MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 18, 2024
A Lack of Collegiality: MUNFA Executive Concerned by PSC Announcement
The MUNFA Executive is concerned by the Presidential Search Committee’s (PSC) recent announcement that a private executive search firm will once again be used to find Memorial University’s next president.
MUNFA’s 2023 strike put Collegial Governance into the public eye, with students, staff, and the broader public showing strong support. Some minor improvements in collegial governance have been made, but the decision to use a private executive search firm for yet another Presidential Search is concerning. Memorial’s Senior Administration must realize that simply saying they are practicing collegiality, does not make it so.
“No private search firm should be making decisions about which candidates make it into the total pool of candidates being considered for the job of University President,” said MUNFA President Josh Lepawsky. “Memorial is a public institution with a special obligation to the province. The search for a new president should be as open and public as possible”
In a letter to PSC members dated April 15, 2024, the MUNFA Executive asks that the role of such a firm be limited to facilitating information collection. The MUNFA Executive is asking that the names of shortlisted candidates and their CVs be made public, and all shortlisted candidates meet and take questions from the various stakeholder groups relevant to MUNL during the campus visit phase of each candidate’s interview.
To quote the MUNFA Executive of five years ago, “We deserve the opportunity to hear from presidential aspirants about their vision for our future, how they will take us there, and why they are qualified to do so. How (well) do they understand our university and province? How do they handle a public presentation? How do they engage with faculty, students, staff, and community members? How do they handle challenging questions?…This is a job that is simply too consequential to be filled in secret.”
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The MUN Faculty Association is the certified bargaining agent for more than 800 academic staff members at Memorial University.
For more information, contact:
Isabel Ojeda, Organizing, Membership Engagement & Communications Coordinator
membership.munfa@mun.ca
