Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the selection of our negotiating team members: Dr. Valentina Kozlova, Dr. Brian Fleck, and Mr. Cam Laforest. The members were selected through an interview process by an Executive subcommittee, then subsequently recommended by Executive and appointed by Council. They will join our Lead Negotiator, Cherie Klassen, in preparing for bargaining, which begins in Winter Term 2024.
Dr. Valentina Kozlova is a full teaching professor [career status Academic Teaching Staff (ATS)] in the Department of Economics. She has represented ATS in several university governance committees, including the General Faculties Council (GFC), the GFC Executive Subcommittee on Governance and Procedural Oversight, and the University Strategic Plan Steering Committee.
Dr. Brian Fleck, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, served as AASUA’s Academic Faculty Constituency Director from 2019-2022. He has extensive political experience as a federal and provincial candidate and has held leadership roles on campus including Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering, and Provost Fellow to the office of the Vice-President (Academic).
Mr. Cam Laforest, a collection strategies librarian, previously served as a member of the Negotiating Team in the last round of bargaining from 2019-2022. He was appointed by AASUA as Lead Negotiator for the recent Agreement Review Committee (ARC) regarding librarians’ working conditions. He has also served multiple terms as an AASUA Councillor and as Library Constituency Director.
We have established our Negotiating Team with the broadest possible constituency representation. These three members bring years of experience in AASUA leadership and university governance, as well as the conviction to push for better working conditions for all members of AASUA. The team’s selection completes the first step of our bargaining planning — to view the remaining steps, please see our Bargaining Timeline infographic here.
Sincerely,
Gordon Swaters
AASUA President