The surprise announcement of the termination of former AU President Dr. Peter Scott and the appointment of Dr. Alex Clark to fill this role has left faculty and staff at Athabasca University reeling.

The Athabasca University Faculty Association (AUFA), representing Athabasca University’s academic faculty and professional staff, condemns the sudden firing of Athabasca University’s President by the University’s Board of Governors.

Athabasca University’s Board of Governors has appointed Dr. Alex Clark as president, effective Feb. 1, 2023

The Athabasca University Faculty Association, comprised of Athabasca University (AU) staff across many disciplines, wrote an open letter to the AU executive citing concrns and issues with the Integrated Learning Environment.

This is a statement from Athabasca University (AU) President Dr. Peter Scott following the Nov. 30 special board meeting

In senior management’s pursuit of the near-virtual strategy, all work spaces at Athabasca University’s campus in Athabasca are being cleaned and, for the most part, emptied out.

From: Athabasca University <communications@athabascau.ca>

Sent: November 9, 2022 4:29 PM

To: AU Staff members

Subject: Site visit information

Good afternoon,

As we continue with our near-virtual strategy, we are now organizing site visits in Athabasca. Site visits are for teams to assess, clean, sort, and review their space and storage needs. These site visits are crucial for determining each team’s storage and space needs moving forward in the next phases as we reimagine AU’s locations.

Over the next 2 months, the site visits in Athabasca will be coordinated. These spaces have been divided into zones and each zone has an assigned leader.

For your site visit, your area’s zone leader will coordinate your zone’s team and oversee the work within that assigned space happening over a 2-week period.

Everything you need to know about the project can be found in the site visit guide, which includes a list of FAQs, packing guidelines, safe lifting information, records management interim guidelines, a list of zones and zone leaders, and the overall site visit schedule.

Site visit guide: Athabasca [separate document]

Things you may want to bring with you to the site visit

· Your AU access key/fob and all assigned keys for rooms and cabinets.

· Packing materials will be available onsite, but we encourage you to bring bags and boxes from home to pack up your personal items.

· Any work items you might need, like your AU-issued iPhone or laptop.

Site visit tasks

1. Recycle, donate, and get rid of everything that you can in your office or workstation if your role is virtual. If your role is place-based, please keep only the items you need for your day-to-day work. The only other items that will remain are furniture and non-assigned IT equipment. If your role is virtual with place-based functions, please remove all personal items from the space as well.

2. Recycle, donate, and get rid of everything that you can with your zone team in the assigned departmental and common-area items.

3. Box up and clearly label records that will need to be retained for further review and storage. Guidelines for records and information management can be found in the site visit guidelines.

4. Box up all your personal belongings and remove them unless you are place-based.

Items that will remain in your zone's area

There are some items that you don’t need to remove from the space:

• Office furniture other than your task chair

• Landline phones

• Any printers, including desktop units

• IT equipment that was not assigned to you

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your zone leader. A full list of zones and zone leaders can be found in the site visit guide.

If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to share feedback, please send an email to the co-chairs at nearvirtual@athabascau.ca.

President Scott’s email to AU staff on discussions with the Alberta Government

From: "President, Peter Scott" <communications@athabascau.ca>

Date: November 3, 2022 at 4:07:29 PM MDT

To: "AU Staff”

Subject: Update on discussions with the Alberta Government

Good afternoon,

I want to keep you updated on our work with the Ministry of Advanced Education to finalize our Investment Management Agreement (IMA) and find a resolution to the minister’s request for Athabasca University (AU) to advance economic development in the Athabasca region.

I am pleased to share that we have had a productive few weeks. We have met regularly with members of the Ministry of Advanced Education team, and we are making great progress toward a resolution. We are jointly committed to finding a solution that addresses increased economic development in the Athabasca region and doing that in a strategic and measurable way that preserves AU’s core purpose as a teaching and research university.

In our meetings with the ministry, we have been incorporating ideas and suggestions shared with us directly from our community, including our learners and members of the town and county of Athabasca, through consultation sessions facilitated by Dr. Ken Coates. In these sessions we have explored sustainable economic development ideas for the region that will capitalize on AU’s strengths as a leading innovator in open education and research, and responsibly put learner and taxpayer investments to their best use long-term. Many of these ideas were presented as a plan to move forward; a plan that was unanimously approved by AU’s General Faculties Council (GFC) and Board of Governors in September.

AU and the ministry have been advancing discussions to align with key dates for AU’s GFC meeting, for AU Board Standing Committee meetings (scheduled for the week of Nov. 28), and the regularly scheduled Board meeting on Dec. 9. The minister has been invited to join that Board meeting. We are confident, given the progress made so far, that AU and the Ministry of Advanced Education will reach a viable solution that considers all stakeholders and that we will soon be in a position to create research innovation and growth opportunities for AU, its learners, and the Athabasca region.

This week, AU’s Board Chair received a letter from the Minister of Advanced Education requesting a special and expedited November Board meeting. Due to significant ministerial changes in AU’s public Board membership in October, we have been focused on welcoming the 7 new provincially-appointed members. Immediately following the announced changes to the Board, AU reached out to the new Board members to begin the robust and mandatory onboarding process. This process must be completed in advance of new members attending Board meetings to ensure they are familiar with AU, the bicameral governance structure, the Post-Secondary Learning Act, and their role as a member of our Board. Working with, and respecting, the personal and professional schedules of our seven new Board members, the onboarding process is expected to be complete just ahead of the Nov. 28 Board Standing Committee meetings.

As we continue to work with the ministry and prepare for the upcoming meetings of GFC and the Board, we will continue to keep you updated.

Regards,

Dr. Peter Scott

New Athabasca University Faculty Association president Rhiannon Rutherford is frustrated with the hypocrisy being flung out into the media by Athabasca University president Dr. Peter Scott following an Aug. 5 video posted as a response to Minister of Advance Education Demetrios Nicolaides.

Our members are committed to the goals of Athabasca University and want to help it thrive. Our members are also broadly supportive of an increased AU presence in the Athabasca region.

The university should be exploring creative ways to encourage and support faculty, staff, and students to connect with each other at AU’s home base.

AUFA will continue to advocate for increased hiring to the Athabasca area.

New Athabasca University Faculty Association president Rhiannon Rutherford is frustrated with the hypocrisy being flung out into the media by Athabasca University president Dr. Peter Scott following an Aug. 5 video posted as a response to Minister of Advance Education Demetrios Nicolaides.

Anyone who moves to Athabasca should do so voluntarily, whether this is managed upon hiring or as a result of meaningful incentives. AUFA’s support for a maintained and increased presence in Athabasca is independent of whether individuals work from home or report to offices.

President Peter Scott’s comments after video release on proposed changes to AU.

Comments from President Peter Scott

Most AU staff that report to the Athabasca campus have received this letter and information stating their position is assessed as permamently virtual.

Roles and functions at AU are assessed remote by default or “virtual-first” and rarely place-based (on campus). Here is the link to principles and criteria for assessing AU staff roles or functions.

This AUFA blog notes that some AU staff members have learned that Netskope software was installed on their university laptops without their consent and knowledge. Netskope is a suite of security software installed for employee monitoring.

Details on AU’s next phase of the near-virtual implementation were shared in this May 9 memo to all AU staff. This phase focuses on roles and functions based in Athabasca.