Action Plan IMPACT: UPEI Governance 101 – Part 2

UPEI community members may have noticed a job posting in September 2024 for a senior role called “University Secretary.”  

In part 1 of UPEI Governance 101, we learned that governance is the system of rules, processes, and practices by which institutions and organizations are managed and controlled. The job of managing governance in a university setting falls to the university secretariat, which is overseen by a governance professional called the university secretary.

While university secretaries exist at most other Canadian institutions, up until 2025, it wasn’t the case at UPEI. For most of the University’s existence, there was dedicated administrative support for the Board and Senate, but not a governance professional to provide oversight and facilitation, ensuring the effective and efficient operation of the University's bicameral system of governance.  

Governance gaps became apparent in the UPEI Review (Rubin Thomlinson report) and were addressed in Action 2.2.3 of the UPEI Action Plan, “Review Board Governance Board of Governors.” The action item resulted in “An external review of the University of Prince Edward Island Board Governance,” prepared by Cheryl Foy, President, Strategic Governance Consulting Services Ltd.  

Foy identified that “given the complexity of university governance…there is much work to do to rebuild and to improve” governance at UPEI, recommending that “UPEI seek a governance professional with university governance experience or comparable experience.”

In February 2025, after a competitive, national search, Pascal Robichaud joined UPEI as its first University Secretary. He serves as an officer of the University, reporting to the President and Vice-Chancellor, and in respect of governance, has a dotted line reporting relationship to the Chair of the Board of Governors. He has oversight of the University's compliance with the PEI University Act, including the preservation of UPEI’s autonomous governance structure as set out in that legislation.

In just one year, Pascal has hit the ground running, using the Governance Review as well as Goal 2 in the UPEI Action Plan, “Strengthen UPEI’s governance and leadership structure” as guideposts. Some accomplishments include activities under Action 2 (Refresh the UPEI Board of Governors with new members and create an enhanced accountability and oversight structure) and Action 3 (Improve onboarding and training of UPEI Board of Governors and Senate members):

• 2.2.4 Increase Board oversight by reviewing the Terms of Reference of Board standing committees to ensure that Board oversight responsibilities are adequately met
• 2.2.5 Develop new reporting mechanisms to inform the Board of Governors re: resignations/terminations and trends of harassment and/or discrimination. 
• 2.2.6 Develop a Board policy for appointing acting and interim administrators,  
• 2.3.1 Develop orientation and training materials for the Board of Governors and Senate: provide training on governance and other relevant expertise; provide EDI training  
• 2.3.2 Develop training schedule and tracking process for the Board of Governors and Senate: identify institutional resources to support the development of training programs and related materials; develop a training plan for Board of Governors and Senate; develop a process to track training participation of those in governance-related roles

To learn more about governance at UPEI and see some of the recent initiatives in action, refer to the upei.ca web pages regarding the Board of Governors and the Senate.

We will be telling the stories of important progress on the UPEI Action Plan on a regular basis, under the “Action Plan IMPACT” banner. Articles will share how the Action Plan implementation activities are being operationalized, becoming entrenched in our culture and living on long past the plan—making real IMPACT. To submit your own Action Plan IMPACT story, contact communications@upei.ca.  To view the last Action Plan IMPACT story, click here.