TORONTO, Oct, 5, 2020 – Shoshanah Jacobs, an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, has been named one of Ontario’s most outstanding university teachers by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). She is receiving a 2019-2020 OCUFA Teaching Award for her outstanding contributions to improving the […]
TORONTO, Oct, 5, 2020 – Aaron Langille, a master lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Laurentian University, has been named one of Ontario’s most outstanding university teachers by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). He is receiving a 2019-2020 OCUFA Teaching Award for his outstanding contributions to improving the […]
A new report , published by OCUFA’s University Governance Committee, highlights the concerning results of the “University Governance during COVID-19” survey. The report is the result of a survey of 27 faculty and academic librarian associations across Ontario. Among its findings, it shows that an overwhelming 88 per cent of faculty association respondents considered their institution’s pandemic response to be top-down in nature. […]
On September 25th, 82 academics, politicians, and activists were detained in Istanbul, Turkey. Amongst those who have been detained is Cihan Erdal, a PhD student at Carleton University, who had been visiting the country at the time. No known reason has been given for the detainments, but it is believed they are related to a […]
The faculty association at Brescia University College in London, Ontario, has negotiated a new one-year collective agreement that contains two significant wins. First, the faculty association, which represents both tenure-stream and contract faculty at the institution, has secured language guaranteeing that all teaching at Brescia will be done by faculty association members. Second, contract faculty […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. Find an event near you.
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. Sign up now to receive more details on how you can raise your voice for paid sick days for all on August 29!
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
