The Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) has written an open letter to the university about its search for a new vice-president (finance and administration) to replace Duncan Watt.
Watt, who will be retiring when his term expires on June 30, has worked at Carleton for over 20 years, said Julie Caldwell, university secretary.
The GSA’s letter lists what it hopes to see in the person who fills the job and advises Carleton on the search for a new vice-president.
The letter, published on Dec. 11, encourages the university to hire someone with experience in post-secondary institutions.
“It is the position of the GSA that the next Vice-President needs to understand and respect the independence and autonomy of students’ unions and the valuable contributions these organizations make to the University,” the letter says.
GSA president Michael Bueckert said the new vice-president should be prepared to engage with students.
“We want to take part in a broader conversation about what kind of university governance we would like to see going forward,” Bueckert said. “We also want to have a public dialogue on campus about the values that govern the university and how they can be improved.”
The letter advises the next vice-president to approach student unions at Carleton in an open and productive manner. It also underscores how the new person needs to have a “full appreciation” of the contributions graduate students make to academic life.
The Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA) wrote a letter in November to the university about the search for a new vice-president. Their letter also recommends the university find someone with experience in post-secondary institutions.
Carleton has started the process of finding a new vice-president to fill Watt’s position, Caldwell said. She added a search committee was formed last summer and is lead by Carleton president Roseann Runte but could not say how far along in the process they are or what kind of backgrounds the candidates have. The specific activities of the search committee are confidential.
Watt declined to comment on his retirement and the search for a new vice-president.
Bueckert described the GSA’s relationship with Watt as “difficult” and issues such as withholding the association’s levies, students’ tuition fees increasing each year, and demolishing the GSA’s old community garden in 2013 made the relationship strained.
“This has been really devastating to us because it takes up a lot of our energy and distracts us from the important work we want to do,” he said.
Bueckert said the relationship between student unions and the university has been “paternalistic” and the next vice-president should try to avoid this.
The GSA has not been consulted on their open letter yet, but Carleton has acknowledged they received it and a graduate student is currently on the search committee, Bueckert said.
Caldwell said Carleton is taking the GSA’s open letter and feedback from other stakeholders “under advisement” as it continues to search for Watt’s replacement.
