The University of Alberta Students' Union (UASU) is the student society that represents undergraduate students at the University of Alberta. 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 31,000[1] undergraduate students enrolled at the university.
With an annual budget of more than $13,000,000 and hundreds of paid and volunteer staff,[2] 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.
Students' Counciledit
The Students' Council is the highest decision-making body of the UASU and is composed of a speaker, a general manager (both of whom are non-voting members), councillors elected from each faculty, 5 executive members and an undergraduate student representative to serve on the university's Board of Governors, all of whom are elected in an annual campus-wide general election every March.[3]
The breakdown of faculty councillors is as below:
2 from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
7 from the Faculty of Arts
1 from the Faculty of Augustana
2 from the Faculty of Business
3 from the Faculty of Education
5 from the Faculty of Engineering
1 from Faculte Saint-Jean
1 from the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport & Recreation
The Students' Union provides a number of services to assist students in their academic careers. These services include:
Access Fund
Campus Food Bank
InfoLink
Ombudservice
Peer Support Centre
Safewalk
Student Job Registry
The Students' Union also runs several businesses, which offer discounts to Students' Union staff and volunteers.
Students' Union Buildingedit
Built in 1967, the Students' Union Building (SUB) is the headquarters of the Students' Union. It contains the Horowitz Theatre.
Myer Horowitz Theatreedit
The Myer Horowtiz Theatre is a 720-seat concert hall used a venue for a variety of music, dance and lectures.[6] The theatre hosts no regular season, and is rented by various student and community groups. They also regularly host shows organized by local promoters looking for a smaller intimate venue in Edmonton.
Built in 1967 during the building of the Students' Union Building, the theatre was originally called SUB Theatre. The theatre has been through two renovations since opening, a major overall in 1983 and a technical update in 1988. The theatre was renamed in 1989 to honour the outgoing university president at the time, Dr. Myer Horowitz.[7]
Notable past presidentsedit
Several people who have served as president of the University of Alberta Students' Union have gone on to achieve some level of fame.
Marilyn Pilkington, president in 1968–1969,[8] was the first female Dean of Osgoode Hall in 1983.
David Leadbeater, president in 1969–1970,[8] became the youngest alderman in the history of the Edmonton City Council, elected at the age of 27 and serving from 1974 until 1977.[9]
Robert G. Greenhill, president in 1982-1984, being the youngest ever at 20 years old and elected to this position during a criss that threatened to bankrupt the organization. He then held Executive Roles leading to President, International Group at Bombardier Inc. (1985-2004), was recognised in 1998 as Canada's Top 40 under 40, became president of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Deputy Minister for International Cooperation (2005-2008), Managing Director and Chief Business Officer of the World Economic Forum (WEF) (2008-2014).
Mike Nickel, president in 1985–1986,[8] became an alderman (2004–2007), two-time mayoral candidate, and prominent conservative in Edmonton.[9]
Mike Hudema, president in 2002–2003,[8] is a prominent activist.