TORONTO – Dr. Harriet Sonne de Torrens of the University of Toronto Mississauga has been awarded a 2014-15 Academic Librarianship Award by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) in recognition of her outstanding contributions to university education in Ontario. “Dr. Sonne de Torrens is a teacher, scholar, researcher, advocate, and mentor,” said Andrea […]
TORONTO – Dr. Trent Tucker of the University of Guelph has been named one of Ontario’s most outstanding university teachers by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). Tucker, who teaches in the College of Business and Economics, will receive a 2014-2015 OCUFA Teaching Award at an October 24, 2015 ceremony in Toronto. “Prof. […]
Ontario’s professors and academic librarians are calling for a funding formula that builds on existing strengths, complemented by a new higher education data system for the province. The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is also cautioning against adopting a performance funding regime that punishes students and makes continuous educational improvement impossible. The recommendations […]
Another summer has passed and faculty are settling back into campus life and gearing up for a busy year at Ontario universities. Many faculty associations hosted back-to-school or Labour Day events this month. Some of these events brought members together to discuss priorities for the year, while others encouraged faculty members to get out in […]
Last week, Statistics Canada released its yearly report on university tuition fees in Canada . Yet again, Ontario has the highest tuition fees in the country. But the true scale of Ontario’s tuition fee increase over the past two decades was highlighted by a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) . Since 1993-94, tuition has more than tripled, rising 248 per cent. According to Statistics Canada, average undergraduate tuition fees […]
On Tuesday, August 25, 2015, Chair of the UBC Board of Governors voluntarily “stepped aside” while the university investigated claims that he had violated the academic freedom of a professor. It is alleged that Montalbano intimidated Prof. Jennifer Berdahl in a phone call, after Berdahl made critical comments about the sudden resignation of UBC President Arvind Gupta. As […]
The Nipissing University Faculty Association (NUFA) has filed for conciliation, as the association and the employer “are still miles apart on the issue of a financial settlement.” Faculty at Nipissing are among the lowest paid in Ontario, and are seeking a fair and reasonable wage agreement. The employer has argued that there is a financial […]
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and the UBC faculty association are calling for Chair of Board of Governors of the University British Columbia John Montalbano to step down over accusations that he interfered with the academic freedom of a faculty member . Montalbano is alleged to have criticized Jennifer Berdahl, Professor of Leadership Studies in Gender and Diversity at the Sauder School of Business, over a blog post she […]
On August 21, 2015, the Queen’s University Faculty Association (QUFA) announced that it had ratified its new collective agreement. As the Queen’s Board of Governors had already ratified the new agreement on August 18, 2015, the four-year deal is now in effect. The agreement contains yearly salary increases of 1%, 1.25%, 1.5%, and 1.75%. A […]
News broke last week that UBC President Arvind Gupta was resigning just one year into his contract . It was further revealed that Gupta would receive another full year of his presidential pay – almost $500,000. This is the latest incident around senior administrative salaries that suggests poor transparency and oversight of salary decisions at the highest level. UBC faculty are […]
Last week, the Government of Ontario released details of the proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) . They also unveiled a new website explaining – in broad strokes – how the plan will work . OCUFA was active in the consultations around the design of the ORPP, and made a formal submission to government on how the plan could benefit contract faculty. While we are working to confirm some key details, we do have some concerns […]
A feature length article in Forbes magazine suggests that the liberal arts – oft-snubbed as “irrelevant” by corporate types and their buddies in politics – are in demand in the tech sector. As author George Anders notes, “software companies are discovering that liberal arts thinking makes them stronger. The article notes that growth in software engineer positions is projected at a modest […]
Faculty at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the University of Sudbury (part of Laurentian University) have ratified new agreements with their employers. NOSM faculty, Librarians and Professional Staff ratified their deal on July 23, followed by ratification by the Board of Directors on July 31. The University of Sudbury deal was ratified […]
The Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO) has revealed that the University of Ottawa’s Vice President of Research, Mona Nemer, is receiving additional pay on top of her executive salary. Working with Ontario’s public sector disclosure data (aka the Sunshine List), APUO was able to determine that Nemer receives $30,000 a year […]
The Council of Ontario Universities (COU) has announced that David Lindsay has been appointed the new President and CEO of the organization. Lindsay will replace outgoing President Bonnie Patterson, who served for six years. Lindsay was most recently the President of the Forest Products Association of Canada. He has held deputy minister roles in the […]