President’s Message: Busy Year Ahead

Dear Colleagues,

As the 2023-24 academic year gets underway, I wanted to extend well wishes to all academic staff at the University of Calgary especially to our new academic staff – many of whom I had the pleasure of speaking with during the orientation events at the end of August.

I anticipate that this will be another very busy year for all members and for the Faculty Association as we work through numerous grievances and arbitrations, the new assessment process, bargaining, and complex government relations. Some of this has already begun. Over the summer, I worked with Gordon Swaters, President of the Association of Academic Staff at the University of Alberta, to write a joint response to Premier Smith’s Advanced Education Mandate letter – you can find the response on our website. Bargaining is expected to consume a great deal of the Association’s time this year. The Association’s Board of Directors has appointed Professor Hamid Habibi to serve as the Principal Negotiator again, and you can expect to hear more from him and the bargaining team throughout the year.

Together, the Board, the Executive, the Association’s staff, and I will continue to work to address the challenges that lie ahead to support all members to enhance their academic freedom, salary, benefits, and related matters while promoting a culture of fairness, equity, inclusivity, and diversity.

Best wishes,

J. Kent Donlevy, President, The Faculty Association of the University of Calgary