RAAS Report
Friday, October 28, 2022
Ann Dennis, Editor
PRESIDENT’S UPDATE
Over the past month my focus has shifted from trying to keep up with developments across our sectors and recruiting RAAS members to various committees and OCUFA/CAUT activities to marking mid-term assignments (and trying to support an unusually high volume and diversity of student needs). I am finding that although many students seem to be really enjoying on-campus life and thriving in the classroom, for others the return to campus is proving to be a very difficult transition.
I am pleased to report, at least, that there do not appear to be too many issues that are rising to the level of union intervention at the moment. One important issue that we should all have on our radar, nonetheless, is the question of course caps. The Collective Agreement does not address course sizes directly, and in the midst of continuing financial pressure on our institution, I have been hearing murmurings about the possibility of the administration raising course caps. Course caps have obvious implications both for work load and the quality of education we are able to offer, and we will likely need a united effort to resist them.
From my viewpoint, while the amount of funding Renison receives to finance our academic programs has not declined over the past 2 years, the amount of work we have had to do increased considerably in the context of COVID adaptation, while at time we accepted a 0% salary increase (in 2020) and significant loss of capacity to do the work (through, e.g., staff layoffs, reduction of course sections and sessionals, the non-renewals of some DTL positions, retirements, etc.). Particularly considering President Fletchers upbeat outlook regarding Renison’s financial future, I think it would be reasonable for all of us to start asking how much more we should be asked to do with less.
I would encourage you to keep your union executive informed about conversations you are part of about raising course caps and to resist agreeing to proposals until we are able to talk it through across departments and form a united position.
Despite Wendy’s optimistic outlook, Renison’s financial situation continues to be of real concern, as we work our way through our third consecutive deficit budget year. Following a presentation from the auditors to Academic Council, several of you have expressed concern about how little we still actually know about our institution’s financing and how budget and spending decisions are actually made. A priority of your union executive, over the next couple months, will be to take another stab at getting a handle on Renison finances, but our capacity (both time and financial expertise) is limited we will need your help. Please let me know if you can help in this regard.
I will be attending the OCUFA Annual General Meeting and board meeting this weekend, so I will report back on that and on important developments across our sector in the next RAAS Report.
In the meantime, many thanks, on behalf of all of us RAAS members, to those of you who are taking on roles on RAAS committees and/or attending FAUW, OCUFA, and CAUT events or committees on our behalf. We are growing stronger everyday because of you and your work on our behalf.
Rob Case
RAAS President
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
If you have not already done so, please contribute your thoughts on negotiation priorities through this short survey. The survey closes today, so this is your last chance (for this first opportunity for input). We will report results back through the next edition RAAS Reports.
We already know that job security for Lecturers is an important issue for our negotiations. The Negotiating Team will be attending a meeting of the Lecturers’ Committee today (Friday Oct. 28) to gain perspective and hear ideas. If you belong to a cluster of RAAS members who have particular needs or concerns, in relation to RAAS and/or our Collective Agreement, please let one of us know.
Rob Case
Lead Negotiator
GRIEVANCE COMMITTE UPDATE
The Grievance Committee extended an invitation to RAAS members to consider joining the committee. Dr. Tracy Peressini kindly volunteered to join for the coming year.
A workshop on Faculty Accommodations regarding COVID was attended on October 7th. The purpose of this workshop was to think about the challenges in supporting faculty accommodation requests (particularly throughout the pandemic and as faculty returned to in person instruction), and the institutional barriers to accommodating faculty, as well as discussing the ways in which member associations can shift the narrative and offer leadership in this area.
Panelists were Shelia Embleton from YUFA, Christal Cote from CUASA, Christine McLaughlin from UOITFA, and Chelsea Bauer from UOITFA.
Members will attend such workshops throughout the year in order to be fully informed of the latest information in service to the RAAS membership.
Colleen McMillan
Grievance Committee Representative
BOARD UPDATE
The October 26 meeting of the Board of Governors was the Annual General Meeting for 2022. The proceedings were brisk and brief. The Chair recounted areas of progress over the past year, including ongoing Truth and Reconciliation and decolonization work and the signing of the Scarborough Charter. She expressed thanks to the leadership, faculty and staff of Renison for their courage and confidence. Elaborating on the primary theme in the Annual Report 2022, the President said Renison has “good bones” – infrastructure strong enough to support our activities and growth. She expressed thanks to everyone holding a piece of the enterprise. The Treasurer observed that we are not in breach of our debt covenant thanks to support from UW. She then moved that auditors be appointed for the year (a key piece of business at every AGM).
In other news:
Jean Becker has been appointed as the representative for UW President Goel (as of Jan 1, 2023).
Jane Karanassiou has been reappointed as staff representative on the Board for another term;
The Chancellor Search Committee, chaired by Thomas Littlewood, now includes Ashton Romany (BoG), Edwin Ng (faculty); Tracy Peressini (faculty); Brenda Maciel (staff); and Cort Egan (staff). There is still room for one more BoG member.
Attorney and Renison double alumna Neha Chugh has been elected to the Board; and
Bylaw revisions were ratified.
Respectfully submitted,
Edwin Ng and Jason Blokhuis
Faculty Board Representatives
FAUW UPDATE
Check out the latest FAUW blog here.
SATIRE
Perfectionist truck driver circles block looking for right bike lane to park in
August 24, 2022, Luke Gordon Field, The Beaverton
Local Fed-Ex driver Martin Bedard has spent the last 20 minutes circling in order to find the exact right bike lane to leave his truck in while he delivers a package.
NOT SATIRE
Now is the time to address chronic underfunding
October 24, 2022, Sanni Yaya, University Affairs
Over the past 20 years, demographic and inflationary pressures and a decline in average student income have forced postsecondary institutions to seek new funding sources.
CAUT NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a nation-wide association of our peers.
Please take a look at the latest updates from the October CAUT Bulletin.
OCUFA NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University CAUT Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers.
Athabasca U battle over its local presence continues
October 26, 2022, Cailynn Klingbeil, University Affairs
Frustrated students and faculty feel left out of discussions between the Alberta government and administration.
Filling the gaps: where universities stand in addressing the nursing shortage
October 19, 2022, Shauna McGinn, University Affairs
With Canada’s ongoing nursing shortage, there is renewed attention on nursing schools and their role in helping to fill these critical gaps.
Cape Breton University and faculty to head to conciliation
October 17, 2022, Cape Breton Post
Faculty and management at Cape Breton University are headed for conciliation in a bid to hammer out a new labour contract.
Collège Boréal receives $8 million in new funding
October 16, 2022, CTV News
Two levels of government announced on Friday that they are investing more than $8 million to help Collège Boréal establish new French-language post-secondary programs.
Canada to allow international students to work more hours due to labour shortage
October 7, 2022, Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press
Canada will temporarily allow international students to work more than 20 hours a week, in a bid to address ongoing labour shortages.
Court approves Laurentian’s plan of arrangements
October 5, 2022, Heidi Ulrichsen, Sudbury.com
Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz grants 'sanction order' approving the plan of arrangement; lawyer says Laurentian close to hitting post-CCAA ‘reset button’.
Check This Out!
A ‘Key Dates for RAAS Members’ chart has been created which acts as a ‘cheat sheet’ for Members, covering everything from Annual Report due dates to Sabbatical applications timeliness. The chart is found here on the RAAS site: Key Dates for RAAS Members.
Member Spotlight
by Cindy Zhuang
Dear RAAS Community, Hello!
My name is Huaping (Cindy) Zhuang. I grew up in China and obtained my M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.
Before moving to Waterloo with my family in 2015, I had taught in Zhejiang University (China) and University of Michigan (US). I have joined the Renison community since September 2015, as sessional lecturer first. I became a Definite Term Lecturer (DTL) at the Department of Culture & Language Studies (CLS) since September 2019. The courses that I have been teaching include Chinese language courses of different levels, Chinese Culture & Society (i.e., EASIA202R), and Pre-Modern Chinese Literature (i.e., EASIA360R).
I have enjoyed my work at Renison tremendously in the past seven years, not only because teaching is what gives me a sense of fulfilment, but also because I enjoy the inclusiveness and diversity that Renison has created for the whole community.
My fields of interest include comparative literature, introduction of Chinese classical literature to the English world, and Chinese language pedagogy.
In my spare time I enjoy reading, travelling, meeting old and new friends from different parts of the world.
Warm regards,
Cindy Zhuang
Falling for Autumn
It is sometimes hard to let the summer go, but is there anything better than taking in the first few weeks of fall? We hope that you have been able to set some time aside to step outside, breathe in the crisp air and take in the seasonal colour palette. Here are a few snapshots of the changing colours around Renison and uW campus that were snapped last week over Convocation that served as a beautiful backdrop:
