Posts from May 2014

As part of our ongoing election activities, OCUFA has met with experts on issues important to faculty to talk about how they will figure into the 2014 provincial election. Videos of these conversations are available under the “Resources” tab of our election webpage . Professor Larry Savage, Director of the Centre for Labour Studies at Brock University, weighed […]

OCUFA launched its  election website  last week with the goal of educating and empowering Ontario voters and highlighting the importance of higher education in the election campaign, while also providing resources to help professors and academic librarians get involved in the election, better understand the issues and platforms, educate others, and vote wisely at the ballot box. Website features: […]

The grades are in: Wynne, Hudak, and Horwath all receive failing marks when it comes to postsecondary issues in Ontario. All parties have failed to respond adequately to PSE in their platforms according to the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA).   The Liberal’s plan seems to be one of benign neglect, the NDP’s […]

The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) commends the NDP’s proposal to freeze provincial tuition fees and eliminate interest on student loans, but notes that the party needs to do much more to ensure the long-term health of the Ontario postsecondary sector.   “The NDP platform goes further than any other official platform released […]

Yesterday, news broke that the University of Saskatchewan had  fired Robert Buckingham, Dean of Public Health, for publicly criticizing the administration’s “TransformUS” plan . TransformUS is the result of a controversial program prioritization process at the university, similar to processes underway at several Ontario institutions. Today, OCUFA President Kate Lawson wrote a letter to University of Saskatchewan condemning the firing as a grievous violation of academic freedom. The text […]

This week, Tim Hudak released details of his plan to drastically cut public sector jobs in Ontario. A  study conducted by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives  suggests that of the 1,331,000 public sector employees in Ontario, approximately 650,000 would be eligible for cuts according to the PC plan, most of whom are employed in the education and health sectors. This includes the public […]

Time is running out to register for the “Feminist Transformative Leadership in the Academy” workshop, hosted by OCUFA’s Status of Women Committee (SWC). The workshop will be held on May 23 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. The workshop will feature a panel of female academic leaders who will facilitate break-out tables of participants […]

This week marked the first official week of the 2014 Ontario election. The party leaders were out on the road, making their pitch to voters in the GTA. Early on, job creation seems to be a major focus of all three parties. So why are they saying so little about universities? Ontario’s universities train students […]

While now consigned to the dustbin of history, the 2014 Ontario Budget was a puzzling document. Although it explicitly sought to “strengthen our competitive advantage, create jobs, and provide vital public services” and “foster a fair society,” it nevertheless overlooked the worrying funding trend at the province’s universities. “Ontario’s universities have the capacity to achieve […]

Today, Premier Kathleen Wynne dissolved the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and set June 12, 2014 as the date for the next provincial election. Wynne called an election after it became clear that neither the Ontario New Democratic Party and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario would allow the 2014 Ontario Budget to pass. Like every […]

TORONTO – Professors and academic librarians across Ontario are puzzled that today’s provincial budget did not make significant new investments in higher education. In a budget that seeks to “strengthen our competitive advantage, create jobs, and provide vital public services” it is surprising that universities were overlooked. “Ontario’s universities have the capacity to achieve all […]

TORONTO – Professors and academic librarians across Ontario are puzzled that today’s provincial budget did not make significant new investments in higher education. In a budget that seeks to “strengthen our competitive advantage, create jobs, and provide vital public services” it is surprising that universities were overlooked. “Ontario’s universities have the capacity to achieve all […]