The UBC Faculty Association is the voice of faculty on a number of important issues. To see related posts on these issues including calls for faculty input, select the relevant tag or select the search icon at the top right of this page to use the search bar. Many topics are ongoing and faculty perspectives are always welcome. If you would like to comment on any item, please send an email to [email protected].
March 29, 2016:
Please follow this link to view the notice to members with the results of this vote.
Dr. Jennifer Berdahl, one of the two UBC Vancouver faculty representatives elected to the Presidential Search Committee, has resigned. Her full resignation communication is at http://jberdahl.blogspot.ca and outlines her key reasons.
On February 3, the Faculty Association sent an open letter to the new Chair of the Board of Governors, Mr. Stuart Belkin, asking for an external review of the Board and its operations.
Members should have received a notice regarding the presentation of a petition to the UBC Faculty Association signed by over 450 faculty seeking to have a membership vote on a no confidence motion. The motion, sponsored by Jonathan Ichikawa (Philosophy), Juliet O’Brien (FHIS), and Alan Richardson (Philosophy) is as follows:
Recently, the Faculty Association surveyed the membership on their opinions about the Presidential Search Committee. We asked two questions and requested a yes or no answer. We received 885 responses from faculty members at both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. The results are listed here:
A letter from Mark Mac Lean, President
On behalf of the UBC Faculty Association Executive Committee
“This link will take you to our open letter to the new Chair of the Board of Governors, Mr. Stuart Belkin. The letter has also been copied to Premier Clark and Minister Wilkinson.
A letter from Mark Mac Lean, President, on behalf of the UBC Faculty Association Executive Committee, to Hubert Lai, University Counsel:
“The Faculty Association is taking this opportunity to comment on, and seek clarification regarding, the proposed revisions to Policy 87. In general, the Association supports the University’s efforts to provide UBC Researchers clarity regarding the conduct and administration of research funding. Robust and innovative scholarly activity, and the academic freedom upon which it rests, is best achieved through the transparent elucidation of the rights and responsibilities of both the University and faculty at this institution. Despite our general support for the spirit of most of the revisions, the Association is concerned that the proposed Policy appears to intrude on the traditional rights of Faculty Association members by adding, omitting or altering a number of provisions in the existing Policy 87. The following is not an exhaustive list of our concerns…”
To view the letter, please follow this link.
A letter from Mark Mac Lean, President
On behalf of the UBC Faculty Association Executive Committee
“It has been a while since the Faculty Association last communicated with members about the aftermath of the resignation of Dr. Arvind Gupta.
The Executive Committee of the UBC Faculty Association met with the Presidential Search Committee, at their request, on January 12, 2016. We took the opportunity to convey some of the messages you had sent us, especially, the sense of disengagement and cynicism that many of you have publicly and privately expressed,…
The University is inviting comments on Proposed Amendments to Policy 87 – Research. The Rationale is available at http://bog3.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2015/11/2.3_2015.12_Policy-87.pdf.
Please review the Proposed Amendments to Policy 87 and if you have any questions or concerns, let us know by responding to this email or sending an email to the Faculty Association at [email protected] by Wednesday, January 20, 2016 to be considered as we formulate the Association’s response. You also have the option of forwarding your questions or concerns directly to the Office of the University Counsel ([email protected]) by January 29, 2016. If you do submit a response to the University directly, please copy us ([email protected]) so that we are aware of your comments.
