OCUFA is pleased to announce the appointment of its 31st president – Judy Bates, Associate Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. Bates officially began her two-year term on July 1, 2015.
“Universities – and the professors and academic librarians who work within them – are facing an era of unprecedented challenge and change,” said Bates. “OCUFA is a tireless advocate for the rights of the faculty and the integrity of our institutions. I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead this important organization.”
Bates served as Vice-President of OCUFA from 2013-2015, and is a past-President of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association, where she currently serves as a Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee. She teaches courses in urban, economic and development geography, and her research focuses on urban-economic change in Canada’s towns and cities and shifts in the Canadian labour force.
OCUFA would also like to thank outgoing President Kate Lawson, who has served the organization with integrity and distinction since 2013.
“Kate has provided inspirational leadership to OCUFA over the past two years, fighting back against austerity politics and attacks on the rights of university faculty,” said Bates. “I will follow her example as we tackle the challenges of rising precarious academic work, university funding reform, and building high quality universities for the future.”