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Facilitated by social and racial justice advocate Paige Galette, this workshop provides a comprehensive guide for faculty looking to combat anti-Black racism in their classes, their research, their associations, on campus, and beyond.
Slides from the presentation can be provided upon request.
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There is more to Academic Matters than just the print issue. New articles are being added to the Academic Matters website every week. Here are some recent articles you might find interesting:
Courage, strength, and resolve: How the King’s University College Faculty Association unionized in the middle of a pandemic
By Stephanie Bangarth, King’s University College Faculty Association
“’Courage to start; strength to endure; resolve to finish.’ I’m not really sure who said this, but it is a mantra for distance runners. Certainly, this expression inspires my marathon training, but I never realized how true it is for other aspects of life…”
The neoliberal non-performance of consultation: Missing democracy and transparency at the University of Toronto
By Asmita Bhutani, Efrat Gold, Diana M. Barrero Jaramillo, and Ian Tian, University of Toronto
“The University of Toronto has long been criticized for its general conservatism and lack of transparency; this story is almost as old as the university itself. Today, U of T’s top-down, corporate approach is playing out in the midst of a global pandemic…”
How to navigate academia as a female who is the first in her family with a PhD
By Sarah A Gagliano Taliun, Université de Montréal
“Navigating academia is not easy. The top characteristics possessed by academics, which I commonly hear, allude to the demands of this setting: persistence, ambition, and resilience, to name a few. On top of this perhaps daunting baseline, there are some very real obstacles that can…”
Where do students with children stand as Ontario universities and schools reveal reopening plans?
By Norin Taj and Asmita Bhutani, University of Toronto
“The fundamental reorganization of the education system during the pandemic has spotlighted some major debates on caregiving in society. The performance of school boards and universities, as they moved online in the spring and as they plan a return to classroom in the fall, magnifies…”
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OCUFA’s Equity and Social Justice Committee is inviting all members of OCUFA faculty and academic librarian associations to an important online workshop on combatting anti-Black racism in higher education.
Facilitated by social and racial justice advocate Paige Galette, the workshop will aim to give participants tools to combat anti-Black racism in their roles as faculty, in their associations, on campus, and beyond. Participants will be given time to reflect and ask questions in English or French throughout the session.
Paige has over a decade of experience advancing social justice causes, including Black liberation, the queer movement, the women’s movement, and organized labour. You can read Paige’s most recent essay in Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada.
In order to help Paige tailor the session to meet the needs of participants, we encourage you to register as soon as possible and to fill out the short questionnaire on the registration page.
If you require childcare or any other forms of accommodation for attending these events please contact the ESJC support staff, Cheryl Athersych or Mina Rajabi Paak.
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OCUFA is collecting data and information about Ontario university and university-college reopening plans for the fall 2020 term. We have compiled a database of reopening plans, including mode of delivery and faculty choice over delivery mode, research recovery plans, access to research buildings and offices, library services, and COVID-19 related letters of understanding.
The information provided in this resource was collected from university and faculty association websites and additional data was collected by surveying OCUFA members during August 2020. Of OCUFA’s 31 members, 27 associations submitted responses to the general survey sent to faculty association presidents. Additionally, a separate survey was distributed to academic librarians and archivists. We received responses from librarians and archivists across 17 associations.
This resource is a living document and will be regularly updated. Please contact Martyna Siekanowicz or Mark Rosenfeld if you would like to provide additional or updated information.
You can find more OCUFA resources related to COVID-19 here.
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OCUFA supports the Scholar Strike for racial justice, an end to anti-Black police violence and anti-Indigenous colonial violence which will take place on September 9-10 in Canada.
While many OCUFA members are unable to legally strike during the length of their contract, we encourage faculty, academic librarians, and other staff to join the public digital teach-ins and other events being organized by #ScholarStrikeCanada against racist, institutional, and systemic forms of violence and to learn more about the demands of #ScholarStrikeCanada.
OCUFA condemns institutionalized racism and racist policing that inflict violence on Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities across Ontario and the rest of Turtle Island. We extend our solidarity to Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities that are subjected to this loss and trauma.
We echo the call of the #ScholarStrikeCanada organizers who “believe that it’s of crucial importance for those of us in higher education to take a stand in solidarity with our students and the communities we serve [and]…affirm protestors, workers for social justice, and activists who are crucial parts of making our communities safer places.”
We also call on university administrators to support faculty, librarians, other staff, and students participating in these actions and not penalize those who do. With over half of Ontario university courses taught by contract faculty, OCUFA acknowledges the precarious employment status of many academic staff and supports the #ScholarStrikeCanada organizers’ call for individuals to participate in ways that mirror their capacity to engage.
OCUFA is committed to working internally and externally to end racism and systemic discrimination. At universities across Ontario, Black, Indigenous, and racialized faculty, librarians, staff, and students bear the burden of systemic discrimination and of combating it. The OCUFA Executive is committed to examining and reimagining OCUFA’s structures to make them more representative and inclusive, and to effect systemic changes that support our racialized colleagues and students. This important work is ongoing.
For more information about the Scholar Strike, please visit: https://scholarstrikecanada.ca
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This Labour Day will be unlike any other and there are a diversity of events happening right across Ontario. Join a car caravan in your community, go to a drive-in movie, or log on to join fellow workers in a virtual celebration of the labour movement.
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All workers deserve paid sick days. On August 29, join OCUFA and the Fight for $15 and Fairness to call for at least 7 days of paid sick leave for all workers, plus an additional 14 days of paid sick leave during public health outbreaks.
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Rising to the challenge: Reflections on a round of pandemic bargaining
By Larry Savage, Brock University
“When the Brock University Faculty Association entered its most recent round of bargaining in April 2020, the Ontario government had already declared a state of emergency in response to the spread of COVID-19 and Brock University had suspended face-to-face classes…”
Building an anti-racist campus means fundamentally rethinking institutional structures and practices
By Siobhan Stevenson, University of Toronto
“Two weeks after police murdered George Floyd, I received an email with the subject line: “Urgent faculty meeting: anti-Black racism.” The purpose of the hastily called Zoom meeting was for the Dean to share with us, the faculty, feedback recently received from our students…”
A message in an old Science treasure box: Teach students to think mathematically
By Andie Burazin, University of Toronto; Veselin Jungic, Simon Fraser University; Miroslav Lovric, McMaster University
“What are the chief aims of teaching mathematics in university engineering programs? To what extent should mathematical subjects be presented to students, when, and by whom? What are the most efficient methods of presenting mathematics to engineering students? A reader of the summer 1908 issues…”
Drop tuition fees: University students face a precarious future amid COVID-19
By Alison Taylor, University of British Columbia
“COVID-19 has university students and their parents anticipating the beginning of an academic year like no other. Most classes are being offered online due to COVID-19, and opportunities like studying abroad and community-engaged learning will be very different, if they’re available…”
Universities should learn from assessment methods used during the pandemic – and cut down on exams for good
By Naomi Winstone, University of Surrey and David Boud, Deakin University
“Timed written examinations continue to dominate university assessment. In most professions, the need to recall and write down specific information from memory under timed conditions is rare. Yet every year across the world students are crammed into exam halls to do just that. The coronavirus…”
5 reasons to let students keep their cameras off during Zoom classes
By Tabitha Moses, Wayne State University
“As the 2020-21 school year gets underway – both at the K-12 and college level – many students find themselves attending online classes via Zoom or similar teleconferencing platforms. Although sticking with remote instruction may be the correct decision from the standpoint of public health…”
Twitter shaming won’t change university power structures
By Charles R Menzies, University of British Columbia
“’Another one bites the dust,’ a colleague quipped. They were responding to news that Michael Korenberg, chair of the University of British Columbia (UBC) board of governors, had resigned. Three days earlier, on June 18, an activist group called UBC Students Against Bigotry outed…”
COVID-19: Don’t make university students choose between education and legal rights
By Jason MacLean, University of New Brunswick and Hilary Young, University of New Brunswick
“When U.S. President Donald Trump held a rally earlier this summer in Tulsa, Okla., expecting thousands of supporters to gather in close quarters, he had them all sign COVID-19 liability waivers. This meant they couldn’t hold him or his campaign responsible if…”
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There is more to Academic Matters than just the print issue. New articles are being added to the Academic Matters website every week. Here are some recent articles you might find interesting:
Remote teaching and technology-facilitated gender-based and sexual violence
By Jordyn Perreault-Laird, OCUFA; Mina Rajabi Paak, OCUFA; Rebecca Godderis, Wilfrid Laurier University
“As provincial and federal governments continue to ask Ontario residents to socially and physically distance in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis, people have been increasingly finding themselves in dangerous environments, both in-person and online, that have led to experiences of gender-based…”
Care work during COVID: A letter from home about privilege, resilience, and capitalism in the academy
By Soma Chatterjee, York University
“The impacts of COVID-19 will reverberate for years and likely decades to come. The threads of inquiry, not to mention the personal, political, and ethical lessons this tiny virus has revealed, are innumerable. Everywhere you turn, opinions, critiques, coping strategies, mutual aid practices, educational…”\
Baby matters: Gender politics beyond COVID-19 and the “Aunts” of academia
By Enrica Maria Ferrara, University College Dublin
“Having children is exciting but challenging. Economic uncertainty, environmental anxiety, and lower fertility rates are among the contributing factors that lead many to opt out of parenthood. Babies have also been damaging to women’s careers from time immemorial, especially in traditionally male-dominated fields…”
Addressing anti-Black racism in post-secondary institutions can transform Canada after the COVID-19 pandemic
By Neil Price, University of Toronto
“COVID-19 has brought issues of racism and inequality in our education systems into stark relief. We must now consider the role of colleges and universities in transforming Canada for the better after coronavirus. Some have argued that the humanities and social sciences have a…”
How anti-Black racism on Canadian university campuses robs us all
By Kristin Moriah, Queen’s University, Ontario
“I attended Western University in the early 2000s with a cohort of first-generation Black Canadian friends from my high school in Ajax, Ont. At Western, we became active in the Black Student Association (BSA). The BSA pushed the department of English to offer a…”
Ethical challenges loom over decisions to resume in-person college classes
By Neta C. Crawford, Boston University
“By early July, about 80% of U.S. campuses were planning to resume at least some in-person instruction, even as a growing numbers of faculty are voicing concerns about safety. As Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College, argues, “Because we do not yet…”
Beyond the black hole of global university rankings: rediscovering the true value of knowledge and ideas
By Stephen Dobson, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Edward Schofield, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
“The recent release of global university rankings and the way these are reported raises important questions about the role and reputation of our tertiary institutions. Are universities measured and ranked according to what we really value? Or are they ranked and valued only by what…”
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We have a new date for Worldviews 2020! Now taking place on September 18, the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations and the Centre for the Study of Canadian International Higher Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto are proud to be hosting the sixth annual Worldviews Lecture on Media and Higher Education as a live online event.
Date and time: Friday, September 18, 2020, 11am
Location: Online
Registration: This is a free public event but advance registration is required.
The concept of meritocracy suggests that anyone can ascend the social and economic ladder if they work hard enough, regardless of their social position. This rather ambitious claim originated as a satirical take on social mobility in the 1950’s.
And yet meritocracy is now embedded at the heart of our economic, social, cultural, and academic institutions in a way that obscures the role meritocracy plays in social exclusion.
This year’s Worldviews lecture will attempt to make meritocracy satire again.
The discussion will open with a talk by Professor Jo Littler of City, University of London and author of Against Meritocracy: Culture, Power and Myths of Mobility. Her talk will be followed by a conversation with a dynamic panel of experts and academics, featuring Rupa Banerjee, Carl James, and Wayne Lewchuk.
Moderated by Trish Hennessy, panelists will explore the ways merit creates social and economic barriers and address its intersections with class, race, gender, and immigration status.
The event is free and open to the public but registration is required. We hope you will join us for what promises to be an engaging conversation.
For more information and to register, please visit: http://worldviewsconference.com
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Parents and educators are organizing a provincial day of action tomorrow (Wednesday, July 29) at 12pm to call for a safe and well-funded reopening of schools in September.
OCUFA will join educators, parents, and students across the province to urge the government to prioritize the safety of students and workers at all Ontario’s educational institutions. As workers, parents, and educators, many of us have acutely felt the pressures of juggling our work and care responsibilities during the pandemic. We also share the concerns of our colleagues in the secondary system regarding the Ford government’s reckless and poorly-designed plans for reopening schools and campuses.
We invite you to participate in tomorrow’s day of action to amplify the voices of educators and students and to urge the government to prioritize health and safety.
To participate in the day of action your faculty association can:
Learn more about the day of action and the list of demands here.
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OCUFA is hiring its next Executive Director. The job advertisement follows.
Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is located in the Dish With One Spoon Territory, which exists as the result of a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas, and Haudenosaunee that bound them to protect and share the land. Subsequent Indigenous nations and peoples, Europeans, and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship, and respect.
OCUFA seeks to maintain and enhance the quality of higher education in Ontario, and to advance the professional and economic interests of teachers, researchers, and librarians in Ontario universities. A member driven organization, OCUFA works to ensure that the views of its 31 member associations are communicated to government policy makers, the public, and those concerned with the quality and accessibility of post-secondary education. OCUFA is a progressive and dynamic organization, committed to equity at every level, whose work combines service and support for individual faculty associations with advocacy that brings faculty issues to government, the media, and the public.
The Executive Director works closely with the President and Executive and builds and maintains strong relationships with the Board, member associations, government agencies and the broader community and leads a collaborative, self-directed staff team in a unionized workplace.
The Executive Director will be an engaged and proactive leader, committed to building the strategic vision required to best support member associations and a high-quality post-secondary education system in Ontario. The successful candidate will have demonstrated advocacy, government relations, and communication abilities, with knowledge of administrative operations, member services, union bargaining and grievance processes, and the labour movement. The successful candidate will have a master’s level degree, with over seven years of progressive management and leadership skills, within the post-secondary (or related) environment. The role requires excellent interpersonal, labour relations, and project management skills, along with demonstrated financial acumen and governance best practice. An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. OCUFA welcomes and encourages applications from qualified individuals from equity-seeking groups, including women, members of racialized groups, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
Should you be interested in learning more about this exciting opportunity, please contact Harbour West at 604-998-4032 or forward your letter of introduction and CV, in confidence, to info@hwest.ca. We will respond to all who express interest.
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Congratulations to the King’s University College Faculty Association (KUCFA)! After weeks of organizing – made more challenging by the COVID-19 pandemic – the members of the KUCFA overwhelming voted to form a union, a decision that was just certified by the Ontario Labour Board. Faced with an increasingly uncooperative administration, members of the faculty association built strong support for the union drive with an engaging campaign that centred on the collective needs of faculty and kept members involved and informed throughout the process.
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The Brock University Faculty Association has negotiated a new collective agreement that secures substantial new rights for Indigenous faculty members, increases consultation with Indigenous members of the university community when making Indigenous-focused appointments, and ensures that Indigenous knowledge and experience are recognized in hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions for both faculty and academic librarians.
The agreement also provides for greater scheduling flexibility, a guaranteed bank of course releases to compensate for extraordinary levels of research output and unscheduled teaching, and allows academic librarians to be recognized for research outside the field of library science. The memorandum of settlement also commits the university to preserving open search provisions for senior academic administrative positions that report to the president, a vice-president, or the university librarian.
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OCUFA has joined with other members of the Ontario Universities and Colleges Coalition (OUCC) to write to Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano and raise concerns about the new and invasive proctoring technologies being employed by postsecondary institutions across Ontario.
The use of these technologies has substantially increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as a result of the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) and government agency eCampusOntario subsidizing the use of the Proctortrack proctoring service. The decision to use Proctortrack (a private, for-profit US-based company) at Ontario postsecondary institutions was made without any consultation with the students and faculty who are forced to work with it.
Proctortrack and similar proctoring software present significant privacy, security, and equity concerns, including the collection of sensitive personal information and the need for access to high-speed internet and newer computer technologies. These requirements put students at risk, increase their stress and anxiety levels, and leave many students behind. More troubling, ample evidence shows that the software is ineffective at providing the necessary safeguards against cheating that university administrations claim they need.
It is essential that universities and the MCU consult with staff, student, and faculty unions to come up with solutions for proctoring exams during the COVID-19 pandemic that protect students’ privacy and ensures no students are left behind because they do not have access to technology or high-speed internet.
