In May, faculty members from across Ontario gathered at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse in Toronto over two days to lay the groundwork for OCUFA’s policy positions and advocacy efforts in the lead-up to the 2018 Ontario provincial election.
The OCUFA Policy Exchange was an interactive conference during which participants identified the most important policy issues and priorities for the 17,000 university faculty and academic librarians that OCUFA represents.
Discussions were focused around three timely themes:
- The future of provincial funding for universities
- Precarious academic employment and the evolving role of contract faculty
- Reshaping university governance and accountability
To provide background for participants, the conference included a series of panel presentations and interviews with a range of experts and stakeholders from the higher education sector and beyond. These sessions were an opportunity to learn more about the current postsecondary education landscape in Ontario and the different perspectives on the conference’s themes.
Following these presentations, participants were guided through a series of facilitated discussions where they were able to debate and deliberate on policy positions and recommendations that will inform OCUFA’s advocacy work in the lead-up to the 2018 provincial election. In addition to clarifying OCUFA’s policy positions, the conference also helped attendees build their own capacity for engaging with public policy questions.
To learn more about the OCUFA Policy Exchange, and listen to the conference’s fascinating panel presentations, click here.