Faculty Recommendations

Goal

Over the next five years, Toronto Metropolitan University will strive to increase the number of Black tenure stream faculty from three per cent to eight per cent of the total number of Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association (TFA) tenure stream faculty.

Implementation steps and actions 

• Broaden recruitment and marketing strategies to intentionally target Black faculty.
• Improve Black faculty applicant pool by building the capacities of Black students in graduate and postdoctoral programs to become qualified applicants.
• Support newly hired Black faculty to flourish and succeed in the university setting. 
• Hire Black faculty to fill replacement positions at a variety of ranks, including  full professor.

Progress to date

• With the implementation of the Faculty Applicant Diversity Self-ID, training on equity, diversity, inclusion and access in the faculty recruitment process, and the focused language for recruitment ads, Departmental Hiring Committee members are  being trained to use the Faculty Applicant Diversity Self-ID to monitor and report on the hiring of Black faculty.
• Department Hiring Committees are being supported in their use of targeted recruitment language for their faculty ads to address their program-level needs which has resulted in more departments showing a commitment to hiring Black faculty. Enhancements to our faculty recruitment portal are underway to further support this work and enable stronger tracking and monitoring of data.
• A four-part training series on equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in the recruitment, retention and promotion process has been developed and rolled out by the Office of the Vice Provost Faculty Affairs. 70 faculty members have participated in the training to date and it remains available for any TFA faculty members and interested contract lecturers. For more information including access to the recordings and presentation materials visit Inclusive Excellence in Academic Life at TMU. 
• The Postdoctoral Fellowships for Black Scholars program was launched. The posting is now closed, with over fifty scholars who submitted letters of interest. Four post doc fellows were selected to begin their two-year terms at TMU in the fall of 2023.

Goals

Within the next five years, the university will enhance the production and representation of Black scholarship in curricula/pedagogy, scholarly, research and creative (SRC) activities, and through other innovative initiatives and collaborations within the university as well as across local and international networks/partnerships.

Implementation steps and actions

• Conduct an environmental scan to see what programs exist in Black studies across the university and in other academic institutions and the specific focus of these programs.
• Support cross-departmental collaboration of Black Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3904 contract lecturers and TFA faculty to develop Black studies courses.
• Provide internal grants for faculty to develop new courses, certificates and/or programs and/or infuse critical anti-Black racism content into existing curricula.
• Support the development of an anti-Black racism courses through consultation with Black scholars and Black community members.

Progress to date

• A new elective course in anti-Black racism entitled Roots and Resistance to Anti-Black Racism: Social Theory and Practice will be available to TMU undergraduate students in September 2023. The course provides students the opportunity to examine historical and contemporary resistance movements, through topics and experiences of anti-Black racism in our society. The course was developed by a faculty member from the School of Child and Youth Care (CYC) in the Faculty of Community Services. 

• The inaugural interim director of the Black Studies Institute* has been hired for a two-year term starting in May 2023. This interdisciplinary, university-wide initiative will be housed in the Faculty of Community Services (FCS).
• The Special Advisor to the President, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonisation - Curricular Transformation is situated within the OVPECI. While the specific focus of this role is on mandatory learning opportunities about Indigenous history and Indigenous and colonial relations for all students as recommended by the Standing Strong Task Force, opportunities for broader discussion and consideration of content related to Black histories have and will continue to be offered.

Goal

Within three years, increase opportunities that support the engagement and recognition of CUPE contract lecturers across the university.

Implementation steps and actions

• Increase engagement of CUPE contract lecturers.
• Create a structure of support for CUPE contract lecturers.
• Increase recognition and pathways for CUPE contract lecturers.

• In collaboration with the OVPFA, training programs and materials for hiring committees will be reviewed. Resources to support CUPE contract lecturers applying for TFA positions will be explored. Resources could include differentiation between CUPE and TFA collective agreements, training around intentional hiring practices, and supporting the professional development of hires.