February 1, 2009

 Hi all,

Last week’s site visit by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada review panel was one of my proudest and most collegial experiences in my time at Mount Royal. The passionate and professional commitment of faculty was on display through the many sessions, and it was extraordinary to have nearly 120 faculty attend the open session on Friday to respond to the panel’s questions with our variety of experiences. At the end of the day on Friday, President Dave Marshall asked me to convey his particular appreciation for the level and quality of faculty participation. During the AUCC team’s exit interview with him, they drew special attention to the faculty’s awareness and knowledge of issues and the high level of engagement we demonstrated. We do many things well at Mount Royal, and the visit gave a rare opportunity for us to communicate that in a focused, intensive, passionate and sometimes personal way. It was a moving and emotional experience, and ideally one that leads to national recognition for us when AUCC makes it decision in October.

February marks the first workshop from the new Professional Affairs Committee, a session on parliamentary procedure on the 17th. The session is already full with over 40 participants, but if there is continued interest the committee expects to offer the workshop again. On Thursday the 19^th Terry Sway, Labour Relations Officer for ACIFA, will be presenting a workshop on the roles of Association executives and grievance administration. It’s good training if you think a role on the MRFA exec might be in your future. Please get in touch with me or Chantelle if you think you might like to attend.

Thank you all for everything that you do.

David