment patterns, Northern B.C. demographics , and increased competition from new universities. When I came to UNBC, there were four universities in B.C. Today there are 11 public universities.
We are committed to regional delivery, comprehensive student services, and strong academic programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels while also operating our campuses and providing effective support services. UNBC will thrive as all of us - students, staff, faculty, alumni, government officials, employers, educational partners, and others - continue to strive for excellence and success together, for the benefit of northern communities.
