Brock University is currently searching for a new president to replace outgoing Jack Lightstone. The Brock University Faculty Association (BUFA) is calling for an open presidential search, with public talks by the short-listed candidates and opportunities for the Brock community to provide input to the Advisory Committee on the Presidency. The Advisory Committee has so […]
This post originally appeared on Academic Matters . There are missing voices in the public conversation around higher education, and it is hurting our ability to articulate alternative visions for the future of our universities. Last week, OCUFA staff attended the Canadian Society for Studies in Higher Education (CSSHE) conference at the excellent Congress of the Social Sciences in Ottawa. As usual, it wasa diverse program filled with interesting higher […]
The Spring/Summer 2015 issue of Academic Matters is now live online and arriving in faculty mailboxes across Ontario. It takes a look at the challenge of contract faculty work from an international perspective. The increased use of part-time faculty is a growing challenge for higher education systems around the world. In many cases, it’s a grim situation for […]
The latest news about research and development (R&D) spending intentions for the coming year echoes the same sad story that has appeared in previous issues of OCUFA Report . The Government of Canada’s planned expenditures demonstrates that the national R&D effort continues to decline. The federal government will be increasing spending by slightly more than half a per cent. Since 2010, federal R&D […]
On May 27, 2015, OCUFA staff attended the second open briefing on the university funding formula review. These briefings are part of the government’s ongoing consultations on funding formula reform, in which OCUFA is heavily engaged. This briefing was hosted by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) and was focused on their call […]
New research demonstrates that precarious employment has a major impact on individuals and their families. As many contract professors are trapped in precarious positions, these findings are a major concern for professors and academic librarians in Ontario. Beyond the personal harm, precarious employment also puts the quality of the province’s universities at risk. The findings […]
On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MTCU) announced that a new campus, jointly run by York University and Seneca College , would be built in Markham , a northeastern suburb of Toronto. The announcement is the result of a call for capital expansion proposals put forward by MTCU in early 2014. According to the MTCU […]
For those who track research funding in Canada, the news from a recent Statistics Canada release about business enterprise research and development (BERD) is depressingly familiar. Canadian businesses are expected to spend two and a half per cent less on research and development this year than they did last year. Because the 2015 inflation rate […]
OCUFA has released its Funding Formula Review Handbook , designed to help faculty members, students, and other interested individuals make sense of the government’s consultations around funding formula reform. The handbook collects the many articles and analysis pieces on the funding released throughout March and April in OCUFA Report. The handbook contains OCUFA’s principles for the funding formula; a […]
On Wednesday, May 6, 2015, OCUFA representatives participated in an all-day symposium on the university funding formula review. The purpose of the symposium was to kick off the government’s consultations around potential changes to Ontario’s university funding formula. OCUFA representatives included President Kate Lawson, five faculty association representatives (from Brock, Laurier, Ryerson, Trent, and York), […]
The Ontario Confederation is pleased to announce this year’s recipients OCUFA Service Award: Micheline Lessard from the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO), and Bill Salatka from the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association. “The OCUFA Service Award was established to honour individuals who have done, or continue to do, exceptional work on […]
The Ontario Confederation is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the Henry Mandelbaum Fellowship: Angela Underhill, from the University of Guelph, and Abena Kwatemaa Offeh-Gyimah from McMaster University. “The Mandelbaum Fellowship recognizes graduate students who combine exceptional scholarship with deep engagement in their communities,” said Constance Adamson, Chair of the selection committee. “Despite receiving […]
Over the past few months, OCUFA has been reporting on the upcoming review of the university funding formula in Ontario. Last week, the process began in earnest and OCUFA plans to be engaged at every step. OCUFA has already had several conversations with Sue Hebert, who is leading the review on behalf of the government. […]
The 2015 Ontario Budget was released last week. Although its provisions for higher education amount to thin gruel, OCUFA has completed a full analysis which is now available for download . In terms of public funding, austerity remains the reality for Ontario’s universities. Yearly increases in operating funding will be in the range of one per […]
On April 29, 2015, OCUFA President Kate Lawson sent a letter to the Premier of Nova Scotia and the Minister of Labour and Advanced Education Kelly Regan to protest the proposed Bill 100. The Bill would allow universities in financial difficult to suspend collective agreements and ban strikes for up to 18 months . Bill 100 is a direct assault on academic freedom, collegial governance, and […]
