Exclusion of Teaching Stream Faculty from Academic Leadership Roles
As communicated to Council this spring and explained in more detail in UTFA’s communication directly to Teaching Stream colleagues on March 21, 2024, UTFA filed an Association Grievance challenging the Administration’s exclusion of Teaching Stream faculty from certain academic leadership roles (including Chairs of departments and Directors of centres and institutes).
Despite UTFA’s arguments that the Administration was clearly misinterpreting the plain wording of policy when it excluded Teaching Stream faculty from consideration, the Administration held firm to its position and denied this Grievance outright on March 25, 2024. UTFA has since referred this to the Grievance Review Panel for a final determination, and expects the case to be heard sometime in 2025.
Meanwhile, in its denial of a separate, individual grievance that raised the same issue, the Administration appeared to modify its position somewhat. This time, the Administration stated that, although Teaching Stream faculty members are unlikely to be appointed to some roles where a key portion of the role is focused on leadership in research, all applicants meeting the requirements of an academic administrative position will receive consideration, regardless of appointment type.
In light of the fluctuating positions the Administration has taken on this issue, and pending the final resolution of these grievances, UTFA encourages Teaching Stream faculty members who wish to apply for academic administrative positions—and believe that they meet the requirements of those positions—to apply for such positions and/or contact UTFA for further information and advice.
UTFA will continue to pursue this important issue on behalf of our Teaching Stream colleagues until the matter is resolved.
Respectfully,
Sherri Helwig, Vice-President, Grievances
Terezia Zorić, President