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…
There is an odd quirk in Alberta law related to the designation of academic staff who are members of Faculty Associations. Unlike most provinces where academic staff formed unions under the provincial Labour Relations Code, the Alberta government prohibited academic…
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 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…
The Board of Directors has announced the Association's Officers for 2023-24 (effective July 1, 2023). The Officers of the Faculty Association for 2023-24 are as follows: President and Chair of the BoardJ. Kent Donlevy (Werklund School of Education)Vice-President and TreasurerDora…
Following the advice of the Faculty Association Board of Directors, the Minister of Advanced Education has appointed Melanee Thomas to the University Board of Governors. Thomas takes over from Hamid Habibi who had served on the Board of Governors as…
Fair Employment Week (FEW), which is organized by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), takes place this year from October 16 to 20, 2023. Each year the Faculty Association participates in this national event that raises awareness of the difficulties…
According to a snapshot of academic staff from October 3, 2023, there are currently 695 sessional academic staff members representing about 27 per cent of all academic staff at the University of Calgary. The relative number of sessional staff varies…
All sessional instructors are members of the Faculty Association and sessional contracts are governed by the Collective Agreement. We believe that many of the gains that have been made for sessionals are due, in part, to the united front the Faculty…
The Faculty Association is now accepting applications for the Sessional Travel Fund for the 2023-24 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…
As we close out another term, I thought I would report to you on a few items of interest. The Association of Academic Staff at the University of Alberta (AASUA - our sister Association at the U of A) recently…
The Faculty Association heads into negotiations for a new Collective Agreement in the New Year. The Bargaining Team includes Hamid Habibi as Principal Negotiator, Trevor Tombe, Sheila Miller, and Don Kozak (resource person). As negotiations approach, the Bargaining Team has been busy…
The Graduate Labour Union (GLU), which is the bargaining agent for Graduate Assistants at the University of Calgary has reached an impasse in negotiations with the Board of Governors of the University of Calgary. In solidarity, and in recognition of the…
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) held its annual Parliament Hill Day, a one-day lobbying event in Ottawa on Thursday, November 23. Professor Dora Tam, Vice President and Treasurer of the Faculty Association, and Don Kozak, Associate Executive Director…
We want to update you on the current Department Reps for the 2023-24 Academic year. If your department or faculty is not listed below, it is because the Faculty Association has not received information about the election of a representative…
The Faculty Association is currently accepting nominations for Board of Directors positions commencing July 1, 2024. Positions open for nominations: Nine (9) director positions are open for nomination including the designated sessional seat. Five of these positions will have three-year terms…
There are some recent changes to compensation that we would like to flag for members to be aware of. Pay increases associated with the 2021-2023 Assessment process have been finalized and we understand that payments for the Progress Through the…
The CAUT Defence Fund is the national strike fund that the Faculty Association belongs to in addition to our local strike fund. The Defence Fund, which has a minimum target of $35 million, plays a major role in supporting Faculty…
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has negotiated a new online Member Travel Benefit Program with Local Hospitality Inc. which offers significant savings for members of the Faculty Association on hotels, car rentals and select entertainment events. CAUT is…
The Faculty Association office will be closing at noon on Thursday, December 21, 2023, and reopening on Monday, January 8, 2024 - resuming regular office hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We will check our emails daily on December…
Two long-standing Board of Directors and past Executive Committee members left the Board this fall. Professor John Baker (Philosophy) retired from the University and Professor Mary-Ellen Tyler (School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape) resigned from the Board. According to the…
The CAUT Defence Fund is the national strike fund that the Faculty Association belongs to in addition to our local strike fund. The Defence Fund, which has a minimum target of $35 million, plays a major role in supporting Faculty…
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'…
Dear Colleagues, I write to you today to address two important matters concerning all our members: the current state of bargaining and Bill 18. Bargaining - In Preparation As you are aware, TUCFA is currently engaged in negotiations with the…
The Faculty Association has been active in supporting our sister associations that have had to go on strike. This solidarity has included donations to striking faculty associations, as well as participation in pickets at the striking institution. Flying pickets are…
The 2022-2024 Collective Agreement includes a provision for a Gain Sharing across-the-board pay increase provided that the average of all private forecasts for Alberta's Real Gross Domestic Product is at or above 2.7 per cent for the 2023 calendar year. Unfortunately, the…
We want to remind all members in the pension plan that you have two years from the date of receiving a tenured contract to purchase prior service. It is not from your start date unless your contract was for a…
The Faculty Association has become aware of instances where the Collective Agreement articles related to "Sick Time" may not have been applied appropriately. The following information is general information intended to provide an overview of these Articles; however, if academic staff have…
According to the Faculty Association policy concerning the Assessment of Deans and equivalents, the Faculty Association surveys academic staff members at the approximate two-year point of five-year terms as well as at the renewal point. The Faculty Association has conducted…
The Faculty Association reviewed more than 60 applications for the Sessional Travel Fund for Fall 2023. This is the highest volume of applications in recent years, and the total funding requested in the Fall semester was about six times the…
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) recently shared concerns about the impact of the new research security restrictions announced by the Government of Canada this January on academic freedom and international scientific collaboration. The CAUT advised that the adoption…
The Election Committee has released the results of the election of Faculty Association Board of Directors. Election ballots were issued to 2,561 electors (1848 ongoing members and 713 sessionals) using Simply Voting on February 15th, and voting closed on March…
The Faculty Association's audited financial statements for 2022-23 were approved by the Board of Directors on December 19, 2023. The audit was executed as required by the Association's bylaws. The auditors found that there was excellent cooperation between management and…