According to a new poll conducted for OCUFA by Ekos Research Associates, two out of three Ontarians (69 per cent) believe that the province’s next government should prioritize postsecondary education as it works to rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. Those polled recognize the value of a university education and believe it is time to introduce […]
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With tuition fees frozen, Ontario Budget should increase university funding and student financial assistance
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations is pleased to see the Ontario Government extend the tuition fee freeze for domestic students into 2023. However, urgent funding is needed to support education quality and accessibility at Ontario’s public universities. “If the Ford government is serious about tackling student debt and high tuition fees, the upcoming […]
Reminder: Less than one week to apply for Equity award, and Mandelbaum/journalism fellowships
Submission deadline: March 21, 2022 More information about the awards and fellowships Equity and Social Justice Committee Award of Distinction: This award celebrates the outstanding contributions of OCUFA members whose work has contributed meaningfully to the advancement of professors, academic librarians, and other academic staff who are Indigenous, women, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, living with disabilities and/or […]
University equity work must include job security, equal pay, and benefits for contract staff
TORONTO, March 9, 2022 – Universities across Ontario have increased their focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives in recent years. However, without commitments to improve job security, pay, and benefits for contract faculty and other precariously employed campus workers, these initiatives will fall short. Contract faculty, who routinely make less than their securely employed […]
OCUFA united in solidarity with striking faculty at the Université Sainte-Anne
TORONTO, March 9, 2022 – The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) extends a message of solidarity to the striking faculty and academic librarians at the Association des professeurs, professeures et bibliothécaires de l’Université Sainte-Anne (APPBUSA) in Nova Scotia. Members of the APPBUSA have been on strike since March 9 as they pressure the […]
Access to Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario vital for both unionized and non-unionized workers
TORONTO, March 8, 2022 – The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) believes that preventing unionized workers from taking claims of discrimination and harassment to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) will strip union members of fundamental rights and undermine work to build more equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplaces. Further, the exceptionally short […]
Strategies for enhancing collegial governance and effectiveness in governance spaces
Collegial governance has been increasingly under attack at Ontario universities over the last several years. Faculty and academic librarian associations across the province have raised alarm about how universities are being governed, including a lack of meaningful faculty and academic librarian input and involvement in university decisions, top-down management from increasingly corporatized boards and administrations, […]
$10,000 Fellowship in Higher Education Journalism now accepting applications
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations is excited to announce the fourth annual Mark Rosenfeld Fellowship in Higher Education Journalism. Valued at $10,000, the Fellowship is intended to help address the lack of informed investigative reporting on Canadian higher education issues. It provides financial support to those wishing to pursue in-depth journalism in this […]
OCUFA extends message of solidarity to striking faculty at the University of Lethbridge
TORONTO, February 15, 2022 – The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) extends a message of solidarity to the striking faculty at the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA) in Alberta. Members of the ULFA are currently walking the picket lines as they push to have the University of Lethbridge administration address their concerns […]
OCUFA award nominations now open
OCUFA is pleased to announce that we are now accepting nominations for the Teaching and Academic Librarians Awards and Equity and Social Justice Committee Award of Distinction. We are also accepting applications for the Henry Mandelbaum Graduate Fellowship and Mark Rosenfeld Fellowship in Higher Education Journalism. At OCUFA, we believe it is important to recognize […]
OCUFA offers solidarity and support to striking Ontario Tech faculty
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) extends its solidarity and support to faculty at Ontario Tech University, who are on strike for the first time in their union’s history. Members of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Faculty Association (UOITFA) have been working hard to negotiate a fair collective agreement. To end […]
Laurentian’s collapse driven by Ford government’s agenda of austerity and privatization
The Ford government’s obsession with austerity and privatization was a major driver of Laurentian University’s insolvency and collapse. This was the message OCUFA Board Chair Gyllian Phillips delivered to participants in “Our Movement, Our Fight, Our Future,” a webinar series focused on reclaiming power through labour organizing in Northern Ontario. “Universities, especially northern universities, have […]
OCUFA united in solidarity with the Acadia University Faculty Association
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) stands in solidarity with the members of the Acadia University Faculty Association (AUFA) on strike for greater stability for precarious academic staff, increased hiring of Indigenous academics, stronger equity and diversity initiatives, and improved wages and working conditions to help recruit and retrain academics at their university. […]
2022 Election Advocacy Toolkit
An advocacy toolkit for faculty and academic librarian associations The 2022 Ontario Election presents an opportunity to elect a government that understands the important role Ontario’s universities play in advancing knowledge, educating tomorrow’s leaders, and strengthening our communities. Ontario’s universities cannot afford another government that ignores faculty and academic librarians while implementing policies that undermine […]
New issue of Academic Matters explores mental health challenges faced by faculty and students at Ontario’s universities
Universities are designed as spaces where minds are nurtured—where expertise develops and new knowledge is generated. However, under academic, financial, and social pressures, faculty and students are more frequently reporting poor mental health—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest issue of Academic Matters explores the mental health dilemma in the academy. In a space that […]