University of Alberta Students' Union
Encyclopedia
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. Originally established in 1909, it is a non-profit corporation that operates under the authority of the Post-Secondary Learning Act (Alberta). Its membership consists of the roughly 30,000 undergraduate students enrolled at the university.
With an annual budget of approximately $10,000,000 and hundreds of paid and volunteer staff, the Students' Union serves as an advocate for students and provides a variety of services to its members. The Students' Union also operates a number of businesses, manages various targeted trust funds, hosts a wide variety of entertainment and educational events, and runs the Students' Union Building.
Council
Students' Council is the ultimate decision-making body of the Students' UnionStudents' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
and is composed of representatives elected from each faculty (32), five executive members elected in a campus-wide general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
each March, and one undergraduate student elected in the same election to serve on the University's Board of Governors.
Representation
Provincially, the Students' Union participates in the Council of Alberta University StudentsCouncil of Alberta University Students
The Council of Alberta University Students represents the interests of over 70,000 Alberta university students across Alberta.They represent undergraduate students from the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge to the public, government and other...
. The Students' Union was a founding member of the Canadian Alliance of Students Associations. While it took a brief hiatus on its membership, having pulled out in 2003, the Students' Union moved to rejoin CASA in March of 2008.
Services
The Students' Union provides a number of services to assist students in their academic careers. These services include:- Access Fund
- Campus Food Bank
- Centre for Student Development
- ECOS Sustainability Office
- Health and Dental plan
- InfoLink
- Ombudservice
- Peer Support Centre
- Safewalk
- Student Financial Aid Centre
- Student Group Services
- Student Job Registry
The Students' Union also runs several businesses, which offer discounts to Students' Union staff and volunteers.
Bear Scat
Bear Scat was a service provided by the University of Alberta Students Union as an alternative to the Bear Tracks service operated by the UofA. Services of the website/application include: Scheduling, Add / Drop Classes, Class opening notification, and suggested textbooks. In the 2006/2007 academic season, Bear Scat served 10.6 million pages, processed 1.2 million transactions, and designed 135,000 schedules. Bear Scat has recently been phased out, as recent updates to the UofA Bear Tracks service now make Bear Scat redundant. These updates have been heavily influenced by the founders of Bear Scat, and retain many of Bear Scat's features such as class availability notifications and visual timetables.Notable past presidents
Several people who have served as president of the University of Alberta Students' Union have gone on to achieve some level of fame.- James Harwood Ogilvie, who served as president in 1917-1918, went on to become a long time alderman on Edmonton City CouncilEdmonton City CouncilThe Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors. Until 2010, Edmonton was divided in six wards with two councillors representing citizens in each ward...
and an unsuccessful candidate for the Conservative PartyConservative Party of Canada (historical)The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
in the 1935Canadian federal election, 1935The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Minister R.B. Bennett's Conservative Party.The central...
and 1940Canadian federal election, 1940The Canadian federal election of 1940 was the 19th general election in Canadian history. It was held March 26, 1940 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 19th Parliament of Canada...
federal elections in Edmonton WestEdmonton WestEdmonton West was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1988 and from 1997 to 2004.-Demographics:-History and geography:...
.
- Percy Griffith DaviesPercy Griffith DaviesPercy Griffith Davies was a barrister and a Canadian federal politician.Davies ran in a by-election after the death of incumbent John Francis Buckley on March 21, 1932. He won the hotly contested election and came out on top of a field of 4 candidates...
was president in 1925-1926 and later served as a ConservativeConservative Party of Canada (historical)The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
Member of ParliamentCanadian House of CommonsThe House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
from 1932 until 1935.
- Gerard AmerongenGerard AmerongenGerard "Gerry" Joseph Taets von Amerongen is a politician and lawyer from Alberta, Canada.Amerongen first ran for Member of the Legislative Assembly in the 1955 Alberta provincial election for the Conservative Party in the Edmonton district...
, president in 1943-1944, became a Progressive ConservativeProgressive Conservative Association of AlbertaThe Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
member of the Legislative Assembly of AlbertaLegislative Assembly of AlbertaThe Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
(and later its Speaker), representing Edmonton MeadowlarkEdmonton MeadowlarkEdmonton Meadowlark is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting....
from 1971 until 1986.
- Peter LougheedPeter LougheedEdgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....
, president in 1951-1952, was Premier of AlbertaPremier of AlbertaThe Premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. The current Premier of Alberta is Alison Redford. She became Premier by winning the Progressive Conservative leadership elections on...
from 1971 until 1985.
- Lou HyndmanLou HyndmanLouis Davies "Lou" Hyndman is a Canadian academic, lawyer and retired politician. He was named the 15th Chancellor of the University of Alberta on June 10, 1994...
, president in 1958-1959, was a Progressive ConservativeProgressive Conservative Association of AlbertaThe Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
member of the Legislative Assembly of AlbertaLegislative Assembly of AlbertaThe Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
(representing Edmonton WestEdmonton West (provincial electoral district)Edmonton West was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The riding has existed twice, the first incarnation was created in 1917 when Edmonton broke up into Edmonton East and this one. The two districts were merged along with Edmonton South in 1921 to reform the Edmonton District.The...
from 1967 until 1971 and Edmonton-GlenoraEdmonton-GlenoraEdmonton-Glenora is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. It is located north of the North Saskatchewan river....
from 1971 until 1986) and provincial treasurer.
- Marilyn Pilkington, president in 1968-1969, was the first female Dean of Osgoode HallOsgoode HallOsgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto constructed between 1829 and 1832 in the late Georgian Palladian and Neoclassical styles. It houses the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Justice, and the Law Society of Upper Canada...
in 1983.
- David Leadbeater, president in 1969-1970, became the youngest alderman in the history of the Edmonton City CouncilEdmonton City CouncilThe Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors. Until 2010, Edmonton was divided in six wards with two councillors representing citizens in each ward...
, elected at the age of 27 and serving from 1974 until 1977.
- Mike NickelMike NickelMike Nickel is a politician in Alberta, Canada and a former municipal councillor in Edmonton.Nickel was born in Edmonton and attended the University of Alberta, earning a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Master's degree in Statistics and Media Studies...
, president in 1985-1986, became an alderman (2004-2007), two-time mayoral candidate, and prominent conservative in Edmonton.
- Mike HudemaMike HudemaMicheal George Henry ' Hudema is a Canadian activist who has worked for advocacy organizations including Greenpeace, the Rainforest Action Network, Global Exchange, the University of Alberta Students' Union, and the Ruckus Society...
, president in 2002-2003, is a prominent activist.