The FAUW board gathered on June 21 for a special lunch meeting to acknowledge the service of those members who are finishing their terms and to welcome new representatives before breaking for the summer.
Of special note is that Sally Gunz, long-time board member and past FAUW president, is ending her term and embarking on a well-deserved sabbatical. Sally provided inspired leadership for FAUW over many years and was always ready with a witty anecdote, sage advice, or occasional salty barb. We also noted the departure of three fine board members, Craig Hardiman (Arts), Peter Johnson (Environment and scribe of these summaries though not these particular compliments!) and Heather Mair (AHS). They have all contributed much to FAUW and we hope to retain close links with them. We are very grateful for all their work.
We look forward to working with your new Board members, Daniel Cockayne (Geography), Clark Dickerson (Kinesiology), and Alice Kuzniar (Germanic and Slavic Studies), when meetings start up again in September.
Responding to member requests from the recent Spring AGM, treasurer Dan Brown brought forth some initial scoping of a change to the way that FAUW dues are calculated. Currently, they are based on the average salary of each rank, which is not a typical practice at other universities. We will be proposing to switch to the more common—and more equitable—practice of calculating dues based based on members’ actual (base) salaries. This will be put to the membership for approval, likely in the fall.
FAUW President Bryan Tolson presented an update of FAUW’s GoFundMe campaign to raise money to support multiculturalism on campus. Fundraising has now closed at $13,329, and FAUW will distribute funds to three recipients:
- Shatitsirótha’, the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre;
- the Collective Movement Award, a scholarship for UW students who volunteer and contribute to the school’s black, African and Caribbean communities, on behalf of UWBASE (Black Association for Student Expression); and
- the Federation of Students’ International and Canadian Student Network.
Further FAUW business included updates on university policies currently under review, discussion on how to support faculty with recent FPER claims that have been rejected on grounds that contravene the Memorandum of Agreement, and ways to support cycling on campus—specifically, addressing the lack of secure bicycle parking.
For information: We are pleased to share that the Centre for Career Action is developing a pilot program to support faculty spouses in their (non-academic) career development.
Upcoming FAUW events include a new faculty social on July 10, 2:30–4:00 pm at the grad house. If you are new (or even new-ish), please come out to have a drink and snacks and to chat about working at Waterloo.
In closing, I would like to leave a note of thanks to the entire FAUW Board and staff for being an exceptionally open and collegial group to work with. My two years of service to this organization have been a pleasure. I wish you all a relaxing, safe, and enjoyable summer.
The FAUW Blog 