Equity and Social Justice Award

Nomination Deadline: March 20, 2023

Background:

The OCUFA Equity and Social Justice Award celebrates the outstanding contributions of OCUFA members whose work has contributed meaningfully to the advancement of professors, academic librarians, and/or academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups. It honours and recognizes dedicated members whose leadership has improved the lives and working conditions of equity seeking university faculty and, by extension, their families, friends, and colleagues. The Award venerates exceptional OCUFA members who have worked tirelessly, and frequently without recognition, to advance a sophisticated, lasting and effectual consciousness of equity that is both particular and intersectional as it pertains to the improvement of the profession within local university settings and/or across Ontario universities.

The OCUFA Equity and Social Justice Committee recognizes that individuals seeking equity may be disadvantaged particularly by one aspect of their identity (for example, Indigeneity, race/ethnicity, sex, gender/gender identity, age, class, sexuality or ability), while others may be disadvantaged intersectionally by multiple aspects of their identities (for example, Indigeneity, race/ethnicity, sex, gender/gender identity, age, class, sexuality and ability). The award welcomes nominations of candidates whose work is attuned both to the nuances of equity as a particular and/or an intersectional concern.

Eligible Candidates:

Candidates for the award will usually meet the following criteria:
1. Member in good standing of an OCUFA – affiliated faculty association.
2. A notable record of active involvement with equity work that positively affects professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff in Ontario universities who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities, and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups,
3. Distinguished achievement in contributing to the advancement of people who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities, and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups in the academy, which is also demonstrated over an extended period of time, or in a single project, either currently or in the past.
4. Such achievement could be in, but not restricted to, the following areas: providing organizational leadership; implementing new policy; initiating educational programs benefiting faculty who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups; achieving political, legislative or collective bargaining gains; and performing distinguished service in support of equity and equity seeking members within their own and/or other university organizations.

Areas of distinguished leadership: eligible candidates for awards will have participated in at least one or more of the following leadership roles:

Organizational leadership: candidates have led, or lent distinguished service to, an organization in such a way as to forward the situation of professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups, for example, by achieving political, legislative, or collective bargaining gains.

Collective bargaining leadership: candidates, through collective bargaining, have advanced the situation of professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities, and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups.
Policy leadership: candidates has developed or implemented policy, whether for a faculty association, OCUFA, or government, that advances the situation of professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups.

Educational/raising awareness leadership: candidates have initiated educational or public awareness programs that benefit professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups.

Scholarly leadership: candidates are those whose teaching, research, or publishing has advanced the situation of professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups.

Criteria:

Impact: The extent to which the nominee’s leadership has advanced the situation of professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups.

Service: The time and effort the nominee has devoted to advancing the situation of professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff who are
Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups.

Originality: The degree to which the nominee’s achievement was/is groundbreaking locally within their university setting or across Ontario universities.

Collegiality: The nominee’s record of work in conjunction with others to advance the situation of professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups.

Exemplariness: The extent to which the nominee is a venerated role model/mentor amongst professors, academic librarians, and/or other academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups.

Nomination procedure:

1) Nominees and nominators should be members of an OCUFA-affiliated faculty association.
2) Nominators will provide a letter up to three pages that outlines the nominee’s contributions and achievements as they pertain to the advancement of professors, academic librarians, and other academic staff in Ontario universities who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or belong to other historically marginalized groups.
3) Nominators will receive consent from the nominee and provide their curriculum vitae.

The Committee will gather additional information about nominees, if necessary, to help make its decisions.
Please submit all nominations through OCUFA’s online portal.