Now Recruiting: Student Representatives on College Committees for Fall 2025

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Applications are now open! 

Let us know you're interested by Friday, September 19!

Student engagement is vital to Renison. We are seeking student representatives interested in joining a number of college committees this Fall. 

We are looking for first-year and upper-year undergraduate and graduate students interested in:

  • Gaining experience on either an advisory or action-oriented 
  • committee working with Renison staff, faculty, and administration
  • Learning about the democratic process of committee engagement
  • Making a difference in their Renison community!

Take a look through our list of college committees seeking representation this Fall!  We are seeking student representatives for the following committees:


Academic Council

Academic Council (AC) holds general responsibility for the degree programs of Renison, in which Students take courses to satisfy degree requirements of the University of ݮƵ and courses towards a degree requiring approval by the Senate of the University of ݮƵ (UW).

AC considers and makes recommendations to the Board with respect to academic matters and serves as a forum for discussion on the translation of the mission of Renison into an educational vision and framework.

The committee meets once per month on average with a minimum of two meetings per academic term.

Academic Council is seeking two student representatives:

  • One undergraduate student
  • One Master of Social Work (MSW) graduate student

Questions? Want to sign up?

Sign up before Friday, September 19 by contacting: 

Ally Vonk, Administrative & Research Officer
ally.vonk@uwaterloo.ca
Office: Room 2601 (President's Office) 


Accessibility Matters Committee

ճAccessibility Matters Committee at Renison is an advisory body established to enhance equitable access on the Renison campus for students, staff, faculty, and visitors.

  • Serves as a resource to the Renison community on issues related to accessibility;
  • Serves as the Renison campus contact point for all accessibility concerns; Raises awareness and make recommendations to the Renison community and appropriate departmental and administrative contacts on real and potential barriers to accessibility, including sharing best practices for addressing issues and eliminating barriers;
  • Provides, when needed, liaison with services on campus at the University of ݮƵ to ensure that accessibility barriers are effectively responded to for student, staff, faculty, and visitor members of Renison’s community. 

The committee has one meeting every 1-2 months for the Fall and Winter semesters.

The Accessibility Matters Committee is seeking three student representatives:

  • One residence student
  • One undergraduate student or graduate student in SDS, School of Social Work, or studying in Culture and Language Studies 
  • One student studying in Community and Professional Education, including the English Language Institute

Questions? Want to sign up?

Sign up before Friday, September 19 by contacting: 

Accessibility Matters Committee
ren-accessibility@uwaterloo.ca


Green Team Committee

The Renison Green Team is comprised of representatives from every department across Renison. Our goal is to provide expertise for the development and implementation of environmental and sustainability initiatives in and around Renison.

We welcome student reps who are committed to advocating and applying sustainable practices and ideas throughout the college. We especially like having one Renison Residence student representative and one non-resident student representative, but everyone is welcome!

Participating on the Renison Green Team involves:

  • A one or two-semester commitment
  • Working and collaborating with Renison Green Team members
  • Providing a student lens on how to best promote sustainable actions to the Renison community
  • Committing to assisting with a project or task during their tenure

The commitment will involvement 1-2 meetings per term; extra meetings as required for work on sub-committees.

The Green Team committee is looking for two interested student representatives who wish to join.

Questions? Want to sign up?

Sign up before Friday, September 19 by contacting: 

Renison Green Team
renison.greenteam@uwaterloo.ca


Spokescouncil on Anti-racism and Decolonization

Recognizing that this important work requires a full commitment from all corners of the organization, Renison is adopting a grassroots approach for the Spokescouncil on Anti-racism and Decolonization. Making purposeful use of the resources provided through the University of ݮƵ including the Office of Equity, Diversity and Anti-Racism; UW’s Racial Advocacy for Inclusion, Solidarity and Equity (RAISE); UW’s Black Association for Student Expression (BASE); the Office of Indigenous Relations; and the ݮƵ Indigenous Student Centre (WISC); and providing intentional educational opportunities to all employees through Renison’s Human Resources department, Renison will provide training and guidance to all of its existing committees and working groups on how to approach its work through a lens of racial justice, reconciliation, and decolonization. This training will be supplemented by Renison-wide training and information sessions.

Everyone who has a role in the Renison enterprise will be provided with development opportunities; we will also provide various means, including anonymous, for employees to provide feedback and recommendations on how we are doing as an organization. Renison will also introduce a Spokescouncil on Anti-Racism and Decolonization (ARD) with broad representation from across Renison to help advance this work and evaluate its success.

The ARD Spokescouncil will convene on a quarterly basis (or special meeting if necessary):
• Provide guidance on budgetary decisions
• Provide guidance on key work projects
• Implement recommendations that have been submitted through various channels

More information about the principles of our work is available on the Renison website.

The Spokescouncil on Anti-racism and Decolonization is recruiting for one student representative and will typically meet once per term. 

Questions? Want to sign up?

Sign up before Friday, September 19 by contacting: 

Lisa Kessig, Executive Assistant to the President
lisa.kessig@uwaterloo.ca
Office: Room 2601 (President's Office)


Student Affairs Advisory Committee

ճStudent Affairs Advisory Committee's mandate is to make recommendations to the SAGE Council concerning Student Affairs at Renison. The duties of the Student Affairs Advisory Committee include making recommendations to the SAGE Council concerning the approval of new Student Affairs programs and initiatives at Renison or the modification or deletion of existing Student Affairs programs and initiatives at Renison; make recommendations to the SAGE Council on strategic planning in relation to Student Affairs; ensure adequate policies regarding Student Affairs are established and kept up to date; make recommendations to the SAGE Council concerning work within SAAC subcommittees; promote staff access to professional development (PD) opportunities; ensure a ‘framework’ is in place to support and disseminate best/effective practices.

The Student Affairs Advisory Committee is seeking two student representatives: 

  • One residence student
  • Աstudent studying in either a degree program at Renison or in the School of Global Engagement and Education (including the English Language Institute)

Questions? Want to sign up?

Sign up before Friday, September 19 by contacting: 

Ryan Connell, Assistant Director of Student Experience & Housing
ryan.connell@uwaterloo.ca
Office: Room 1108 (Ministry Centre)


Student Affairs, Global Engagement, and Education (SAGE) Council

Student Affairs, Global Engagement, and Education Council (SAGE Council) shall have general responsibility for Student Affairs and the School of Global Engagement and Education initiatives. Student Affairs includes but is not limited to Student Experience and Housing, Renison International Office, Chaplaincy, and Library.

The School of Global Engagement and Education (SGEE) includes Renison courses and programs that satisfy conditional admission or entry requirements to the University of ݮƵ and Renison courses, programs and micro-credentials that are not for University of ݮƵ credit and may or may not require approval by the Senate of the University of ݮƵ (UݮƵ). SGEE units include the English Language Institute (ELI), Renison International Programs, Continuing Education, and the Institute of Intercultural Research and Community Engagement (IIRCE).

The SACE Council is seeking two student representatives:

  • One student living in Renison Residence
  • Աstudent enrolled in the School of Global Engagement and Education programs, including the English Language Institute and Renison International Programs.

Questions? Want to sign up?

Sign up before Friday, September 19 by contacting: 

Ally Vonk, Administrative & Research Officer
ally.vonk@uwaterloo.ca
Office: Room 2601 (President's Office) 


Student Wellness & Advocacy Committee

ճStudent Wellness and Advocacy Advisory Committee is an opportunity for students to share input about student wellness needs, as well as advocacy needs and issues based on student perspective from personal experience and/or peers’ experiences at Renison.  As a committee, we will work on several areas:

  • Advocacy and Advisory Work: Making recommendations to relevant leadership at Renison for how to best serve student life and wellness. The committee also serves as an advisory to Renison’s Managers and Directors Group (MDG) on issues facing and related to students; in this way, the committee serves to promote the collective voice of students on issues that our senior leadership/administration may advocate for with internal or external stakeholders.
  • Advising and supporting all Renison students, outside of their courses and when other resources have been spent, are unavailable, or unknown, with issues such as:
    • student conduct appeals (student life and residence),
    • sexual violence response,
    • issues of harassment,
    • physical safety/accident/slip and fall response,
    • physical accessibility concerns (coordinating with Renison’s Accessibility Committee),
    • and other issues, such as invisible barriers, as they emerge.
  • Event planning: planning and executing two listening events per year, to get input and feedback from students around wellness and issues they may be facing or dealing with.
  • Food Security: supporting the Community Fridge and Community Cupboard at Renison in promoting food security for students. Also, seeking to improve awareness and access to Food Security resources on and off campus by providing relevant information through flyers and online information about Renison, UݮƵ and Community resources.
  • Improving awareness and access to resources: working with relevant Renison areas, we hope to improve the availability of flyers and online information about wellness resources at Renison and UݮƵ so that students know what to access.

The committee hosts two 1.5-hour meetings per term and additional 2 hours per month is spent on the implementation of advocacy and wellness initiatives outside the meeting times.

The Student Advocacy and Wellness Committee is seeking three student representatives

  • Աstudent studying in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities (including Social Development Studies or Culture and Language Studies courses at Renison)
  • One student studying in the School of Social Work (BSW or MSW)
  • Աstudent studying in the School of Global Engagement and Education, including the English Language Institute

Questions? Want to sign up?

Sign up before Friday, September 19 by contacting: 

Student Wellness and Advocacy Committee
ren-swac@uwaterloo.ca

Feeling nervous sitting on a college committee?

To support students who are joining a college committee at Renison, online LEARN training modules are available. 

This training is designed to help students better understand the ins-and-outs of boards, councils, and committees at Renison, and how they can make a valuable contribution as a student serving on a  committee.

Upon completion of the modules and the final quiz in the course, students will receive a LEARN “badge” to recognize their completion of the one-hour course. 

How to Enrol in the Training Modules

  1. Visit LEARN and log in with your WatIAM
  2. Click the "Self Registration" link in the toolbar menu.
  3. Find "Student Involvement on a Renison College Committee" in the list of course options.
  4. Click the "REGISTER" button on the next page, followed by the "SUBMIT" button, then "FINISH button.
  5. Click "Go to Course Offering Student Involvement on a Renison College Committee"
  6. Click the "Begin the Training!" button and get started.
Charmaine in the cafeteria smiling at camera