RAAS Report
RAAS REPORT
A biweekly newsletter from your
Association of Academic Staff
Friday, May 3, 2019
RAAS NEWS
RAAS Wins 2019 FAUW Appreciation Award
Inaugurated in 2017, the FAUW Appreciation Awards recognize people from across the University who have gone above and beyond to improve the lives of faculty members. FAUW will be presenting the 2019 FAUW Appreciation Award to the Renison Association of Academic Staff (RAAS). FAUW recently made this announcement:
Formed in February 2018, RAAS has been working tirelessly to provide faculty at Renison with the support and protection that our own members have enjoyed for decades. Their work will have a significant, positive impact on the lives of faculty at Renison for years to come and reminds us how vital Faculty Associations are.
Please join your fellow RAAS members in celebrating this award! This is something we have achieved together! The celebration is May 21 at 2:00 pm (location TBA) to celebrate and includes drinks, snacks, a sundae bar, and good company. Please RSVP by May 13 to laura.mcdonald@uwaterloo.ca.
LEAD NEGOTIATOR’S UPDATE
The negotiating teams have met once (April 16) since the last Report, and will be meeting again today.
The major proposal RAAS took forward at the April 16th negotiation session was on faculty workloads, including course loads and provisions for teaching reductions, non-teaching terms, overload teaching, online course development/teaching, etc. Other than proposing a more equitable course load for Lecturers (Continuing and Definite Term) and a few minor adjustments, our workload proposal is to maintain the status quo. Discussion of the Appointments proposal with the Admin team was productive, and RAAS expects to receive a counter proposal on this at a subsequent session.
The RAAS team also responded to the Admin team's proposal on Discipline process, and received counter proposals from the Admin team on tenure & promotion and on academic freedom. The RAAS team will be returning to the negotiating table today with counter proposals on both of these latter items.
RAAS and Admin teams continue to disagree on some items, but recent negotiation sessions have been productive overall. The two negotiating teams have agreed to set aside some full days in May to accelerate the process.
For more details on any of this, please contact Rob Case (RAAS Lead Negotiator).
BOARD UPDATE
The Board met on Wednesday, April 24, 2019.
Some good news: The Board approved a revised budget that maintains annual increases for academic staff at the customary level (i.e., cost of living + the equivalent of the full SIU negotiated by FAUW), and still anticipates a small surplus. The earlier draft budget, which had anticipated cuts to government grants to universities that did not materialize in this year's provincial budget, called for a departure from Renison's policy of granting the full SIU to all academic staff who achieve "satisfactory" ratings on their Annual Reviews. In her remarks, the President credited the RAAS Executive with bringing forward a strong policy position on this matter.
The Board's nomination committee is always looking for strong candidates to replace Board members when their terms expire. If you know of anyone in your academic or community networks who might be a good candidate, please let your Faculty Board rep (Rob Case) know.
Girlhood and Racial Hierarchies
You are welcome to attend a talk on Girlhood and Racial Hierarchies by award-winning author Dr. Kristine Alexander, Canada Research Chair in Child and Youth Studies from the University of Lethbridge.
The talk is on Tuesday, May 7th at 2pm in HH 117. Coffee and snacks will be served.
The event is co-sponsored by the Department of History, HeForShe, and Renison University College. Details about the talk are available at https://uwaterloo.ca/history/events/lecture-pre-history-girl-effect-girlhood-racial-hierarchies,on the attached poster, and below. Please share this invitation far and wide!
Gender Equity Research Grants Deadline
The application deadline for the Gender Equity Research Grants is Friday, June 14. [see attached file]
Continuing to work toward Waterloo’s HeForShe IMPACT commitments and gender equity on campus, the University of Waterloo is proud enter the fourth of year of the grants. Individual grants of up to $10,000 will be funded to support research that investigates or addresses gender equity. Preference is given to projects that are of demonstrated relevance to the University of Waterloo or advance Waterloo's three IMPACT 10x10x10 commitments:
boost girls’ participation in STEM experiences to build future female leaders
enhance female faculty representation to drive toward parity in the future
advance women into positions that lead the university
For information on eligibility and to review the guidelines, visit the Gender Equity Research Grants website. Questions may be directed to Diana Parry, Chair, UW Gender Equity Research Grant Committee, at ext. 43468.
FAUW News
We are grateful to the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW) for providing support to RAAS and its members in accordance with our service agreement.
Takeaways from the CAUT Aboriginal Academic Staff Conference
FAUW (May 1, 2019)
Karen Sunabacka is an Associate Professor of Music at Conrad Grebel University College. This past October, FAUW sponsored her to attend the Canadian Association of University Teachers’ Aboriginal Academic Staff Conference.
SATIRE
Anti-carbon tax stickers must be placed on the faces of all Ontario residents by today
The Beaverton (May 1, 2019)
TORONTO – Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s new law requiring everyone in the province to stick an anti-carbon tax decal in the middle of their faces kicks in today.
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 dues each month.
OCUFA’s analysis of the 2019 Ontario Budget
OCUFA Comment (May 1, 2019)
On April 11, the 2019 Ontario Budget was tabled. Given the track record of the Ontario government to date, this budget delivered what OCUFA expected: a continued attack on workers’ rights, university autonomy, and public services, including postsecondary education.
OCUFA President pens open letter
OCUFA Comment (May 1, 2019)
OCUFA President Gyllian Phillips has penned an open letter to the Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Dr. Merrilee Fullerton. [see attached]
FEATURE:
RAAS Member Profiles
In this issue, we are very pleased to feature DENISE MARIGOLD, Associate Professor and Chair, Social Development Studies (SDS)
What brought you to Renison?
I did my graduate work in Psychology at the University of Waterloo. Around the time I was finishing up, a job for a Psychology professor in Social Development Studies opened up. My husband and I were happy living in Waterloo, had a great community here, and had already started a family. Staying put was quite appealing! As well, as much I love Psychology, I was really interested in developing a broader perspective on the issues of social and personal well-being that I was studying. SDS seemed like a great fit for me.
In 2008 I defended my dissertation, moved into a new house, and interviewed for this position all within 2 weeks, while being 6 months pregnant and with a 1½ year old at home. It was an intense time! I was so happy to receive the job offer a few weeks later. Fortunately they agreed to defer the start to the following year so I could take maternity leave!
What do you like about Renison?
I love the people here and the work they do. We have bright and motivated students, enthusiastic educators, and dedicated staff who go above and beyond every day. I appreciate the efforts that go into creating a warm and welcoming environment for all who learn, live, and work here. I am also a big fan of the pizza oven!
What do you like about RAAS?
The RAAS exec includes some of my favourite people! They are very dedicated and I really appreciate all the work they’ve done so far. In the 10 years I’ve been here we’ve grown exponentially in terms of people and programs, but the policies and procedures have lagged behind. RAAS is doing the rather painstaking work of developing the latter to ensure equity and transparency across the faculty.
What are you passionate about in your work?
I’m passionate about helping people flourish, and this plays out in all aspects of my work, which is why I love my job so much. I teach courses that focus on what makes for a good life and strong relationships. My research broadly focuses on relationship well-being, particularly social support processes. As Chair of SDS, I have the privilege of supporting our incredible staff and faculty to do their own work successfully, which benefits our amazing students.
Could you tell us a 'fun fact' about yourself?
I have a special module in my brain for show tunes. I could, for example, sing the entire score of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat if you asked me to.*
(*No one has ever asked me to.)
Do you have any pets?
Yes, I have a super fluffy and affectionate cat named Darwin. When I’m sitting on the couch with my laptop he likes to try to find a place for himself on my lap as well. Sometimes he accidentally presses buttons with his paws. If you ever get an email from me that ends abruptly or contains random letter strings, you can assume Darwin sent it.
Darwin — phantom emailer