Every month we send our supporters a newsletter with the latest CAUT and post-secondary education sector news. This newsletter was published on July 25, 2023. Subscribe to get the newsletter straight to your inbox.
In this issue:
- Memorial academic staff join Board of Regents
- Brock University Faculty Association reaches tentative agreement
- Saint-Boniface academic staff vote to strike
- CAUT condemns hate-motivated stabbing at the University of Waterloo
- Contract Academic Staff Conference
- Protect Hassan Diab from further injustice
- Take our 2-minute survey on Twitter use
Memorial academic staff join Board of Regents
Photo credit: Luke Rhodenizer
Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association (MUNFA) President Ashrafee Tanvir Hossain and Executive Member-at-Large from Grenfell Campus Nathalie Pender have joined the Board of Regents, after the province amended the Memorial University Act to allow faculty appointments.
MUNFA prepared a list of seven elected representatives to join the board at the request of the Minister of Education Krista Lynn Howell. To ensure a democratic process and enhance collegial governance, the list included candidates from partner campus unions as well as MUNFA. The provincial government only appointed two academic staff to the board.
Throughout the appointment process, MUNFA expressed concern about the suppression of the voices of academic staff members. With the exclusion of partner unions from the board, the association has vowed to continue the fight for changes to Memorial’s governance structure to ensure that all academic staff are included in the university’s decision-making processes.
During MUNFA’s strike at the beginning of the year, the Newfoundland and Labrador government committed to appointing academic staff to the board to help resolve concerns about governance at the province’s only university.
Brock University Faculty Association reaches tentative agreement
After members voted 97% in favour of a strike last month, the Brock University Faculty Association announced that it has reached a tentative agreement with the Brock University administration. On July 18, 98% of BUFA members voted to ratify the agreement.
Saint-Boniface academic staff vote to strike
Members of the Association des professeur.e.s et des professionnel.le.s de l’Université de Saint-Boniface voted overwhelmingly (93%) to support a strike mandate for their bargaining team. Saint-Boniface academic staff have been without a collective agreement for nearly three years.
CAUT condemns hate-motivated stabbing at the University of Waterloo
CAUT expressed its shock and profound grief over the violent attack on a professor and two students at the University of Waterloo last month.
“Classrooms need to be places where the physical safety of faculty and students is secure and where the exploration of diverse opinions and perspectives can be encouraged,” said CAUT executive director David Robinson. “There is no room for misogyny, transphobia or any form of hate.”
Contract academic staff conference
Register now to attend the CAUT contract academic staff conference on October 20 and 21, 2023, at the Delta Ottawa City Centre. Participants will discuss the inclusion of contract academic staff in shared governance and in the broader academic community.
The theme for the conference is “A Seat at the Table: A Strong Voice for Better Working Conditions for Contract Academic Staff.” Find more information on the CAUT website.
Protect Hassan Diab from further injustice
The Hassan Diab Support Committee invites you to sign its petition urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian government to “protect Dr. Hassan Diab from unjust prosecution and an unfair trial in France for a crime he did not commit.”
Take our 2-minute survey on Twitter use
How are you responding to policy changes and technical glitches on Twitter? What do you think CAUT should do going forward?
By taking this brief 2-minute, anonymous survey, you will help us get a fuller picture of how academic staff are responding to a changing social media landscape.
- Associate Professor and Republic of China Chair, Modern Chinese History and International Relations | University of British Columbia
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- Full-time Probationary (Tenure-track, 2 positions), Dentistry | Western University
- Instructor I, Biological Sciences | University of Manitoba
- Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies | Dalhousie University