Mahad Rzain, Vice President External[ bio coming soon ]
Yesterday, the Students’ Union (SU) announced the professors, instructors, and teaching assistants being honoured through the SU’s annual Teaching Excellence Awards (TEA). Awards and honourable mentions were given to 39 exceptional members of the university community to highlight their commitment to student success over the past academic year.
The annual TEA is the SU’s campus-wide recognition program giving undergraduate students the chance to honour and thank those instructors, professors, and teaching assistants who have supported and made a lasting and positive impression on their students. All nominees and winners and determined exclusively by students.
The students of the University of Calgary are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of excellent educators that do their best to bring a top-tier experience to this campus. The impact that this year’s winners have made in student lives does not go unnoticed and it is a privilege to be able to recognize their hard work with this year’s Teaching Excellence Awards.
The SU received over 1,000 nominations this year and shortlisted 135 educators for the committee to review. Award winners received an Apple Award and a framed certificate. The SU will also donate $5,000 to the Taylor Institute for Teaching & Learning in recognition of the contributions made by the award winners and to support the professional growth of instructors to address the changing needs of students.
TEA is an event that has been funded in part due to the Quality Money program. The funding that TEA provides is not only used to host the awards ceremony but also to offer further training and workshops to UCalgary instructors and facilitate an environment where high quality of teaching becomes a standard for all students. From the start, the awards were intended to give undergraduate students the opportunity to provide feedback on the quality of the university instruction they receive. With the University ending the Quality Money program, this may be one of, if not the last, renditions of TEA, so we are grateful to this year’s crop of educators just a little bit more than usual.
For more information about the SU TEA program, please visit www.su.ucalgary.ca/TEA.
The SU wishes its sincerest congratulations to all of the winners and honourable mentions. The complete list of award winners and honourable mentions is available below.
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Media inquires may be directed to:
Nathan Ross
Manager, Communications and Government Relations
Nathan.ross@ucalgary.ca
All photos must be credited to Gene Baines
Teaching Excellence Awards – Teaching Assistants
Teaching Excellence Awards
Teaching Excellence Awards – Honourable Mention
Hall of Fame Award
Hall of Fame, Dr. David R.M. Pattison (Science)
Winner in Teaching Excellence, Dr. Saied Jalal Aboodarda (Kinesiology)
The Students’ Union (SU) is one of Canada’s leading undergraduate student associations. We operate on-campus businesses including a restaurant and bar, concert venues, a bookstore, and our conference & event centre.
In this role, you’ll take a leadership role in event operations, overseeing a team of supervisors and hourly staff. You’ll manage day-to-day operations, coordinate complex events, and mentor staff. You’ll have the chance to influence processes and see the direct impact of your work.
We offer:
The MacEwan Conference and Event Centre is seeking a hands-on, people-focused Assistant Manager, Event Operations. This full-time role leads a team of supervisors and event staff to deliver seamless on-campus and off-site events. The primary function is to oversee event operations, manage staff performance, coordinate catering and logistics, and ensure clients receive professional, high-quality service.
For this position, the hiring range is $55,000 to $63,000 and the offered salary will be based on a candidate’s relative experience. As a not-for-profit organization, it is extremely unlikely that we will be able to offer a successful candidate a salary outside of this range.
QUALIFICATIONS
This is a physically active role and includes:
Please send a resume and cover letter to resumes@su.ucalgary.ca. We are accepting applications until May 31, 2026 or until we find the right person. We’re hoping to interview candidates and make a decision in early May.
The Students’ Union is committed to ensuring that members of equity-deserving groups, from a broad range of communities, feel empowered to apply for positions within the organization. We strongly encourage qualified candidates from Black, Indigenous, and/or other racialized communities to apply. Qualified candidates who identify as 2Spirit and/or LGBTQIA+ or are otherwise marginalized on the grounds of gender expression, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation are also strongly encouraged to apply.
The Students’ Union welcomes applications from people with disabilities and believes strongly in accessibility in the work we do. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process – please advise us at any point and we will work with you to meet your needs while respecting your privacy as much as possible.
The Students’ Union is grateful to work on the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising the Siksika, Piikuni, and Kainai First Nations), the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations). The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III. The University of Calgary is situated on land adjacent to where the Bow River meets the Elbow River, and the traditional Blackfoot name of this place is Moh’kins’tsis, which we now call the City of Calgary. The Students’ Union also recognizes that land acknowledgments are not enough. We need to pursue truth, reconciliation, decolonization, and allyship in an ongoing effort to make right with all our relations.
Abdu Negmeldin, Vice President Internal[ bio coming soon ]
[ bio coming soon ]
The Students’ Union is currently looking for applicants to fill appointed positions for three Faculty Representative positions, and one Senate Student-at-Large position. All positions will require a completed SU Faculty Representative Appointment Application.
Brief descriptions are provided below, followed by downloadable Position Description and application form documents.
Applications are due March 31, 2026 at 4:30 pm and sent to Laura Brooks <laura.brooks@ucalgary.ca>.
Faculty Representatives are the main communication link between the SU and the faculty in which they are registered. They are responsible for representing and promoting the interests of the students in their faculty. Successful candidates will be reliable, flexible and have superior interpersonal, organizational and writing skills.
Position Description [PDF] | Application [DOCX]
Position Description [PDF] | Application [DOCX]
Position Description [PDF] | Application [DOCX]
The Senate’s main goal is to inquire into any matter that might benefit the university and enhance its position in the community. The Senate also confers honorary degrees to deserving individuals.
Senate Student-at-Large Representatives represent undergraduate students on the University of Calgary’s Senate. Membership on Senate involves a time commitment of approximately one meeting per month. Regular attendance at meetings is essential. Senate members may also be asked to serve on sub-committees which also meet approximately once per month.
Position Description [PDF] | Application [DOCX]
The Students’ Union is committed to ensuring that members of equity-deserving groups, from a broad range of communities, feel empowered to apply for positions within the organization. We strongly encourage qualified candidates from Black, Indigenous, and/or other racialized communities to apply. Qualified candidates who identify as 2Spirit and/or LGBTQIA+ or are otherwise marginalized on the grounds of gender expression, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation are also strongly encouraged to apply.
The Students’ Union welcomes applications from people with disabilities and believes strongly in accessibility in the work we do. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process – please advise us at any point and we will work with you to meet your needs while respecting your privacy as much as possible.
The Students’ Union is grateful to work on the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising the Siksika, Piikuni, and Kainai First Nations), the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations). The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III. The University of Calgary is situated on land adjacent to where the Bow River meets the Elbow River, and the traditional Blackfoot name of this place is Moh’kins’tsis, which we now call the City of Calgary. The Students’ Union also recognizes that land acknowledgments are not enough. We need to pursue truth, reconciliation, decolonization, and allyship in an ongoing effort to make right with all our relations.
Calgary – The Students’ Union (SU) of the University of Calgary is pleased to announce the results of the SU General Election which will form the 84th Students’ Legislative Council (SLC). Undergraduate students were able to cast their vote in the election from March 3-5 to determine which of their peers will represent them to faculties, the university, and the three orders of government.
There was just a single race within the executive positions this year which was a three-candidate race for SU President. Gabriela Dziegielewska has been elected, defeating Julia Law and Michael Harris to succeed Naomie Bakana as President. They won with 66.1% of the vote.
They will be joined by three uncontested Vice Presidents, who all garnered enough Yes votes to win their races. The three Vice Presidents will be Abdu Negmeldin (Vice President Internal), Mahad Rzain (Vice President External), and Zoe Zeritsch (Vice President Academic).
The position of Board of Governors representative was also uncontested, and Aitazaz Shah received a majority of yes votes to claim the singular Board of Governors’ seat. While the SU had two open seats for the position of Senate Representatives. Ophelia Vecchione will be joining the Senate, and the other open position will be filled in a future by-election.
In the Faculty Representative races, there were three faculties with races – Arts, the Haskayne School of Business, and Kinesiology.
There were six candidates for the Faculty of Arts, in which there were four positions available. The four elected are Davina Elesin, Xander Halsey-Dam, Abbas Hussain, and Fatima Jarid.
In the race for the two seats available to represent the Haskayne School of Business, there were three candidates. Zahra Qazi and Elias Karayiannis were successful in their bids, and will be joining the 84th SLC.
In the final contested race, there were three candidates for the singular Faculty of Kinesiology seat. The successful candidate is Noah Karmali.
Other Faculty Representative races asked students to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for candidates. All candidates running received a majority of ‘yes’ votes in their respective races:
Cumming School of Medicine (two seats available): Laiba Nasir and Nikhil Srivalsan
Faculty of Law: Mickail Hendi
Faculty of Nursing: Natasha Tenor
Schulich School of Engineering (two positions available): Jana Abdelrahman and Khadiza Ahsan
Faculty of Science (four positions available): Warren Hamill, Yansing Huang, Sehaj Kang, and Carrar Saleh
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine: Samuel McFetridge
Werklund School of Education: Siena Yee
There was also a Referendum Vote to determine if students supported implementing a fee to finance a Mac Hal Redevelopment Fund beginning in the Fall Term of 2026/27. With 55.2 % of the vote, students have voted to support this fee, meaning the referendum has passed.
3309 students voted in the 2026 General Election, which equates to 11% of the undergraduate population. The results announced today are provisional and become official on March 13. Students elected in this General Election will take office on May 4th, 2026.
The SU will hold a by-election in October 2026 to fill the vacancies for the following positions:
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Inquiries may be directed to:
Nathan Ross
Manager, Communications & Government Relations
nathan.ross@ucalgary.ca
Cell: 403-835-1836
The new 2026-2027 SU Executive team. From the left, Zoe Zeritsch, VP Academic; Abdu Negmeldin, VP Internal; Gabriela Dziegielewska, President; Mahad Rzain, VP External.
Aitazaz Shah, incoming Board of Governors representative, General Election 2026
Quality Money (QM) is a unique tuition rebate program that gives students a say over where their dollars should go. Every year, the student-run QM Committee reads through applications and selects innovative, impactful projects that enhance our campus. With just a fraction of annual tuition revenue, QM has launched over 100 initiatives since 2003. Projects you may be familiar with include:
The $3 Quality Meal at The Den
UCalgary's red arch (without QM, it would still be beige)
The Affordable Market at the Campus Food Hub
(Check out our vid on Instagram for more!)
This year, senior university leadership told the SU that they don't see the value of one of the biggest student-led programs on campus. Instead, they want to absorb QM funds into the university's regular budget, eliminating student choice entirely.
Leadership claims their plan is primarily based on the results of UCalgary's 2025 student survey... but the answers this survey received don't actually support their plan to reallocate QM's funds. The university wants to invest most of QM's budget (60%) into classrooms — even though students placed classrooms fifth out of eight on their list of priorities. The university also plans to address the 96% of students who opposed this year’s tuition increase by adding just 0.3% to its existing financial aid budget.
We heard a different message from you: you’re tired of annual tuition hikes, and you at least want to know where your money goes. We don't think UCalgary will adequately resolve your concerns by clawing back the tiny fraction of tuition that students get to manage for themselves every year. With QM, you know exactly where your money goes: every project ever funded is available on our website for your review.
If QM is taken away, students will lose this direct say over how their money should be spent. We believe students have the best understanding of what students need, but without QM, there'll be no mechanism available to pilot now-established services like the Annual Flu Clinic, or introduce spaces like Spyhill's Accessible Exam Centre (both of which were student ideas). We don’t think the university (or even the SU) should get to unilaterally decide what happens to your tuition rebate without you.
That’s why we want to hear from you before UCalgary takes the decision out of your hands. If you…
…then we want to hear from you. Email your thoughts to your SU President, or send the SU a signed copy of the template letter below. We’ll present your voice to executive leadership and make sure the university’s most senior officials know exactly how you feel.
Discussions with the university on QM's future are still underway. We’ll have more updates for you as they develop.
Below is a template letter you could use to support preserving QM. You can write your own, or simply sign the below if it speaks to you. Send your letter in PDF, Microsoft Word, or email format to supres@ucalgary.ca or reception@su.ucalgary.ca.
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Subject: Protect Student Choice by Keeping Quality Money (QM) Alive
Dear University of Calgary leadership,
I write to express my support for the Quality Money (QM) program, which gives students a direct say in how our money should be spent on our campus. QM allows us to leverage a portion of our tuition dollars to advance projects that improve our experience. The ability to propose, evaluate and otherwise support these initiatives ourselves embodies genuine student choice. This cannot be replaced by a top-down allocation model that the university unilaterally decides to impose.
We therefore request that University of Calgary leadership:
Thank you for respecting the right of students to shape the resources that affect our daily lives.
From a review of projects initiated in five funding years (2015-16/2019-20).
These are quotes taken from Quality Money applicants over the program's many years (edited for brevity).
“While we are pursuing sustainable funding sources, a QM grant will allow us to keep our program running over the coming year. If we can't continue the program for a full year while we work to secure funding, we risk compromising relationships with faculty and returning contributors.” — Staff member, on a program that runs to this day
“The initial phase of this project will act as a 'proof of concept' to quantifiably demonstrate the demand for this service, as well as its effectiveness. It is currently our intention to use the information we collect to strengthen our argument that the university should fund this in the future.” — Student, applying for a program UCalgary now runs annually
“My department is currently preparing a budget for this service going forward, but there are significant immediate needs that QM can address.” — Faculty member, describing the benefits of QM's flexibility
The SU will be hosting a talent show event March 18, 2026 in the South Courtyard of MacEwan Student Centre. After an extensive search and gruelling auditions, a lineup of UCalgary’s top student talent has been created.
A variety of performances, including vocal, instrumental, dance, and poetry will be happening. Come offer your support and witness the spectacle.
[ UPDATED: March 17, 2026 ]
Notice is hereby given that an election will be held for the following offices:
POSITION (# of positions available)
Online voting will take place on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th days of March, 2026 through myUofC Student Centre. Voting opens at 9 a.m. on March 3rd and closes at 4 p.m. on March 5th, 2026. Polling stations are located at the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) building, MacEwan Student Centre, and Science Theatres, and are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on each voting day. All University of Calgary undergraduate students registered in the Winter 2026 session are eligible to vote.
In accordance with section 48 of the The Union Bylaw, the Chief Returning Officer declares the following positions vacant:
Please visit the SU Elections page for updates and information.
