Every year, OCUFA recognizes outstanding teachers and academic librarians in Ontario universities through its Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards. We are pleased to announce that nominations for the 2015-16 awards are now open . Up to seven awards are presented annually. Teaching, in the context of the OCUFA awards, embraces virtually all levels of instruction – graduate […]
teaching
New data shows that the decline in business and government support cannot be offset by R&D spending in the higher education sector – and the way Canada counts R&D activity in universities tells us a lot about the activities public funding is intended to support. While trends in expenditures on research and development (R&D) by […]
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is pleased to announce the winners of its prestigious Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards. Since 1973, these awards have recognized the exceptional contributions made by professors and librarians to the quality of higher education in Ontario. “Professors and academic librarians are at the heart of our universities. […]
Professors and academic librarians are welcoming a new study that highlights their impressive teaching and research accomplishments, as well as their many contributions to the social and economic vitality of Ontario. The report, Faculty at Work , was released today by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). “This report is the first serious attempt to examine the work […]
OCUFA is pleased to announce the nominations for the 2012-13 Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards (TALA) are now open. Since 1973, the awards have recognized professors who have made an outstanding contribution to student success and the quality of higher education in Ontario. Any member of an OCUFA-affiliated faculty association is eligible to be nominated. Typically, […]
Barry Smit, one of We Teach Ontario’s featured profs, has been named to the Order of Ontario . This honour recognizes Ontarians who have made exceptional contributions to “the arts, law, science, medicine, history, politics, philanthropy and the environment.” Here is Barry’s We Teach Ontario video: Students in Barry’s courses are connected to this research in powerful ways. His graduate students […]
Teaching and research are at the heart of Ontario’s universities and together produce extraordinary results for students and their communities. We Teach Ontario , a new OCUFA initiative, celebrates how professors use research to enrich their students’ learning and strengthen the province. “Ontario professors and academic librarians know how powerful the connection between teaching and research can be […]
Last week, former COU head Ian Clark published an article in the National Post calling for Ontario to adopt California-style university differentiation. Based on a larger research paper submitted to the Government of Ontario, Clark argues that Californian universities get more teaching and research for public dollars than Ontarian institutions. In a recently published response , Ken Snowdon takes this argument apart (full disclosure: OCUFA did […]
On Saturday, October 27, 2012, OCUFA presented the 2011-12 Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards at a ceremony in Toronto. Since 1973, OCUFA has recognized the outstanding contributions made by professors and academic librarians to the quality of higher education in Ontario. This year’s winners exemplify the spirit of innovation, dedication, and collaboration that characterizes university faculty […]
Despite the claims of some observers, Ontario’s professors are teaching as many students as they did a decade ago, and face mounting workload pressure. Claims that faculty members are teaching less – made by a small collection of policy merchants — are based more on anecdote than observation. More to the point, they are misdirected. The […]
OCUFA is pleased to announce the winners of its prestigious Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards. Since 1973, these awards have recognized exceptional contributions to the quality of higher education in Ontario. “The teaching awards honour the outstanding teaching accomplishments of this year’s five worthy recipients,” said OCUFA President Constance Adamson. “ As in past years, […]
The nomination deadline for the 2012 OCUFA Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards is May 21, 2012. Since 1973, these awards have recognized individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the quality of university education in Ontario, either through exceptional teaching or dedicated library service. Any member of an OCUFA-affiliated faculty association is eligible […]
Soaring enrolments mean that more teaching has to be done at Ontario’s universities, but it cannot be done on the cheap, OCUFA Vice-President Kate Lawson told a conference at McMaster University, December 8. Government underfunding has meant constrained finances for Ontario universities, she said, and that context makes a discussion around the expansion of […]
This past weekend, OCUFA presented the winners of the annual Teaching, Lorimer, and Women of Distinction Award. These awards are an important part of what we do, because it gives us a chance to recognize individuals who have made the lives of academic staff better, and improved the entire university system. This year marks the […]
There is a great editorial in the Globe and Mail today concerning the relationship between teaching and research at Canadian universities. Written by Stephen Saideman, a professor of Political Science at McGill University, the article seeks to expose the false dichotomy in current debates about teaching in higher education. For many observers, research has become over-emphasized, and the quality of instruction has suffered. […]