Memorial University’s faculty association has a number of priorities it wants to see addressed following what has been a tumultuous time at the university.

The resignation of former president Vianne Timmons due to questions surrounding her claims to Indigenous ancestry, the controversy surrounding dropping the Ode to Newfoundland from MUN convocation, and general questions about university governance have all made headlines in recent months.

MUNFA president Josh Lepawsky says the restoration of the university’s core operating grant, which has been cut by 30 per cent “in real terms” since 2014, is key among their concerns.

“It is a challenge to say the least to carry this institution on under those conditions,” says Lepawsky.

They’re also seeking “real, substantive reform to university governance,” including legislation that governs the university and the Board of Regents.

“There have been some cosmetic changes around the Board of Regents, but there is still a lot of very substantive work to go there,” he says.

MUNFA is also calling for a more transparent process when filling vacancies in the upper administration, including the search for a new university president.

Lepawsky says they want the process to be open and public, and void of secret searches by an executive headhunting firm.

“Repair and redress” is also needed due to what he calls the “ongoing harms” resulting from “the debacle of the former president, which have yet to be resolved.”