RAAS Report
RAAS REPORT
A biweekly newsletter from your
Association of Academic Staff
Friday, February 8, 2019
RAAS Acknowledged as Official Body Representing Academic Staff
On January 30, 2019, the Board of Governors passed a motion acknowledging that RAAS is the official body representing academic staff at Renison. A member of the Board put forth a motion before the RAAS motion could come to the table. It's not exactly the same as the motion requested by RAAS members, but it clarifies the board’s position nonetheless. For further details, please see the report from our faculty representative on the Board, Rob Case, distributed by email on February 1, 2019.
Negotiation Update: RAAS Listening Sessions
Please check your email for information on the upcoming listening sessions (a) for tenure-track and tenured faculty members; and (b) for Continuing and Definite-Term Lecturers. The RAAS Negotiation Team needs to hear from you about what you want them to propose regarding workload and salary scale.
RAAS is the collective voice of faculty with diverse employment conditions, so it is up to all of us to work through our positions on these issues. We will hold listening sessions in the coming two weeks. Kristina Llewellyn will send Outlook invitations for these sessions for tenure track faculty. Rob Case will be reaching out to CLs and DTLs.
Since it is difficult to coordinate everyone's schedules, we would ask that if you cannot attend one of the sessions then please be in touch with Kristina (tenure track faculty: kristina.llewellyn@uwaterloo.ca) or Rob (DTL or CL: rob.case@uwaterloo.ca) to set up a time to talk about these proposals.
RAAS to Co-Host Senator Murray Sinclair
As our contribution to the events marking Renison’s 60th anniversary, RAAS will co-host Senator Murray Sinclair with the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre (WISC) in support of our TRC commitments on Wednesday, February 13th at 10 AM in the Great Hall at Conrad Grebel University College. Admission is free. Senator Sinclair will speak about Reconciliation and the University.
https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/sinclair-murray/
CAUT NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a nation-wide association of our peers. CAUT fees are included in RAAS membership dues each month.
Support the CAUT Campaign on Shared Governance
For decades, shared governance has been at the heart of how universities run. In fact, university boards are typically mandated by law to include relevant stakeholders (academic staff, administrators, students and members of the public) in their decision-making process.
But shared governance is under attack. University and college boards are increasingly controlled by corporate appointees with little understanding of important academic matters. Decision-making powers are concentrated in the hands of a few – who act behind closed doors – while the voices of academic staff and other key stakeholders are being weakened or silenced. It shouldn’t be this way. Academic staff, speak up and be heard!
Please watch this YouTube clip from CAUT on the importance of shared governance and academic freedom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvZcFB0RxAE&feature=youtu.be
The Matilda Effect
CAUT Bulletin (February, 2019)
https://www.caut.ca/bulletin/2019/02/matilda-effect
First described in the 1800s, but not officially named until 1993, the Matilda Effect continues to plague women pursuing science careers.
OCUFA News
[with thanks to Ben Lewis at OCUFA]
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers. OCUFA fees are included in RAAS membership dues each month.
February 11 is the Fairness for Contract Faculty Social Media Day of Action
OCUFA News, February 4, 2019
On Monday, February 11, faculty, staff, and students from across Ontario will participate in OCUFA’s annual social media day of action in support of fairness for contract faculty.
OSAP marches in Waterloo show students supporting each other when finances won’t
Aaron Hagey, The Cord, February 6, 2019
On Monday, February 4, students, faculty and more gathered on Wilfrid Laurier University’s Waterloo campus quad in the continued attempt to make the provincial government and other students aware of their concerns regarding the changes made to OSAP and tuition cuts.
On Friday, February 15, there will be a one-day province-wide walkout organized at the University of Waterloo, between the Dana Porter Library and Arts Lecture Hall, to bring greater attention to recent changes to postsecondary education in Ontario.
King's University College students join protests against post-secondary funding moves
London Free Press, February 4, 2019
Students at King’s University College on Monday joined the chorus of voices protesting changes by the provincial government to post-secondary education.
Professors' Association of Saint Paul University makes governance gains
OCUFA News, February 4, 2019 [no link — this is the whole story]
The Professors' Association of Saint Paul University has reached a three-year agreement with their employer. The agreement includes significant advances in collegial governance, including enhanced consultation and information sharing with the faculty association on issues such as supervisory rights and Professor Emeritus status. The association also achieved competitive across-the-board salary increases.
The nefarious political agenda behind Ontario’s war on university fees
Sandy Hudson, The Washington Post, February 1, 2019
Few may realize it, but the Ontario government’s policy changes for postsecondary education have far-reaching, long-term consequences for Canadian society and culture as a whole.
FEATURE
RAAS Member Profiles
In this issue, we are very pleased to feature James Corcoran, Assistant Professor in Culture and Language Studies (CLS).
What brought you to Renison?
I was attracted first and foremost to the people I met during my interviews and job talk. I came away from the process with the distinct impression that Renison is a progressive institution with dedicated scholars engaged in meaningful (often social justice-oriented) work. That view has not shifted as I have come to know different faculty and instructors, their teaching prowess, and their research agendas. Renison has truly felt like home from the moment I arrived thanks to the warmth and support of colleagues and staff. I hope to build even greater connections with faculty across Renison in the coming years.
What do you like about Renison?
I have also come to truly enjoy working with two different streams of students: international graduate students from across disciplines (EMLS 602: Scholarly Writing in English) and undergraduate students doing a minor in Applied Language Studies (APPLS 205: Second Language Acquisition Theory; APPLS 304: Second Language Teaching Methodology). Both of these groups of students are highly motivated and motivating.
What do you like about RAAS?
I’m happy to be part of RAAS. I come from a family that emphasized the importance of standing together for common cause. Though it was initially disappointing to discover that there was no official body supporting faculty here at Renison, it is exciting to be getting in “on the ground floor” on the way to achieving greater agency, strength, and security. Go RAAS!
What are you passionate about in your work?
I am a teacher (and language teacher educator), first and foremost. I find the classroom invigorating and the social interaction necessary when so much of my work is solitary. I believe the greatest impact of my academic work is felt by students rather than my disciplinary research communities. Indeed, much of my research stems from my classroom teaching experiences.
My research – and much of my teaching for that matter – addresses the inextricable links between language and power. In particular, I seek to better understand how language is used to establish, maintain, and/or challenge (often unequal) relations of power. My research agenda includes several ongoing investigations surrounding language, power, and pedagogy: plurilingual, international scientists’ research writing practices and processes; the impact of particular “critical” pedagogical approaches to language instruction; and the political economy of English for academic purposes instruction at Canadian universities.
Could you tell us a 'fun fact' about yourself?
For the first half of my life, I was a very, very (much too?) serious tennis player.
Do you have any pets?
Last month, my partner and I were walking down our street on the way to Trinity Bellwoods park and we saw a small cat limping around on the sidewalk. Strange, we thought, given how cold it was (-17 degrees). Not wanting to meddle in anyone’s affairs – maybe the cat was just getting some fresh air? – we continued on our way after scratching her head a bit. Close to an hour later, we passed by the same spot and the cat was still there shivering. A neighbour told us that the cat was lost and had been hanging around for a while. We went straight home, picked up our cat carrier (left over from our recently-deceased cat, Mitten) and took the cat to the Toronto Humane Society (THS). A week later we got a call from THS letting us know that the cat was healthy-ish, 13 years old, abandoned by its owners, and named Genius. She is now part of our family.