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November Advocate: Indigenous academic staff survey - Fairness for contract academic staff - Call for funding for Memorial University

Every month we send our supporters a newsletter with the latest CAUT and post-secondary education sector news. This newsletter was published on November 7, 2024. Subscribe to get the newsletter straight to your inbox

November 2024

CAUT survey on Indigenous academic staff experiences

CAUT’s Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education working group has launched a survey to assess the experiences of Indigenous academic staff working at universities, colleges and polytechnics across Canada.  

The working group encourages all Indigenous staff to respond and share with colleagues. The survey takes about 35 to 45 minutes to complete. 


Focus on fairness for contract academic staff

CAUT’s member associations across the country organized local events and activities last month to press for better working conditions for contract academic staff.  

CAUT’s annual Fair Employment Week (October 21-25) highlights how precarious work is unfair to workers and to students, and encourages everyone on campus to get involved in ensuring fairness for contract academic staff 


Restore funding to Memorial University

A coalition of labour and student unions are calling on the provincial government to boost funding for Newfoundland and Labrador’s only public university. 

FundMun, the Memorial University campus coalition, says a decade of cuts to the core funding of the institution has led to crumbling infrastructure, reductions in faculty, and steep tuition hikes.

The provincial government has reduced the university’s funding by 46% since 2013, excluding the medical school. 


Strike averted at Guelph

With a strike deadline looming, the University of Guelph Faculty Association (UGFA) brokered a deal with the administration on October 21.  

The key issues in the talks were workload, modes of course delivery, and compensation.  

UGFA represents about 875 faculty, librarians and veterinarians at the University of Guelph. 


Let’s unlock education

CAUT is launching a major new public campaign in the lead-up to the next federal election. “Unlock Education” will focus on the need for renewed federal funding to support accessible and affordable post-secondary education and academic research that benefits all Canadians. 


CAUT weighs in on the proposed “capstone” research agency

As the federal government moves ahead with plans to develop a new research funding organization that will incorporate the three granting councils, CAUT is lobbying to ensure the new structure does not jeopardize the independence and integrity of academic research. 

In a brief to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Research last month, CAUT stressed the importance of ensuring any new agency supports: 

  • Investigator-led research, including basic curiosity-driven science 
  • Inclusive programs encompassing the full breadth of all disciplines and researchers 
  • Integrity and independence of research and funding decisions by peer review, free of government interference 

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