I was elected to the Senate of the University of Saskatchewan last year. The April meeting of Senate is today.
Will you tell me what you think? . . .
I have thought that people in public institutions would automatically declare a conflict-of-interest and step down from any task that might be perceived to be a conflict-of-interest.
CONTENTS
1. NANCY HOPKINS IS THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN. SHE IS A LAWYER.
2. NANCY HOPKINS IS ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CAMECO (DIRECTOR SINCE 1992)
3. NANCY HOPKINS, Cameco shares and options: $1,843,273 in 2009; $1,001,871 in 2008
4. NANCY HOPKINS CHAIRS THE SELECTION COMMITTEE FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY
5. GRANT ISAACS, FORMER DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF COMMERCE, NOW SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT OF CAMECO. CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF U?
6. RICHARD FLORIZONE, VICE-PRESIDENT OF FINANCE U OF S, CHAIRED THE INDUSTRY-STACKED “URANIUM DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP” FOR THE BRAD WALL GOVERNMENT. LIED TO THE PEOPLE OF SASKATCHEWAN THAT ACID RAIN IS NO LONGER A PROBLEM WHEN NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN IS DYING FROM ACID RAIN FROM TAR SANDS DEVELOPMENT. CAMECO PLAZA AT THE UNIVERSITY. “SMALL” REACTORS FOR TAR SANDS. FLORIZONE , CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF U?
7. GEORGE IVANY, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE U OF S, ON CAMECO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
8. THE GOVERNMENT GIVES $30 MILLION TO THE U OF S, EAR-MARKED FOR THE NUKE INDUSTRY
9. ON-CAMPUS NEWS, MARCH 17, 2011 SAYS FUNDING IS NOW $47 MILLION
10. PRESIDENT’S REPORT TO SENATE APRIL 16, (PAGE 16 OF MEETING MATERIAL) “Govt of Sask .. will provide $30 million …”
11. TAR SANDS DEVELOPMENT NEEDS VAST AMOUNTS OF ELECTRICITY, NUKE WOULD BE NICE FOR CAMECO AND FOR NEXEN, SUNCOR, ETC. TAKE A LOOK AT WHO IS ON CAMECO’S BOARD
12. THE PEOPLE OF SASKATCHEWAN SAID “NO” TO NUKE. THE UNIVERSITY IS THE BACK-DOOR FOR FUNDING THE INDUSTRY.
13. FUKISHIMA REACTORS IN JAPAN, A DISASTER. WHO MADE THE MONEY AND WHO PAYS THE COSTS?
14. SO LET’S SEE. IF THE WORLD SAYS “NO” TO NUCLEAR, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE VALUE OF NANCY HOPKINS’ $1.8 MILLION DOLLARS (AT DEC 2009) WORTH OF CAMECO STOCKS AND OPTIONS? GOVERNMENT MONEY SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY IS GOOD FOR CAMECO, AND FOR NANCY. MOVE THE “SMALL” REACTORS THROUGH FOR TAR SANDS DEVELOPMENT. CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST? ACCEPTABLE? WHAT DO YOU THINK?
15. IF THIS IS WHAT I FOUND IN 20 MINUTES, I WONDER WHAT I’D FIND IN A FEW DAYS OF FOLLOWING THE MONEY?
16. THE PEOPLE OF SASKATCHEWAN BUILT THE UNIVERSITY, THEY OWN IT. IT IS VALUABLE. IT IS UP TO US TO PROTECT OUR INVESTMENT. NANCY HOPKINS SHOULD NOT BE THE CHAIR OF THE SELECTION COMMITTEE FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT. IN FACT, I DON’T THINK THE UNIVERSITY IS IN A POSITION TO MAKE THE SELECTION. IF ANYONE SHOULD KNOW CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST, AND REFUSE TO BE PART OF IT, THEY SHOULD.
(There is info in this that needs to be available on-line, before I have finished it. Apologies for sending it incomplete. Wish us well at Senate Meeting!)
– – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – —
1. NANCY HOPKINS IS THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN. SHE IS A LAWYER.
http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/board/board_members.php
Ms. Nancy E. Hopkins ( Chair )
A BComm graduate of the university in 1977 and a law graduate in 1978, Nancy Hopkins has been cited in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading practitioner in her field. A partner in the firm of McDougall Gauley LLP, Hopkins currently serves on various boards throughout the city and province. Her previous volunteer work includes president of the Saskatchewan Legal Education Society and chair of the Saskatchewan Police Commission. Hopkins has received various honours for her contributions to the community and her profession, including being named one of Saskatchewan’s Women of Influence by Saskatchewan Business magazine in 2004. She has lectured in the Canadian Bar Admissions Course and at the U of S, where she taught wills and corporate planning. Hopkins was appointed to the board in 2005 and elected as chair in 2010. She presides over the board meetings and acts as the public spokesperson. She also serves on the governance and executive and the human resources committees.
– – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – —
2. NANCY HOPKINS IS ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CAMECO (DIRECTOR SINCE 1992)
http://www.cameco.com/responsibility/governance/board_of_directors/nancy_hopkins/
Nancy E. Hopkins
Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, Canada
Director Since: 1992
Nancy E. Hopkins, Q.C. is a partner with the law firm of McDougall Gauley, LLP in Saskatoon, where she concentrates her practice on corporate and commercial law and taxation. In addition to the public company boards listed below, Ms. Hopkins is vice-chair (Now Chair), of the board of governors of the University of Saskatchewan, chair of the board of the Saskatoon Airport Authority and serves as a director of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Except for the public companies listed below, she has not served on any other public company boards over the past five years.
Ms. Hopkins has a bachelor of commerce degree and a bachelor of laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan. She is an honourary member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Saskatchewan. …
– – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – —
3. NANCY HOPKINS, Cameco shares, DSUs and options: $1,843,273 in 2009, $1,001,871 in 2008
Securities & Options Held Table
Total amount of equity at risk (Cameco shares, DSUs and options): $1,843,273 in 2009, $1,001,871 in 2008
“DSUs” refers to deferred share units under Cameco’s DSU plan for Directors.
4. The total value of Cameco shares and DSUs was calculated as follows: for 2007, based on $39.57, the 2007 year-end closing price of a Cameco share on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX); and for 2006, based on $47.20, the 2006 year-end closing price of a Cameco share on the TSX.
9. The Board of Directors has determined that Joe F. Colvin is independent as three years have passed since the end of Mr. Colvin’s term as President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute. Gerald W. Grandey, Cameco’s President and CEO, was a member of the Nuclear Energy Institute’s executive and compensation committees during the last ten months of Mr. Colvin’s term.
– – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – —
4. NANCY HOPKINS, CHAIRS THE SELECTION COMMITTEE FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY
Excerpt from email from University Secretary (full text follows):
Nominations for the candidacy for the position may be submitted to Ms. Nancy Hopkins, Chair, Board of Governors and Chair, Search Committee for the President.
– – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — — —
Here is the exchange (I emailed the University Secretary to find out the process for selection of the next President of the University).
Tue 3/15/2011 8:26 AM
RE: University: Search for New President to replace Peter Mackinnon
Thank you, Sandra, for your questions regarding the process for the search for a new president. There will be an opportunity to discuss the selection of the Senate member to serve on the presidential search committee at the April 16th Senate meeting, as presented by Bev Dubois, chair of the Senate Nominations Committee. My responses regarding the process and Senate’s involvement are found below. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions regarding this very important task.
Regards,
Sandy Calver
Acting University Secretary
Questions:
1. Does the appended memo on the selection process for senior administrators apply to the search for a new president?
Yes, the newly approved search and review procedures approved March 4, 2011, by the Board of Governors will apply to the presidential search; the new procedures can be found at: http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/policies/search_proc.php. The principles and associated procedures can be found beginning on page 29 of the joint committee report.
2. If so, does the current president play the same role in the selection of his successor?
The current president is not involved in the search for his successor, search committees report to the Board of Governors through the president, except the search committee for the president, which reports directly to the Board.
3. The Search Committee includes “ … and, typically, a Senate representative”. What is the process for selecting the Senate representative?
Under the new procedures, the Senate Nominations Committee selects the Senate member to serve on the presidential search committee. The Senate Nominations Committee met recently and determined that expressions of interest from Senators willing to serve on the search committee be requested at the April 16th Senate meeting, to be considered subsequently by the Senate Nominations Committee.
4. Saskatchewanians will possibly have people who they think would be good candidates for the position of President of the University of Saskatchewan. What does the University recommend as the best avenue through which people of the Province can input their recommendations to the selection process?
Nominations for the candidacy for the position may be submitted to Ms. Nancy Hopkins, Chair, Board of Governors and Chair, Search Committee for the President.
5. I presume that the process has a time-line with deadlines. What is the time-line?
The search committee is to be constituted by July; following the search committee will determine its own timelines within the framework of the search and review procedures, with a view to making an appointment by July 1, 2012.
6. In the interests of transparency, I as a Senator, will appreciate being informed as the administrators of the process become known.
Regular updates on the process and progress towards appointing a new president will be communicated to the university’s governing bodies and stakeholders. In addition, broad consultation regarding the accountabilities for the position as stated in the search and review procedures, as follows: “For a Presidential Search, the committee will provide the opportunity for interested members of the University community to provide written comments on the strategic goals and objectives of the University, and on the progress made or problems encountered in achieving those goals and objectives” (no. 9, pg. 35).
________________________________________
From: McBain, Norma
Sent: Friday, March 11, 2011 11:27 AM
To: Sandra Finley
Cc: Calver, Sandra
Subject: RE: University: Search for New President to replace Peter Mackinnon
Ms. Finley,
By copy of this e-mail I am forwarding your message to the Acting University Secretary, Sandra Calver for reply.
From: Sandra Finley Sent: Friday, March 11, 2011 10:52 AM
To: McBain, Norma
Subject: University: Search for New President to replace Peter Mackinnon
TO: Norma McBain
Office of the University Secretary
University of Saskatchewan
Phone: (306) 966 4635
Fax: (306) 966 4530 norma.mcbain AT usask.ca
Dear Norma,
RE: Process for selection of the new President for the University, Peter Mackinnon’s memo, Jan 28, 2011
Do you mind forwarding this to the appropriate person for response? The questions arise out of my role as a University Senator. I understand that I am to help represent the voice of the citizens of Saskatchewan in the governance of the University.
Questions:
1. Does the appended memo on the selection process for senior administrators apply to the search for a new president?
2. If so, does the current president play the same role in the selection of his successor?
3. The Search Committee includes “ … and, typically, a Senate representative”. What is the process for selecting the Senate representative?
4. Saskatchewanians will possibly have people who they think would be good candidates for the position of President of the University of Saskatchewan. What does the University recommend as the best avenue through which people of the Province can input their recommendations to the selection process?
5. I presume that the process has a time-line with deadlines. What is the time-line?
6. In the interests of transparency, I as a Senator, will appreciate being informed as the administrators of the process become known.
Thanks!
Sandra Finley
= = = = = = = = = = = =
MEMO
TO: President’s Advisory Council, all faculty, USSU President, GSA President
FROM: Peter MacKinnon, President and Brett Fairbairn, Provost and Vice-President Academic
SUBJECT: Clarification and Update on Search Processes
DATE: January 28, 2011
Colleagues,
We write to acquaint you with the university’s current selection processes for deans and other senior administrators–a topic widely discussed on our campus in recent weeks and months. As of late, search processes in general have been a topic of media stories, most notably regarding two searches, where misleading and inaccurate statements have been made.
Just yesterday, University Council concluded its discussion of our university’s senior search and review procedures. This topic has been the subject of more than a year of careful and thoughtful work by a joint board-council committee.
The report of the Joint Committee on the Review of the Search and Review Procedures for Senior Administrators confirms that our practices are appropriate for an institution of our kind in the 21st century. The committee has brought forward changes of a housekeeping nature together with some updates, modifications and clarifications. Perhaps most significantly, the committee has developed clear statements for our university that also detail the principles underlying our search and review processes. The committee’s work will no doubt be helpful to future committees, their members, the provost, president and Board of Governors. Now that University Council discussions on search processes have concluded, the report will next be presented to the Board of Governors for review at their March meeting, with a view to a final decision.
You are encouraged to view the committee report, which can be found online in the University Council agenda for Jan. 27, page 106: http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/council/Council%20Meetings/agenda_archives/2011_Jan_CouncilAgendaFinal.pdf.
As the report indicates, confidentiality and respect for participants are among the important principles for searches. While we can discuss the procedures, out of respect for the individuals involved in the searches, we avoid public comment about individual searches and urge others to show the same discretion.
…/2 Clarification and Update on Search Processes Page 2
The new report does not change the fundamentals of our process. As detailed in the University Act 1995, deans and other senior administrators are appointed by the Board of Governors on the recommendation of the president. The board and president are assisted by large, multi-stakeholder search committees which include: members of the faculty of the college concerned; students; representation from the Board of Governors; the provost or designate; deans or other senior administrators; and, typically, a Senate representative.
The search committee is invaluable in the process and we want to take this opportunity to thank all members of search committees for their dedicated efforts. It is important to note the search committee is responsible for a number of tasks including:
• Reviewing the position profile and needs of the college
• Identifying candidates
• Collecting information about the candidates and assessing this information rigorously, collectively, and in confidence. Information assessed by the committee includes feedback from presentations done in the colleges during open searches.
• Interviewing candidates
• Keeping colleges informed on the progress of the search
Both the provost’s office and a search consultant support committees to do this work.
At the conclusion of its process, the committee is encouraged to deliberate in a way that provides a range of committee members’ perspectives on all final candidates, promotes internal consensus, and helps the provost frame a recommendation to the president. The president makes his recommendation to the board, and the board makes the final decision with the knowledge of what the search committee has reported.
The value of the search committee’s report lies in the advice it provides about all candidates. This important advice helps guide the provost, president, and the board in the processes leading up to the appointment. The university’s board and administration are represented within the search committee, hear all the discussion, and are participants throughout the process. The result is normally consensus. In 14 of 15 senior administrator searches co-ordinated by the provost’s office over the last five years, the university offered the position to the candidate favoured unanimously or by a wide majority of the search committee.
Search procedures for senior administrators are very different from search procedures for faculty members. In faculty searches, a committee comprised of faculty members and the department head make a recommendation, first to the dean and ultimately to the provost. No appointment is made by the provost without a positive recommendation from the search committee. The procedures for faculty searches can be found in Section 13 of the USFA collective agreement at http://www.usask.ca/hrd/docs/USFA_Collective_Agreement_2010_2012_Agreed_Language.pdf.
Please feel free to share this memo with others in your college or unit as you see fit.
…/3 Clarification and Update on Search Processes Page 3
If you have any further questions about search committee procedures, please contact the provost’s office by phone at 966-8484 or by email at provost@usask.ca<mailto:provost@usask.ca>.
Sincerely,
Peter MacKinnon Brett Fairbairn
President Provost and Vice-President Academic
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
POTENTIAL NEW PRESIDENTS FOR THE UNIVERSITY:
Grant Isaacs, former Dean of the Edwards School of Business at the University, hired to be a senior Vice-President at Cameco (a million-dollar a year job). It is rumoured that Grant is a contender to become President of the University.
Richard Florizone, Vice-President of Finance for the University, Chair of the “Uranium Development Partnership” industry-stacked Committee established by the Government, whose contribution to the public consultation process from a position of respect and influence was to tell Saskatchewanians that the acid rain problem in Canada has been fixed. It was known that some locations in Northern Saskatchewan are past “critical load limits” for acidification from Tar Sands development as early as 2003. (Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment.) Richard Florizone, in his position of VP of Finance has a funding relationship with Cameco. He is considered by some to be a contender for the President’s job. With Nancy Hopkins, Chair of the Selections Committee, also on the Board of Cameco?
– – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – —
IN THE INTERESTS OF FULL DISCLOSURE:
I graduated from the U of S, College of Commerce, with honours in 1971.
I am the Green Party candidate for Saskatoon-Humboldt, a former leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan.
I am a participant in the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan which has spearheaded the dissemination of information on the nuclear industry to people in the Province. In 2009, through public consultations, citizens of Saskatchewan overwhelmingly said “no” to nuclear.
– – – – – – – – – – – – —
Corporate interests want “small” reactors for tar sands expansion (they need huge volumes of electricity or energy for heating up the tar so it will flow. The Government is working with the industry and the University to circumvent the public wish.
This past week members of the Coalition presented a petition with 4500 signatures to the Legislature. Which caused Wall to back down from high-level radioactive waste dumping in the Province. But he’s still holding out on the “small” reactors. It is public money being used for nuclear, after the people said “no” (cut through the spin and propaganda).
Public money comes to the University already ear-marked. And the conflicts-of-interest at the University with Cameco people are outrageous. It is not surprising that Arts funding decreases.
I am doing a public event in Humboldt on Monday. Part of campaigning. Information on what’s happening in Sask on the nuke issue. Sent the following to Humboldt reporter.
The Province announced $30 million to the University;
the On Campus News for March 17 says that the amount is now $47 million for the Nuclear Studies Centre at the University.
There are serious and unacceptable conflicts-of-interest between the Board of Governors of the U of S and the Board of Cameco.
The Public Consultations in the summer of 2009 clearly rejected nuclear development in the Province. The Nuclear Industry working with the Government is using the University as its backdoor entry point.
The corporations have way too much money. Provincially (not federally) Election rules allow them to contribute to political parties (but the Green Party of Sask does not accept corporate or union contributions). There is a revolving door between Government officials and the industries they are supposed to regulate (Dwain Lingenfelter is a prime example.).
We do not have democracy, we have corporatocracy.
Wish us well at Senate Meeting!