The USFA Executive has heard concerns expressed by members about the possibility of faculty lay-offs as our senior administrators address their current budget issues. There are no faculty lay-offs projected at this time for the New Year. Any cuts in programming must follow the provisions in Article 29.5.2 of the Collective Agreement with respect to… Continue reading Cutbacks and Faculty
Category: USFA e-Letter
e-Letters are brief but timely communications about workplace issues.
USFA Peter T. Millard Award: Call for Nominations
Nominations are now open for the inaugural USFA Peter T. Millard Award. This Award was created on the 10th anniversary of the death of Peter Millard, who passed away on December 8, 2001, and to mark the 35th anniversary of the USFA Certification Order (January 26, 2012). It is meant to provide a means for… Continue reading USFA Peter T. Millard Award: Call for Nominations
Be Sure to Participate in Bargaining Surveys!
Part of our bargaining preparation includes conducting membership surveys on various issues relevant to bargaining. Survey participants are randomly selected from current USFA members. Full participation in these surveys is vitally important. If you receive an email invitation to participate, please take the two to three minutes necessary to complete the survey.
In the trenches
USFA recently circulated a letter written by your Chair, Doug Chivers, to senior administration regarding problems junior faculty have establishing research programs. Doug is the Rawson Professor of Biology and, as a very successful scholar, is empathetic with these issues. The letter struck a positive chord with faculty. One commentator observed that establishing a research… Continue reading In the trenches
Integrated or disintegrated planning
The third integrated plan describes strategies that will be used to advance academic priorities over the next four years. These strategies are supposed to guide our planning and programing and include fostering creativity and innovation, learner-centred programming, promoting diversity and experiential learning. With the recent decision to cut the Kenderdine Campus, an experiential learning environment… Continue reading Integrated or disintegrated planning
Due Diligence and Fairness
The Fall is the time of year when you deliberate on your colleagues’ renewal of probation, tenure and promotion. The Collective Agreement gives us the right – and the duty – to make these decisions and we have to exercise them with the greatest of all due diligence. If you are a committee member, the… Continue reading Due Diligence and Fairness
Member Social 4:00 p.m. November 13 University Club
Hello everyone. Our next member social, on November 13, is fast approaching. Plan to attend and join us from 4:00 to 6:00 in the Windows Room at the University Club. It’s a wonderful opportunity to clink a glass, bend an ear, share a story, and get to know colleagues from across campus. It’s also an… Continue reading Member Social 4:00 p.m. November 13 University Club
Research Output without Faculty Input?
The title of this is e-Letter is a question that is being echoed from different parts of campus and is being focused on the new Health Sciences Building. As we meet with members as part of our bargaining preparations, we are hearing concerns about impacts on research and teaching programs in relation to relocating to… Continue reading Research Output without Faculty Input?
Interesting Reports from University Council
University Council is the body responsible for overseeing and directing academic affairs at the U of S. It meets monthly from September to June and its next meeting is this Thursday (October 18th) at 2:30 in Arts 241 – Neatby-Timlin Theatre. Thursday’s Council meeting package, at page 28, includes a report in response to a… Continue reading Interesting Reports from University Council
Guest Speaker Fall General Meeting 2:30 Oct 19 Arts 241
We tend to complain – a lot – about increasing administrative overburden at the university. Dr Claire Polster has an interesting take on this – that this kind of complaining may actually entrench and enhance the harmful effects of these practices. It’s an intriguing thought that led the USFA Committee on University Administrative Practices and… Continue reading Guest Speaker Fall General Meeting 2:30 Oct 19 Arts 241