How the Board works

The Board of Governors, in accordance with the University Act, is responsible for the management, administration and control of the property, revenue, business and affairs of the university. The Board approves the strategic direction and policy of the university, as well as the operating budget framework and capital project expenditures. It sets tuition, maintains the university's real property and other assets, and establishes procedures for appointing senior academic administrators, faculty and staff. The Board is also responsible for appointing the university's president, and serves both to support him or her and to hold her or him accountable.

To carry out its responsibilities, the Board of Governors meets as a whole, but much of the work of the Board takes place within its five standing committees. These committees consider matters within their terms of reference before these matters are considered by the Board as a whole.

Board Committee Composition

The fifteen-member Board is composed of the president and chancellor of the university, two elected faculty members, one elected staff member, two students elected from the university's undergraduate or graduate student societies, and eight members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

The chair and the vice-chair of the Board of Governors are elected annually for one-year terms. The Board chair is responsible for appointing members and committee chairs to the standing committees. The Board chair also recommends the striking of ad hoc committees that he or she deems necessary for the effective functioning of the Board.

When the Board Meets

The Board meets six times each year. Each two-day session of the Board consists of an initial day of committee meetings followed by separate open and closed sessions of the Board.

Communicating with the Board

If you wish to communicate with the Board of Governors, please write to the Chair of the Board of Governors c/o the Office of the University Secretary, Administrative Services Building, PO Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2, Canada or by email c/o usec3@uvic.ca. The Board's Procedures do not provide for people to address the Board, but it would welcome your views in writing.  In order to be provided to the Board members at a given set of meetings, correspondence must be received in the Office of the University Secretary 15 days before the meeting.  Please note that the Board is a governing body and does not deal with matters under purview of the Senate or the university's administration.  If you wish to raise an issue with the university, your first course of action should be to contact the pertinent university official.  If you are unsure to whom you should address yourself, please contact the University Secretary's Office by email at usec3@uvic.ca.