The OCUFA Board of Directors adopted a four-year strategic priorities plan which aligns with the Provincial election cycle. This plan will help the organization be more effective and impactful, and offer opportunities to incorporate longer-term and goals into current priority projects. Additionally, it will help focus on legislative changes that should lead to collective gains for us all. The strategic plan incorporates an action-oriented agenda with a focus on enhancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigenization across campuses, member organizations, and within OCUFA.
Key areas of interest in the plan:
- A strong voice for university faculty and academic librarians
- Sustainable public funding for public universities
- Transparent, equitable, and collegial governance
- Promotion and protection of good academic jobs
Panel discussion
The meeting included a panel discussion with leaders from the post-secondary education sector talking about their members’ priorities around maintaining quality education, and protecting collective bargaining. The speakers spoke of the importance of interpersonal connections and finding linkages between various struggles such as: advocating for increased public funding, decent work, climate action, food security, Indigenous solidarity, and accessible education.
Gala
The inaugural OCUFA Awards of Distinction Gala was held during the weekend, wherein we celebrated the exceptional contributions that university faculty and academic librarians have made to improve the quality of higher education at Ontario’s universities. We also recognized exceptional graduate student work and media reporting in the area of higher education in Canada.
Read about all the incredible work of this year’s winners and watch the celebratory video of the award recipients here.
Election of next OCUFA President
Congratulations are in order for OCUFA’s Vice President, Nigmendra Narain, who was elected the next President of OCUFA. His term will begin on July 1, 2023.