Full Text of the Memorandum:

MEMORANDUM

To: Students, Staff, Faculty, and all Stakeholders

From: First Nations University of Canada Board of Governors

Date: January 27, 2010

The First Nations University of Canada Board of Governors met on January 26, 2010 to discuss a series of issues that have surfaced in the news media, those of which deserve further clarification to its respective stakeholders and wider community. In summary, the main items surrounded the status of the external review initiated by the Board of Governors, recent legal developments, as well as reports on the university’s finances.

First Nations University of Canada fiscal year-end budget projection

Senior Management presented a report to the Board of Governors on the university’s financial projections to the end of the current fiscal year, and fully expects to achieve a balanced budget for 2009-2010. The projections are based on the completion of the performance-based funding requirements of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). Core funding continues to flow on a monthly basis from INAC and the Province’s Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour (AEEL).

Status of INAC performance-based funding agreement

In January 2010, INAC released $1.2-million for the completion of the Senior Management Review and Internal Operations reports and respective action plans. In addition, INAC has committed $1,000,000 upon the submission of the Governance report and $250,000 for its related comprehensive action plan.

Update on governance review

The First Nations University Ad Hoc Committee expects the Governance Review by Dr. Manley Begay Jr. and Associates to be submitted on February 18th, 2010. As part of the consultation process, a draft copy was presented to the Elders on Sunday, January 24th, with the final report scheduled for presentation to the Board of Governors.

Status of AEEL performance-based funding

Performance-based funding from AEEL, which represents a commitment of $250,000, is also contingent upon the completion of the governance review. In addition, a commitment of $250,000 is expected to be released from AEEL, as it is related to the completion of the Senior Management and Internal Operations reviews and associated action plan, which have already been submitted to INAC.

Additional AEEL funding commitments

Additional financial commitments from AEEL include $100,000 that relates to the holdback from the initial $1.6-million commitment. (The Order in Council from October 2008 was tied to the one-time provincial funding agreement between FNUniv and AEEL to assist with the collective agreement ratification costs and other operating costs). The university is also anticipating additional funding support from AEEL in the amount of $158,000 related to the initial $400,000 agreement that covered the costs of the development of a strategic and operational review, and additional governance consultation costs.

Board of Governors’ Audit & Finance Committee – External review

Last year, the Board of Governors’ Audit & Finance Committee held a meeting on December 6th, 2009 to discuss allegations brought to their attention by former consultant Murray Westerlund regarding gaps within university policy. The Committee passed a motion to conduct an external review of decisions made over a specified period of time (April 1, 2006 to December 31, 2009).

At an emergency meeting on December 7th, 2009, the Board of Governors approved the motion to proceed with an external review. The Audit & Finance Committee developed the Terms of Reference on Dec. 16th, 2009 and later received proposals from two accounting firms by the deadline of Dec. 21st, 2009. Meyers, Norris & Penny (MNP) was selected by the Audit & Finance Committee, pending a letter of independence, which was later accepted on Jan. 15th, 2010. As per the Audit & Finance Committee’s Terms of Reference, MNP will focus on the university’s policies regarding three key areas: Annual Leave, Professional Development and Travel. The external consultants have since launched the review and the report is expected to be finished at or near the end of February 2010.

It is the board’s intention to adhere to the findings in the MNP report and respond in an appropriate manner.

Status of University’s Statement of Defense

At the Tuesday meeting, the Board of Governors was also briefed by its legal counsel on the lawsuit against the university brought forward by Murray Westerlund. Mr. Westerlund’s terms of employment at the university is the central question being raised in his lawsuit over “wrongful dismissal.” Whether he was a consultant versus a Senior Financial Officer at the First Nations University since he was retained in 2005 is the central question that will be brought before the courts. The University is proceeding with filing its defense.

Information Session with Students

In order to provide more detailed information, members of the FNUniv Board of Governors and Senior Administration will be holding an information session for students in the DILLL boardroom at the Regina campus at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, January 29th, 2010. Students from the Northern Campus & Prince Albert campus are invited to join the meeting via video-conference.

The mission of the First Nations University of Canada is to enhance the quality of life, and to preserve, protect, and interpret the history, language, culture, and artistic heritage of First Nations.

Contact Information:

Tina Pelletier

Office of Communications

First Nations University of Canada

Direct: 306-790-5950 ext. 2600

Cellular: 306-530-9228

Statement Regarding Recent Developments Affecting the First Nations University of Canada,

Friday, January 29, 2010

The Memorandum forwarded from the FNUniv. Communications Office, January 28, 2010, (attached) is nothing more than a cynical attempt at damage control, and by Thursday afternoon the document had become redundant as a result of statements made by Minister Norris.

The Memorandum is far too little and far too late, a fact of which our Administration seems completely unaware.

When I suggested the above to Academic Council and our Senior Adminstrators, one of the latter stated that the document was “about being open, transparent, and accountable.” To quote Former CFO Murray Westerlund, speaking in another context, that statement is “hilarious.” Our administration has never provided Faculty with such updates, even when specifically requested to do so.

What has become clear since yesterday (Thursday) is that our Administration is incapable of responding to the recent and rapidly unfolding developments in any meaningful manner. It is also clear that our Board and Administration have been left on the sidelines of ongoing discussions of the future of the institution, if there is to be such a future.

The Province has been speaking directly with Chief Lonechild, the University of Regina, and with FNUniv and students, which is a clear message that they are finished with attempts to move our Board and Administration from their unwillingness to embrace the kind of meaningful reforms that would allow the University to be successful once again.

For five years now, since February of 2005, the Board and Administration of the University have had every opportunity to enact the changes that need to be made at the University, and they have consistently refused to do so and have done nothing but fight an ongoing delaying action.

The Board and Administration are in no position to enact any form of damage control because there is no controlling the damage that has been done to the University, not only in the past week but damage that has been ongoing for five years now.

The statements that came to light last weekend, made by Murray Westerlund, who was the CFO of the University at the time the statements were made, have to be understood within the context of the instability that has plagued the institution since 2005. Far from being a deviation, the kind of mismanagement, mispending, and possibly miasappropriation documented in the memos Mr. Westerlund and sent to the University’s audit committee are emblematic of governance and administrative failures that have been ongoing.

Rather than making the difficult choice to deal with ongoing governance and administrative failures, our Board and Administration did to Mr. Westerlund what they have consistenly done to dissenters for five years now: they isolated and then fired him. The manner in which Mr. Westerlund was dealt with is reminiscent of the manner in which Dr. Shauneen Pete was dealt with when she was Academic VP of the University, one of the few hopeful periods at the University in the last five years.

As happened with Mr Westerlund, Dr. Pete was first isolated from the decision making process, slowly stripped of her ability to do her job, and then fired when she attempted to carry out her duties with the integrity demended by such responsibility. It should be obvious to all that any administrator who makes efforts to be “open, transparent, and accountable” is not welcome in the administration of FNUniv.

There has been ample evidence of this in the past five years.

In the past week, both Minister Norris and Chief Lonechild have made it clear that their highest priority has been to insure the continuity of the students’ educations. That is as it should be. This University exists first and foremost for and because of the students. One of the things that seems to have been forgotten by various parties is that the students are our employers and that the University exists to serve them, not the reverse. The primary concern for most of us is the welfare and well‐being of our students. Their dedicated efforts at pursuing their own educations and their courageous words and actions aimed at saving their University are to be commended in the highest possible terms.

However, and perhaps in part because of our own silence and inaction, Faculty members at FNUniv. have been left on the sidelines of current discussions regarding the future of the University. If the University, which I still believe can play a unique and vital role in the future of this province and the country, is to continue to exist in one form or another, then the voices of Faculty need to be a part of the discussion of what that future may look like.

I am particularly concerned that Faculty have been left out of ongoing discussions because the integrity and quality of our academic programming has never been in question in spite of the upheavals of the past five years. In fact, and in spite of the difficulties that underfunding and instability have place upon us, the integrity and quality of academic programs at the University have been consistently endorsed by various external stakeholders, such as the AUCC (Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada), the CAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers), and the University of Regina.

The inability of FNUniv. of Canada to function in the manner expected of a University has always been a result of inadequate governance and administrative structures, not because of the inadequacy of our Academic staff or programs. In fact, we offer unique academic programming by highly qualified academic staff and this is not a need that can be filled for First Nations students and communities by mainstream institutions, in spite of their best efforts and intentions.

These considerations need to be at the center of ongoing discussions about how to achieve some satisfactory resolution to the current crisis. However, as Minister Norris has stated publicly, the “status quo” is no loner acceptable. It is no longer acceptable to external stakeholders, to students, staff, or faculty.

That the status quo is no longer acceptable seems to be a fact that our Board and Administration have yet to recognise, let alone accept. The marginalisation of Faculty members from current discussions should not be accceptable either. Current faculty members have suffered personally and professionally for the last five years because of their dedication and committment to students and the University, and they cannot be allowed to suffer in silence.

To close, I issue an open invitation to Chief Lonechild, Minister Norris, and U of R President Vianne Timmons to meet with FNUniv. academic staff at their earliest convenience.

Randy Lundy

(Randy is a Faculty member in and Head of the Department of English at FNUniv. He also acts as Chair of the Academic Council, a member of the Executive Committee of Academic Council and a member of the Executive Committee of the University of Regina Faculty Association).

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