President’s Report
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…
Member Privacy and University Resources
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…
Clarification on the Suspension of the 2021 Merit Assessment Process
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…
Role of Department Representatives
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…
Return to Campus
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.…
Faculty Association Office
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…
Results from Dean Surveys
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…
Access to Campus Resources for Sessional Instructors
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,…
Sessional Travel Fund
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…
Board of Directors and Officers for 2021-2022
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)…
President’s Report
Dear Colleagues, I know that the fall term is not beginning the way we hoped and that many remain anxious and uncertain about how it will unfold. I appreciate that many of you reached out to TUCFA over the summer…
Upcoming Federal Election
There will be a federal election on Monday, September 20th. Decades of underfunding post-secondary education has led to higher tuition, higher workloads, and less job security, inevitably resulting in increased inequity on campuses. While these issues are not new, they…
Sick-Time for Sessional Staff with COVID-19
The Faculty Association and the Governors of the University of Calgary have agreed to provide sick time to for sessional academic staff (with Fall 2021 appointments) who become ill with COVID-19. Sessional academic staff who become ill with COVID-19 will…
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
The University of Calgary has decided to close operations on September 30th, in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The Faculty Association office will also be closed for the day. There will be several activities on campus…
Member Emergency Funding
The Faculty Association provides Member Emergency Funding to help individual members under emergency circumstances due to a sudden loss or decline in remuneration from the University. Member Emergency Funding is not intended to be used in cases where normal remuneration…
Faculty Association Office
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 member contacts the Faculty Association, their…
Faculty Association Representation
The Faculty Association would like to remind its members about the right to representation under the Collective Agreement. One of the key purposes of the Faculty Association is to protect academic staff interests through its work to resolve conflicts between members…
President’s Report
Dear Colleagues, Fair Employment Week (October 18 to 22) is an opportunity to reflect on the essential role played by sessional instructors in the life of the University and, in our case, the Faculty Association. This term, there are 550…
Sick Time for Sessional Staff with COVID-19
Schedule B of the Collective Agreement has provisions for paid sick time for sessional staff. However, these provisions are limited and may not be sufficient to accommodate illness due to COVID-19. The Faculty Association and the Governors of the University…
‘In Search of Professor Precarious’ Film Streaming During Fair Employment Week
In Search of Professor Precarious is a documentary feature in which the director, a long-time precarious contract instructor, travels Canada to lift the curtain on higher education's dirty little secret. The search takes viewers into the lives of precarious contract…
CAUT Fair Employment Week Activities
Fair Employment Week (FEW) is taking place from October 18 to 22, 2021. 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…
Sessional Instructors by the Numbers
According to the list of academic staff members that the University Administration provides to the Faculty Association, there are currently 2,418 academic staff members at the University of Calgary (Datamart: September 21, 2021). Of these, 552 (23 per cent) are…
Member Emergency Funding
The Faculty Association provides Member Emergency Funding to help individual members under emergency circumstances due to a sudden loss or decline in remuneration from the University. Member Emergency Funding is not intended to be used in cases where normal remuneration…
President’s Report
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…
Pandemic Prompts Pause in Sessional Travel Grant Program
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…
UMFA Strike Ends as Members Ratify Agreement
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…
Long-Time Association Board Member Truly a Good Servant
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…
Faculty Association Dues are Tax Deductible
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.…
Faculty Association Holiday Office Closure
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…
Faculty Association Accepting Nominees for Board of Directors Positions
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…
Changes to the Board of Directors
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…
President’s Report
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…
UAPP Pension Contributions Drop
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.…
Numerous Canadian Faculty Associations Walk Off the Job in 2022
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…
Results from Dean Surveys
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…
Tenure, Promotion, Renewal, and Transfer
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…
Change in Ongoing Academic Staff
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…
Faculty Association Members Vote to Ratify New Collective Agreement
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 —…
Election Results Released for Board of Directors Members
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…
Faculty Association Officer Appointments
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…
Changes to CAUT Dues
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…