Weekly Update – May 21
May 21, 2021
Weekly Update – May 21
CUASA Office Closure and Summer Hours
The virtual CUASA Office will be closed on Monday, May 24, for Victoria Day. The office will reopen on Tuesday, May 25, at 9:00am.
Also, starting tomorrow, May 21, the virtual CUASA Office will begin summer hours. This means that until the end of August, the office will close at 12:00pm on Fridays for the summer.
Accommodations for Fall 2021
Comments are trickling in from members who are not happy with being told that they “will” be teaching face-to-face this Fall. CUASA would like to know how successful you were in asking your Chair/Director for an accommodation in this respect, and whether or not it was granted and any reasons you can share with us. Please send any comments to [email protected].
Carleton Climate Commons Action Letter
The Carleton Climate Commons is seeking signatures for a letter urging Carleton University to join over 7,000 other universities around the world in declaring a climate emergency. Doing so will commit Carleton to a 3-point action plan as stipulated here. To this plan, the Carleton Climate Commons has added two additional action points: divestment from fossil-fuels by 2025; and an inquiry into the structural and systemic institutional practices at Carleton that impede sustained, robust, and equitable climate action. You can read and sign the letter by clicking here.
Cihan Erdal Release Campaign
CUPE 4600 member and Carleton PhD student Cihan Erdal needs a few seconds of you time. Cihan has been unjustly jailed in Turkey since September 2020. CUPE is pressing the Canadian government to support Cihan. Along with LabourStart.org, it is also putting pressure on the Turkish government to release him.
Cihan is a sociologist, an academic, a youth researcher, and a peace and LGBTI+ activist. He was detained 7 months ago in Istanbul, Turkey where he was conducting his research. He was kept in a basement cell of a detention center with no air circulation and daylight for 8 days before he was transferred to a prison in Ankara.
Cihan is imprisoned because he was, 7 years ago, a member of the People’s Democratic Party in Turkey (HDP in Turkish). The HDP was and is a legal political party that opposes many of the policies of the current Turkish government. The evidence against him? Two social media posts.
Already more than 30 international organizations, 2,500 academics and 5,700 trade unionists around the world have demanded his release. His colleagues and friends have organized events in Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, and Turkey.
The next few days are critical. We need to make Cihan’s case a top priority for the Turkish government, and demand action. Please consider taking a few seconds to send a message to senior Turkish government officials demanding that they release Cihan and allow him to return home to Canada. Click here to send a message.
CUASA Business
Annual Tenure/Confirmation and Promotion Workshops
Each spring CUASA presents Tenure/Confirmation and Promotion workshops, which cover the process for applying for tenure/confirmation and/or promotion, the preparation of dossiers, and the appeals process in the event of a denial. We will also cover your options on tenure/confirmation and promotion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The dates and times for the workshops are as follows:
- Librarian Confirmation and Promotion – Monday, May 31, 9:00-11:00am
- Instructor Confirmation and Promotion – Monday, May 31, 1:00-3:30pm
- Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor – Tuesday, June 1, 9:30am-12:00pm
- Promotion to Full Professor – Tuesday, June 1, 1:00-3:30pm
- Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor – Wednesday, June 2, 1:00-3:30pm
All workshops will be held virtually on Zoom. If you plan to attend, please email [email protected] to RSVP.
Nominations for Steering Positions
The following Steering positions are either currently vacant, or will become vacant on July 1, 2021 (click on the title to see position description):
* The Steering committee has allocated a 0.5 course release for the Vice President and Chair, Internal Affairs positions, respectively.
Elections will be held at the May Council meeting on Thursday, May 27. Nominations are due to the virtual CUASA Office by Wednesday, May 26, at 4:00pm. If you are interested in one of these positions, or wish to nominate a colleague, please contact us for a nomination form at [email protected].
Information on the nominations process can be found on our How to Volunteer page. Remember that our Association is only as strong as its membership, so we count on the time and commitment of our members to achieve our goals.
Academic Community Updates
CUASA, CAUT and OCUFA condemn termination of librarians at OCADU
CUASA, CAUT and OCUFA have condemned the termination of four senior librarians and two other library positions at OCADU. CUASA’s External Relations Officer, Raj Singh, wrote to OCADU President Ana Serrano urging that the university administration reinstate all six positions and rehire the librarians whose jobs were eliminated. Dr. Singh expressed CUASA’s unwavering solidarity with our librarian colleagues at OCADU, along with the students and faculty and broader community that they support. To read CUASA’s letter, click here.
In a similar letter, OCUFA President Rahul Sapra described the important role played by university librarians at Ontario universities and also urged OCADU’s administration to take action to reverse these terminations. To read OCUFA’s letter, click here.
CAUT also issued a statement, saying these actions raise red flags that OCADU’s administration is not respecting principles of collegial governance as it moves forward with restructuring plans for its library. To read CAUT’s statement, click here.
OCUFA submits recommendations on government decision to make NOSM stand-alone university
As part of the wide-ranging Bill 276, Supporting Recovering and Competitiveness Act, 2021, the Ontario government added legislation to make the Northern Ontario School of Medicine an autonomous university. In response to this proposed legislation, which was announced without appropriate consultation or notice, OCUFA has made both written and verbal submissions to the Standing Committee on General Government.
Click here to read more.
Join OCUFA and the OFL for the Education Assembly on June 26
Join OCUFA and the OFL for another virtual Province-Wide Education Assembly to discuss what Ontarians need from our education systems during COVID-19 and beyond. The assembly takes place on Saturday, June 26 from 10 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Parents, teachers, students, child care workers, faculty, and support staff across education sectors are invited to come together to envision and discuss a seamless plan that works for the entire education sector, from child care to postsecondary education.
For more information and to register, click here.
CAUT to argue on fair dealing, copyright tariffs before Supreme Court
Copyright is once again before the Supreme Court of Canada on May 21st, where CAUT, together with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), will make arguments on the landmark case between York University and collective licencing agency, Access Copyright.
Click here to read more.
CAUT welcomes national dialogue on post-secondary education in francophone minority context
CAUT supports the national dialogue on post-secondary education in the francophone minority context. CAUT will seek to bring the perspectives of academic staff to help strengthen minority language post-secondary education in Canada.
Click here to read more.
