Volume 25, No. 5 Editor: Bob Rupert September, 1994 FIRST DIRECT ELECTION ON ACADEMICS TO BOARD OF GOVERNORS The Broadhurst Report on University Accountability recommended the direct election of all stakeholders withing the university to Boards of Governors. CUASA members recommended to both Senate and the Board of Governors that the procedures by which the Board of Governors was constituted be amended to permit the direct election of two academic staff members to the Board of Governors. This practice brings Carleton University's governance into accordance not only with the recommendations of the Broadhurst report but with what is already common practice at other Ontario universities. In the past management claimed that faculty representation was accomplished through Senate representation on the Board of Governors. However this resulted almost exclusively in members of management representing Senate on the Board of Governors. The new procedure will encourage greater diversity in representation of various constituencies within the academic staff community. Those nominated from faculty ranks are: K. Bell Earth Sciences Full Professor L. Black History Full Professor D. Coll Systems and Computer Full Professor Engineering T. Jennisen Social Work Assistant Professor A. Mingarelli Math & Stats Full Professor S. Robinson French Associate Professor D. Smith French Full Professor G. Swimmer Public Administration Full Professor R. Thomas Business Associate Professor Nominated from management ranks is: J. Shepherd Director - School for Full Professor Studies in Art and Culture Ballots will be mailed out on Thursday, September 29th. Deadline to return completed ballots is Thursday, October 13th at noon. ________________________________________________________________________ LIVING IN LITIGIOUS TIMES Pat Finn, LL.M. (originally printed August 1992) Academic staff, along with other employees, have a duty to conduct themselves within the law of the land and policies of the university. Additionally, they must operate within the express terms and conditions of the collective agreement and, as professionals, take note of the policies of their professional organizations such as the CAUT. Carleton has seen the development and promulgation of a number of policies which address employee conduct, for example the Sexual Harassment Policy and the Policy of Research Ethics. All these documents are well intentioned and designed to protect individuals from unacceptable forms of behaviour. So far, good. CUASA has now had a fair amount of experience in how these policies are being used and handled and therein lies a cautionary tale. There seems to be an assumption that the complainant (even if it is only third party heresay evidence) is automatically the truthful party and that the person complained of mustclear his/her name. The managers involved are very concerned with the potential for a suit (either through the courts or through human rights tribunals) and this results in the suspension of belief in there being a reasonable explanation on the part of the accused. Carleton is no longer a tiny place where everyone know everyone. It is the size of a small town and it should come as no surprise that out of a group of more than 22,000 we have our share of dishonest or disturbed people. People who behave unethically including those who do so by advancing untrue allegations against others whether for gain or to get even are not confined to areas beyond the campus. What all this means is that academics should be extremely careful to ensure that there is not even a possibility of a perception of unethical behaviour. This is easy to say but difficult to carry out as different people have different standards by which they measure such behaviour. It is essential that members of the bargaining unit understand how much harm can be done by an untrue allegation. If it gets into the press your subsequent exoneration will not and you will be haunted by "there's no smoke without fire" attitudes for a long time. If you find yourself confronted with an accusation you should immediately contact CUASA even if you feel that the case is so straightforward as to be ludicrous. The management has to worry about litigation, even for frivolous and vexatious cases. In the past academics who initially dealt with their dean were surprised at how difficult things were made for them and ended up seeking our assistance. It is even more fraught, when colleagues act in the third party heresay capacity, for the management to remain impartial. Remember, even if it is totally untrue, ill-conceived and rebuttable - your career is at stake. Once the mud is flung it sticks. ________________________________________________________________________ ELECTRONIC VERSION OF CUASA COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT AVAILABLE ON WORLD WIDE WEB To access the collective agreement use logon: http://www.carleton.ca/cuasa _________________________________________________________________________ October 31 Deadlines -Candidates for research and teaching achievement awards to submit documentation to Dean.