The Communiqué (April 7, 2017)

In this issue:

Confidentiality form
New CUASA initiative regarding mentoring new faculty members

Confidentiality form

Two years ago, on March 10 2015, CUASA and Carleton University agreed to a standard confidentiality form with the assistance of an Arbitrator. As a result, there is only one form authorized for use and it is labeled as “Schedule 1”. The authorized Confidentiality Acknowledgement also references a document titled Appendix A that lists all relevant articles of the collective agreement that apply to scenarios that may involve confidential situations and where the articles of the collective agreement prevail.

Since March 10 2015, new faculty members have been required to sign this confidentiality acknowledgement. Faculty hired before March 2015 have and can be asked to sign this confidentiality form whenever they are appointed to search committees, tenure & promotion committees, or to other tasks that require non-disclosure. As part of the agreement, CUASA is to be provided with a copy of the signed form.

This is the only confidentiality acknowledgement that the administration is allowed to ask you to sign. CUASA has informed Carleton University that there are still old, unauthorized forms being used and have asked that the old forms be taken out of circulation.

If perchance you are asked to sign any other confidentiality form – i.e. a form not labeled “Schedule 1” which is accompanied by Appendix A – do not sign the form and please immediately inform CUASA of this matter. A copy of the only allowable confidentiality form is available here on the CUASA website.

New CUASA initiative regarding mentoring new faculty members

CUASA is starting a new initiative, sponsored by the equity committee, to mentor new hires who are also unit members. Currently we are seeking volunteers from the existing membership,especially those who are already tenured/confirmed, to volunteer as mentors.

We will provide a half-day training session for mentors (date TBD) to make sure everyone has the necessary basics on directing folks to services and support, as well as giving a more detailed vision of what the mentor’s role will be. We are looking for members from across all faculties and the library who would be willing to help guide new members through the start of their careers. Note, members need not come from the same department or faculty as the person they are mentoring.

Time commitment and the nature of the mentoring relationship is up to those involved but generally we expect that mentorship will include at least some of the areas listed below though this is not an exhaustive list:

Transitioning from graduate student to professor
Acclimatizing to the classroom and teaching
Different kinds of teaching (small versus large class, labs, graduate classes, supervisions)
Work-life balance (including family obligations, childcare, finding supports for relocating families)
Tenure and promotion preparation
The unwritten rules/culture of the university
Managing department life
Beginning your research career
Publishing

We are launching this initiative in response to an identified need vocalized by the membership. We also envision the mentorship program to foster good relations between new members and CUASA, address systemic equity issues and
generally set our new members up to succeed and also to stay at Carleton.

Members are strongly encouraged to think about volunteering as a member. If you do volunteer, we will ask for a profile that will be posted to the CUASA website. New members will be given the opportunity to choose a mentor based on these profiles or may ask the Member Services Officer to assist in connecting them.

If you are interested in learning more about this initiative or becoming a mentor please contact Dawn Moore, CUASA’s Equity Officer at [email protected].

Upcoming Events

April 10, 2017 – CUASA General Membership Meeting

13:00-17:00

2017 Dunton Tower

April 13, 2017 – Council Meeting

11:00-13:00

4351 Herzberg Laboratories

April 22, 2017 – Sugar Bush

For more information, contact: [email protected]

CUASA AODA Policy

In accordance with the AODA, reasonable accomodations will be provided by CUASA. Should you require an accessible format of this communication, you may make this request for accomodation by contacting the President ([email protected]) in accordance with CUASA’s AODA policy. To read the full CUASA AODA Policy, click here.

CUASA plans to provide regular updates to the membership throughout the upcoming bargaining process.