18th Meeting of the Council of UArctic / June 2014
Agenda item: 12-b
Proposal - Election of Student Representatives to the Board of UArctic
Background:
UArctic Bylaws (amended text re. agenda item 7-b)
Section 4.
UArctic Board of Governors
The Board is the highest governing body of UArctic and has general responsibility for
UArctic’s development and for its main priorities.
The Board is a group of elected individuals, numbering at least five and not more than
eleven, all of whom serve in their personal capacities on behalf of UArctic. In addition to
this number, a student representative shall be a member of the Board.
Each member of the Board serves a three-year term, renewable once; and members having
served as Board Officers are eligible for re-election to the Board for a third and final threeyear term.
The student representation within the Board shall consist of three individuals, each
appointed for a three year / non-renewable term.
Over a 3-year cycle each student would, in the 1st year of appointment serve as
representative elect, in the 2nd year serve as the representative, and in the 3rd year serve as
the outgoing representative.
Each representative has the opportunity to attend a meeting of the board, with the voting
member receiving financial support from UArctic. With only one vote allowed at meetings of
the Board, a recorded vote shall be made by the student representative or either the
representative elect or outgoing representative when the student representative is unable to
be present.
Section 4.1
Responsibilities of the Board
The Board has the authority and primary responsibility for: -strategic planning and setting
institutional priorities; - organizational development and institutional accountability,
including making recommendations on membership fees and other charges; - fundraising,
finances, and budgeting related to, among other things, personnel and the selling,
exchanging, or mortgaging of property of UArctic; - public and external relations.
The Board works with the Council and UArctic administration on relevant issues and their
resolution. The Board may delegate specific tasks to individuals or participating
organizations, as needed, to act on its behalf for the purposes of negotiating grants and
contracts, administering funds, and other functions that may be required to implement
UArctic network activities, on the understanding that the Board maintains ultimate control
over, and responsibility for, these functions.
The Board develops its own rules of procedure, which outline additional committees and
more detailed procedures for making decisions.
UArctic International Secretariat, Box 122, University of Lapland, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland
[email protected] | www.uarctic.org
Section 4.2
Election of the Board
The members of the Board are elected by the Council from slates of nominees prepared by
the Membership and Nominations Committee. Nominations may also be made by any
member of the Council at any meeting in which a Board election takes place.
All members of the Council are eligible to nominate individuals to serve as Board members.
The election of Board members by the Council requires consensus. Abstentions and
absences do not represent a lack of consensus in this context. In the event that efforts to
reach consensus fail, the Council may make decisions by a two-thirds majority vote.
Once operational, UArctic’s Student Association shall have the responsibility for the annual
appointment of a student representative, through a selection process which is consistent with
UArctic values and mission. In the event that the UArctic Student Association is unable to
appoint a representative elect, Council shall assume the nomination and selection process.
Nominees to the Board should have the following qualifications: commitment to the goals of
UArctic; personal integrity; freedom from conflicts of interest; demonstrated judgment;
willingness to commit time and energy to UArctic; high credibility with key UArctic
constituencies; and not personally bankrupt.
As a group, the Board should reflect the following qualities: sensitivity to the concerns of
major Arctic constituencies; understanding of UArctic’s mission and goals; awareness of
educational needs in the Arctic; knowledge of major Arctic trends; professional experience
in higher education, business, law, and public service; and access to public and private
funding sources.
Current Board Student Representatives:
Over a 3-year rotating cycle, UArctic’s three Student Representatives on the Board of
Governors currently are (country / current term):
Monika Stefánsdóttir, Student “voting” representative
University of Akureyri, Iceland
Term 2013-2016
Chen Yitong, Student representative elect
Ocean University of China
Term 2014-2017
Jamie Reschny, Outgoing Student representative
University of Northern British Columbia, Canada
Term 2012-2015
Rationale:
In order to maintain a rotating cycle of three student representatives on the Board of
Governors (i.e. representative elect / representative / outgoing representative), an open call
for new nominations was made to UArctic member institutions in February 2015. In
responds to the call, nine (9) nomination proposals were received from the European
University at St-Petersburg; Saint-Petersburg State University; Siberian Federal University;
Tyuman State Oil and Gaz University; and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Council 2015 - Proposal: Election Board Student Representative
UArctic International Secretariat, Box 122 University of Lapland, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland
[email protected] www.uarctic.org
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Nominations:
Following their review of all candidates the Membership and Nominations Committee has
proposed the nomination of the following student to serve as the Student Representative
Elect on the Board of Governors of the University of the Arctic:
Andrian Vlakhov
Ph. D student, Department of Anthropology
European University at St-Petersburg, Russia
Reference documents:
Board Student Representative – Letter and CV - Vlakhov
Open Call for Nominations – Board Student Representative 2015
Proposal:
Toyon proposes that the Council make the following decisions:
a)
The Council accepts the nomination of Andrian Vlakhov of the European University at
St-Petersburg, Russia, to serve as Board Student Representative of UArctic’s Board of
Governors for the fixed three-year term (2015-2018).
b)
The Council thanks Board Student Representative, Jamie Reschny of the University of
Northern British Columbia, Canada, for his three years of service to UArctic’s Board of
Governors, and wish him success in his future endeavours.
Council 2015 - Proposal: Election Board Student Representative
UArctic International Secretariat, Box 122 University of Lapland, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland
[email protected] www.uarctic.org
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