Dear Colleagues, Like many of you I am deeply disappointed in the support for post secondary education outlined in the provincial budget this week. While there are no further cuts, with the impact of inflation, we are essentially asked once…
Fair dealing is a critical tool needed to balance the rights of users and owners under Canada’s Copyright Act. Protecting and enhancing fair dealing for users, learners, and researchers makes information and knowledge more accessible. Fair Dealing Week is an…
Nominations are due February 8th for the Faculty Association Board of Directors positions whose terms end in 2023. Positions open for nominations: Five (5) director positions are open for nomination. The term is three years for each position. Nominees for…
The Faculty Association's audited financial statements for 2021-22 were approved by the Board of Directors on December 20, 2022. The audit was executed as required by the Association's bylaws. The auditors found that there was excellent cooperation between management and…
As you prepare your taxes, remember that your Faculty Association dues (which include your CAUT dues) are tax deductible. Find dues on your pay stub and in box 44 of your 2022 University of Calgary T4 form.
As part of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Week, the Faculty Association is sponsoring a presentation on the Duty to Accommodate. In this presentation, you will learn about the employer's duty to accommodate employees' individual needs on all grounds of…
The Faculty Association has become aware of instances where the Collective Agreement articles related to "Sick Time" may not have been applied appropriately. This is general information intended to provide an overview of these Articles; however, if academic staff have questions specific…
The Faculty Association is now accepting applications for the sessional travel fund for the 2022-23 academic year. Sessionals can apply for funding to help with expenses, including travel expenses related to the applicant's academic work or attending conferences, whether or…
Included in the settlement for the Collective Agreement (2022-2024) were three Letters of Understanding (LOUs) establishing joint committees tasked with reviewing the merit process, workload, and benefits. In preparation for the committee meetings, Department Representatives provided feedback during the November meeting for…
Dear Colleagues, As we near the end of the first month of 2023, we are engaged in the process of developing a new strategic plan for the University of Calgary. To that end, you have been invited to participate in…
Farnaz Sadeghpour, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, has joined the Faculty Association Board of Directors for the remainder of the 2022-23 academic year. Her term will end on June 30, 2023. Welcome, Professor Sadeghpour.
The Faculty Association office will be closing at noon on Thursday, December 22, 2022, and reopening on Monday, January 9, 2023 - resuming regular office hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We will check our emails daily from January…
The University will be closed on December 23, 2022, until January 2, 2023. In announcing these closures, the Administration extended thanks to those who are required to work on December 23rd. We want to clarify that academic staff members are not required…
As you prepare your taxes, remember that your Faculty Association dues (which include your CAUT dues) are tax deductible. Find dues on your pay stub and in box 44 of your 2022 University of Calgary T4 form.
For the past number of years, in lieu of holiday gifts, the Faculty Association has donated to food banks in recognition of those in need at this time of year. The Calgary Food Bank and the University of Calgary Students'…
Nomination due date extended The due date for the Community Service Award Nominations is extended to Monday, January 9, 2023. Award background The Community Service Award recognizes a member (or group of members) of the Faculty Association of the University…
We want to update you on the current Department Reps for the 2022-23 Academic year. Art & Art HistoryDenis GadboisBiochemical & Molecular BiologyQuan LongChemical & Petroleum EngineeringSean McCoyChemistryGreg WelchCivil EngineeringFarnaz SadeghpourClassics & ReligionElizabeth RohlmanCommunication, Media & FilmRyan PiersonCommunity Health SciencesLindsay…
It has come to our attention that when our members are formally "disciplined," some Deans are NOT advising our members that discipline is grievable under the Collective Agreement. We do not think it is good human resources practice not to…
The Faculty Association is now accepting applications for the sessional travel fund for the 2022-23 academic year. The deadline for applications in the current round is February 13, 2023. Sessionals can apply for funding to help with expenses, including travel expenses…
The Faculty Association is accepting nominations for Board of Directors positions whose terms end in 2023. Positions open for nominations: Five (5) director positions are open for nomination. The term is three years for each position. Nominees for director positions must…
Research and Scholarship Leaves (RSL; "sabbaticals") are essential for the functioning of the University, giving academic staff members opportunities to do work they otherwise wouldn't be able to do given normal workloads. Under Article 16 of the Collective Agreement, continuing, contingent…
It has been another busy and challenging semester serving as President of the Faculty Association, and I expect this will continue into the New Year. While our work is challenging, it is also a privilege to serve you and advocate…
The Faculty Association of the University of Calgary (TUCFA) deplores the actions of the Ontario government in using the Notwithstanding Clause to protect its assault on the rights of education workers in that province to exercise their right to free…
(Ottawa – November 3, 2022) The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) encourages members to support solidarity actions with CUPE’s 55,000 education workers who are being denied their legal right to strike by the Ontario government’s unconstitutional legislation. Members in Ontario…
(Ottawa – October 31, 2022) The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) condemns the legislation introduced today by the Ontario government that will force a contract on CUPE’s 55,000 education workers and prevent a legal strike that was to start…
A personal financial crisis can strike quickly and with little warning. Fortunately, the Faculty Association provides emergency funding to help individual members in emergency circumstances due to a sudden loss or decline in remuneration from the University. In addition to…
Fair Employment Week (FEW) is taking place from October 17 to 21, 2022. Fair Employment Week is CAUT's annual campaign to raise awareness about precarious employment on campuses and support local organizing to improve the working conditions of contract academic…
All sessional instructors are members of the Faculty Association. The Association has consistently used grievances and bargaining to negotiate representation rights and protections for sessionals. We believe one strong reason for gains we have made has been due to the…
Fair Employment Week (FEW) takes place this year from October 17 to 21, 2022. Each year the Faculty Association participates in this national event that raises awareness of the difficulties inherent in being a member of the sessional academic staff.…
Following the advice of the Faculty Association Board of Directors, the Minister of Advanced Education has appointed Hamid Habibi to the University Board of Governors. Habibi takes over from Tavis Campbell who had served on the Board of Governors as…
The Faculty Association reminds members about the right to representation under the Collective Agreement. One of the key functions of the Faculty Association is to protect academic staff interests through its work to resolve conflicts between members and the Administration. From…
A personal financial crisis can strike quickly and with little warning. Fortunately, the Faculty Association provides emergency funding to help individual members in emergency circumstances due to a sudden loss or decline in remuneration from the University. In addition to…
The Faculty Association has analyzed its expenditures in accordance with the Bill 32, the Restoring Balance in Alberta's Workplaces Act. We have concluded that all of our expenses from funds collected through dues fit under the definition of "core" activities per…
(Note: this article focuses on notable changes in the new Collective Agreement for ongoing academic staff. We will post an article about how the new agreement affects sessional academic staff in the Fair Employment Week edition of Academic Views, which will focus…
Dear Colleagues, The 2022-23 academic year is now well underway, and I want to extend my wishes for a productive and safe year. This will be my final year as your President and I want to thank you for the…
A minor change in CAUT dues takes effect on July 1, 2022. These fees are calculated based on average academic staff salaries by rank, as reported annually by Statistics Canada, applied against an approved mil rate. The mil rate of…
The Board of Directors has announced the Association's Officers for 2022/23 (effective July 1, 2022). Mary-Ellen Tyler has been appointed as an Officer-at-Large, while Nigel Caulkett and Francine Smith are being reappointed as Officers-at-Large. They join President David Stewart, Vice-President…
The Election Committee has released the results for the election of Faculty Association Board of Directors members. Election ballots were issued to 2,493 electors (1,863 ongoing staff and 630 sessional staff) using Simply Voting on March 2 and voting closed…
The Faculty Association announced that the Collective Agreement has been ratified. A total 975 (46%) of 2,119 electors (1,864 ongoing staff and 255 sessional staff) voted in this ballot. The results were as follows: 854 — Yes103 — No18 —…
We thought it might be interesting to see where growth or decline in academic staff numbers has occurred over the last decade. This table shows the change in ongoing academic staff (i.e., not including sessional instructors) by Faculty at the…
The Faculty Association normally offers workshops related to the tenure, renewal of tenure track, promotion, or transfer between the streams for academic staff members who are considering applying through these processes. As the COVID situation improves, we hope to return…
The Faculty Association of the University of Calgary, in accordance with its policy concerning the Assessment of Deans and equivalents, has completed a survey of the academic staff members in Faculties where the Dean or Dean-equivalent is approaching the end…
Strikes at university faculty associations across Canada surged beginning late last year and continuing into 2022, although labour peace has been restored on all campuses. The wave of strike actions started last November when the University of Manitoba Faculty Association…
When inflation is on the rise, it's a relief if some costs actually fall. Fortunately, this relief has arrived for Faculty Association members whose University Academic Pension Plan (UAPP) contributions have declined by nearly one percent effective July 1, 2022.…
Dear Colleagues, As we begin the 2022-23 academic year, I want to express my gratitude that you have endorsed the Collective Agreement with the Board of Governors and I appreciate the faith and confidence in our recommendation and bargaining team that this…
Your bargaining team has been continuing to work over the past several months. And while we have not provided a detailed update to you about our progress at the table since early Summer of last year, discussions continued to move…
Dear Colleagues, The Fall 2021 term will be remembered for a long time. It has been a period fraught with uncertainty, beginning with what is now recognized as a premature provincial decision to declare the pandemic over, the resulting opportunity…
A Faculty Association program that offers travel grants for sessionals has been paused until early in the new year due to the pandemic. Each year, the Sessional Travel Fund Committee makes $30,000 available to reimburse certain travel expenses for up…
Academic staff at the University of Manitoba have dropped their placards and headed back to the classrooms. After five weeks on the picket lines, University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) members voted 91 percent in favour of ratifying a deal…
The year was 2004 and Paul Martin was prime minister, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won the Oscar for Best Picture, and the Calgary Flames made their last Stanley Cup run. That year also marked…
The Faculty Association office will close for the holidays, with the last day of work being December 23 and the first day back January 10. However, we will monitor the Association's voicemail and email regularly on days that the university…
As you prepare your taxes, remember that your Faculty Association dues (which include your CAUT dues) are tax deductible. You can find these dues on your pay stub and in box 44 of your 2021 University of Calgary T4 form.…
The Faculty Association is accepting nominations for Board of Directors as well as for President and Chair of the Board of the Board of Directors. The Association is accepting nominations for six (6) directors; five (5) with up to three-year…
The Faculty Association's Board of Directors is happy to welcome two new members. Marjan Eggermont (Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering) and Dora Tam (Social Work) have joined the Board of Directors for the remainder of the 2021-2022 academic year. The Board…
The Faculty Association and university administration have been meeting remotely since late December, 2020 and engaging in collective bargaining discussions. Throughout these discussions, the parties have been actively working through the various non-monetary items and continue to make progress. Both…
The Faculty Association has been contacted regarding the “Alberta Student Day of Action” occurring this Friday, October 29th, at noon in the Quad (between Mac Hall and TFDL). We have been asked to invite all academic staff members to attend.…
Message from David Stewart, Faculty Association President sent to members of the Faculty Association on August 17, 2021. Dear Colleagues, Early this morning we learned that the Universities of Calgary, Alberta and Lethbridge were planning to jointly release a plan…
Message from Ed McCauley, President of the University of Calgary to the University Community on August 17, 2021. https://www.ucalgary.ca/risk/sites/default/files/Covid-19%20Folder/Joint%20Statement%20UofC%20UofA%20UofL_FINAL.pdf University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and University of Lethbridge to include rapid testing or vaccination, and masks as part of…
Message from David Stewart, Faculty Association President sent to members of the Faculty Association on August 16, 2021. Last week in an effort to protect those who are teaching in the fall (and indeed the entire University community) as fully…
Joint message from Teri Balser, University of Calgary Provost and Vice-President (Academic), and David Stewart, Faculty Association President, sent to members of the Faculty Association on August 10, 2021. In the past week, conversations between the University of Calgary administration…
As the summer term begins, most of us have turned our thoughts towards the fall and the challenges that term will bring. The government assures us that everything will be open, and the university is acting on that assumption and…
The pandemic has brought many new and unprecedented challenges as we work remotely, including staying connected, teaching, and collaborating on research. We have been introduced to many new communications tools which went from obscurity to ubiquity in a matter of…
As we and the Provost have reported previously, the Faculty Association and the Governors agreed to suspend the merit assessment process for the July 2019 to June 30, 2021 assessment period. Unfortunately, the Faculty Association has been hearing from members…
We would like to acknowledge and thank the members of the Faculty Association who served as Department Representatives for the 2020-2021 Academic Year. This year has been a particularly challenging and uncertain time, and we appreciate the valuable insights that…
The past 16 months have been stressful for many academic staff members. Many members will view the prospect of returning to campus and in-person instruction with excitement and relief, while others will be more cautious and may experience additional stress.…
As with most of our members, the Faculty Association staff continue to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to do our best to help members navigate through issues as they arise despite the pandemic. When an academic staff…
The Faculty Association of the University of Calgary, in accordance with its policy concerning the Assessment of Deans and equivalents, has completed a survey of the academic staff members in Faculties where the Dean or Dean-equivalent is at the end…
During the last round of negotiations, the Faculty Association raised concerns with the Administration around access to campus resources leading up to and following sessional appointments. It has been clarified that sessional instructors should have access to email, the bookstore,…
Each academic year, a Sessional Travel Fund Committee distributes a Sessional Travel Fund of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) amongst eligible Sessional appointees to reimburse certain travel expenses to a maximum of $1,500 per sessional appointee as agreed in Schedule B…
The Faculty Association Board of Directors Members for the 2021-2022 academic year are as follows: David Stewart (President) John Baker (Grievance Advisor) Marie-Andrée Bergeron Tavis Campbell (non-voting, Board of Governors Nominee) Nigel Caulkett (Officer at Large) Kent Donlevy (Grievance Advisor)…
Our Faculty Association’s Executive joins CAUT Council and our colleagues at Laurentian and across Ontario in opposing the actions that have taken place at Laurentian University and the threat to public universities posed by those actions. We stand with our…
The Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations has released a press release responding to the Alberta 2030: Building Skills for Jobs report that was released last week by the Alberta Government. The response from CAFA highlights several concerns that may be…
Faculty Association members, including President, David Stewart, will be participating in a drive-by protest on March 27 to show support for post-secondary education in Alberta. This will be similar to the January 30 protest and will involve a drive-around of…
The Faculty Association at the University of Alberta is requesting support for an online petition and also looking for help for a more general campaign. Please visit protectourfuture.ca for more information and to participate.
A message from Alberta Advanced Education: March 16, 2021 Alberta Health has updated their Health Measures to reflect the latest Step 2b changes that came into effect on March 8th and Dr. Hinshaw announced on March 15th, details of Alberta’s…
We are disappointed that the government has persisted with cuts to college and university funding and we wish to make clear that the removal of $90 million from post-secondary operations will not contribute to higher quality education. Unfortunately, the budget makes clear that…
On January 30, 2021, the Faculty Association of the University of Calgary joined other supporters of post-secondary education in Alberta in voicing our support for stable funding of post-secondary education and expressing our concern about the province’s future. We hope…
A message from Alberta Advanced Education: December 10, 2020 On Tuesday, December 8th, 2020, Alberta announced new measures to protect the health care system and reduce the rising spread of COVID-19. Alberta's government, under the guidance from the Chief Medical…
A message from Alberta Advanced Education: November 27, 2020 On Tuesday, November 24, Alberta announced new measures to protect the health care system and reduce the rising spread of COVID-19. With respect to Alberta's post-secondary system, Alberta's government under the…
Letter from Faculty Association President, David Stewart, to McKinsey & Company Alberta-2030-ResponseDownload Related to submission from Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations which is available here
The Faculty Association at the University of Calgary is joining the call for stronger federal support for post-secondary education. Universities and colleges are critical to the COVID-19 response and recovery, providing much needed research, knowledge, education and training. Yet, as in Alberta,…
The Faculty Association of the University of Calgary (TUCFA) supports the efforts of front line health care workers to protect their jobs. We urge the Government of Alberta to reconsider the elimination of these positions and honour the contributions these…
The Faculty Association of the University of Calgary is standing in solidarity with our members and members of the community who are raising their voices to fight racism and discrimination in our communities and within the Academy. The Faculty Association…