Glossary of Terms
Many of these may be better placed in a summary of our governance/organization structure, instead of being included as "terms".
Assembly of UArctic (ASSEMBLY)
One of UArctic’s governance bodies, the Assembly is comprised of representatives from all UArctic member institutions and organizations. The Assembly gives strategic guidance on academic priorities and acts as a forum for cooperation on the implementation of UArctic programs through member institutions. [Constitution, Bylaws]
Assembly Committees
Established to address the Assembly’s general responsibilities, the Assembly Committees are the Membership Committee, Nominations Committee, and the Indigenous Issues Committee. Together, the Officers of the Assembly and the chairs of individual Committees form the Council Executive Committee (see Toyon). [Bylaws]
Assembly Representative
An individual selected by a member to represent it in meetings of the Assembly or its subsidiary bodies. All members have equal rights of representation on the Assembly, with each member having one representative and one alternate representative. Each member is entitled to develop its own procedures for selecting its representative and alternate representative on the Assembly. [Bylaws]
Board of uarctic
UArctic's Board is our highest governing body and has general responsibility for UArctic’s strategic development and setting main priorities, including finances and staffing. The Board is made up of elected individuals all of whom serve in their personal capacities on behalf of UArctic. A student representative is also included as a member of the Board. The current members of the Board are listed here.
board Executive
The Board Executive comprises the Board Officers; the President; the Vice-President Indigenous; and the Vice-President Organization, who acts as secretary. The Board Executive prepares the agenda and the texts of proposals for the Board meetings. The Board Executive acts on behalf of the Board between Board meetings and makes interim decisions (subject to subsequent confirmation by the Board).
board advisory groups
The Board’s advisory groups are the Finance Policy Advisory Group, and the Philanthropic Fundraising Advisory Group. The Finance Policy group is responsible for the financial oversight and transparency of UArctic’s fiscal policy matters. The Finance Policy Advisory Group has an advisory role on the Board’s financial planning, monitoring, and audit responsibilities. The Philanthropic Fundraising Advisory group serves to help build a community of supporters for UArctic philanthropic fundraising, and to provide the Board with independent objective advice about fundraising strategy and related external relations.
Friends of UArctic
The Assembly and the Board, acting together, may invite distinguished individuals to serve as “Friends” of UArctic. The advice of the Friends of the University of the Arctic is welcome on all programmatic activities, and on any matter pertaining to UArctic, but they are not responsible individually or collectively for the operation of UArctic.
UArctic Endorsement
A UArctic Academic Endorsement is a prestigious sign of value awarded to qualifying academic activities at member institutions that acts as a proof of adherence to UArctic's Mission and Values.
Indigenous Advisory Board
To be defined (Terms of Reference)
UArctic Institutes
UArctic Institutes are devoted to research, monitoring and education throughout the Arctic. Empowered by local knowledge and international level academic expertise, they facilitate development of multidisciplinary solutions for challenges in the Arctic.
Leadership teams
Led by a Vice-President, each team consist of relevant Directors and other leaders under their area of responsibility, including the Senior Leadership Team (Ma-Mawi). OMG
Research Liaison Office
Thule Institute at the University of Oulu, Finland supports Thematic Networks, which link educational, research and outreach activities in key issue areas. Key services include integration of the Thematic Networks and Institutes with UArctic members to create synergies in research and education and help in identification of potential funding sources.
Ma-Mawi (Senior Leadership Team)
Consists of the President, Executive Vice-President, Secretary General, Chief Communications Officer, and Vice-Presidents Mobility, Northern Community Engagement, Academic, Networks, Indigenous and Research. Ma-Mawi provides overall coordination for the development and delivery of UArctic operational activities. It holds responsibility for the daily management of UArctic’s functions, particularly for program development and delivery. The President is the Chair of the Senior Management Team. OMG
Ma-Mawi = from the Ojibwa language, meaning, “We all work together to help one another.” The Ojibwa, or Chippewa, language is the second most commonly spoken First Nations language in Canada and the fourth most spoken Native language in North America.
Membership Structure
UArctic has two membership categories, Arctic Members and Non-Arctic Members, and within each membership category there are two member types, “Higher Education Institutions” and “Other Organizations.”
Nominations Committee
The main responsibilities of this Assembly Committee are to develop and oversee the Assembly membership process as well as UArctic’s key nominations processes. Elected for a three-year term (renewable once), members of the committee are elected by the Assembly from slates of nominees prepared by the Board. Bylaws
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
The majority of UArctic’s core operations are organized by a set of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between UArctic and the individual host institutions. The purpose of the formal agreement is to define the terms, functions, and conditions for the hosting of a UArctic position and/or activity.
north2north
UArctic's north2north is a small-scale exchange program for students, staff and faculty members in the Arctic higher education members of UArctic with an interest in the North. The north2north mobility program aims to meet the needs of northern people in northern communities with high-quality education by focusing on an Arctic dimension in course delivery and by facilitating opportunities to study, teach and carry out relevant research in different parts of the North.
Ofelaš
UArctic Senior Executive Team. Led by President, consists of the Secretary General and the Executive Vice-President. Forms the daily operational senior management executive.
Ofelaš = from XXX language, meaning "???"
people/peoples:
When referring to a group of defined identites (ie, an Indigenous people) use the plural peoples. If referring to more than one group of individuals, eg “The indigenous peoples of the Circumpolar North.”
Person: an individual human being. People: an identified group of persons (nation, tribe, ethnicity). Peoples: more than one of such groups.
President
Under the direction of the Board of UArctic, the President serves as the chief executive officer of UArctic and is responsible for its overall administration and the development and delivery of its activities. The President may form such committees or other subsidiary bodies as he or she deems necessary to carry out the programmatic activities of UArctic. In the daily operations of UArctic, the President chairs Ma-Mawi, follows up the work of Ma-Mawi members and has a particular responsibility for new initiatives and oversees UArctic’s external relations. OMG
Shared Voices
Shared Voices is UArctic's annual print magazine. The name comes from a document called "With Shared Voices", published at the beginning of UArctic's development and outlining the mutual commitment between UArctic and the region's indigenous peoples.
Snowy Owl Talks
UArctic Snowy OWL Talks, videos based on public presentations by inspirational leaders, expect to serve as general information as well as supplementary course material for students studying in or about the North.
Student testimonials
Our student testimonials share different opportunities and first-hand experiences of studying and living in another North: north2north exchanges, research and field trips, degree studies in a different country, online Circumpolar Studies, internships, and even follow-ups on how peoples' lives have been enriched by northern mobility.
Thematic Networks
UArctic's Thematic Networks foster issues-based cooperation within networks that are focused but flexible enough to respond quickly to topical Arctic issues. They form a natural framework for development of UArctic education and research providing an optimal structure for increasing the knowledge generation and sharing across the North.
Toyon (Assembly Executive Committee )
The executive committee of the Assembly of UArctic consists of the Assembly Officers (Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary), as well as the Chairs of other Assembly Committees. The President is an ex-officio member of Toyon. The Head of the UArctic International Secretariat acts as secretary to Toyon. Bylaws
Pronounced 'toi-ŏn, this word comes from the Yakut language where it means “chief.”
TÝR
The UArctic Philanthropic Fundraising Advisory Group (Týr) is philanthropic fundraising advisory group to the UArctic Board. The group is comprised of high-profile individuals who bring personal, foundation and/or corporate contacts and contributions to the organization. Their role is to help raise the profile and visibility of UArctic’s philanthropic fundraising program, identify income generation opportunities, and help UArctic Board members, leadership and staff to network.
The group is named after the Norse god Týr; a brave warrior, a source of wisdom, and a champion of justice.
UArctic International Secretariat
Carries the primary responsibility for coordinating internal and external information, particularly maintaining the UArctic website and news services. The International Secretariat provides support for the Assembly, the Board, management, and the President of UArctic. The International Secretariat is located at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland.
uarctic Vice-Presidents
Each UArctic Vice-President has the strategic leadership over specific UArctic’s operation activities (i.e. Indigenous; Academic; Research; Northern Community Engagement; Networks; Mobility). See Ma-Mawi. OMG
uarctic ry.
The University of the Arctic was officially launched in 2001. In an effort to place UArctic in a stronger position when it comes to contractual capacity, fundraising and liability, and following approval by both governing bodies of UArctic, the University of the Arctic was officially registered as a non-profit association under the Finnish law as "UArctic ry" in November 2019. Note: The abbreviations ry (Finnish for "rekisteröity yhdistys") is the mark of a legally registered association, and the is a suffix ending is added to a legal association's name. [Constitution Bylaws]