Fall 2024 Newsletter
Message from the Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs
Welcome back to campus--though I know some of you never left!
It has been a busy summer at the OVPFA. On top of the day-to-day work in our Office, we completed the collective bargaining process with the TFA. A summary of Arbitrator Kaplan’s ruling can be found on the tab to the right, under the heading “Bargaining Updates”. We have also begun a collegial round of bargaining with CUPE Unit 3, the union representing Academic Assistants on campus. This fall, we will begin bargaining with CUPE Unit 1, who represent day credit contract lecturers and CUPE Unit 2, who represent G. Raymond Chang School continuing education contract lecturers.
On August 6, we welcomed new TMU colleagues at our New Faculty Orientation. This year’s gathering included a packed agenda where we introduced new faculty to the President, the Provost, and the many peers, teams and units on campus ready to support faculty and academic staff success at TMU. New Faculty Orientation is the launchpad for a robust and integrated onboarding of new faculty and academic staff that includes a library of recordings from past webinars and a list of workshops for the coming year. Faculty and academic staff networked over a delicious meal at TRSM. If you get the chance, be sure to join Chef Tommy and our TMU students at The Met Dining Room this fall for a sample of their creations.
Members of my team have been hard at work preparing to welcome back academic leaders in our September 9 "Academic Leaders' Welcome Session". Generous colleagues from across campus shared their knowledge and insights on, among other things, university budgets, internationalization, advancement, student support and TAI. In addition to this session, members of my team have put together a list of workshops and events that we hope will assist academic leaders throughout the 2024-2025 academic year. As always, our Office is happy to hear your ideas for future workshop topics.
A big “thank you” to all the colleagues who have already partnered with our Office on faculty and academic leadership development work. Let me invite anyone interested in collaborating with us on future workshops and events to get in touch with us.
I want to also take this opportunity to remind you that if you are a member of a DEC, DHC, FTC, FPC or CLAC, my Office is holding required joint (with the TFA) training sessions. Please be sure to attend if you are on one of those committees and have not attended training in the last three years.
I know that many of you serve on committees across TMU and outside it. Thank you! Service, through committee work, is a cornerstone of collegial governance; and collegial governance sets our sector apart from others. Service and participation on committees matters! It is not only part of our duties as faculty, but it also counts when it comes to tenure and promotion. It is our time to lead and to shape decisions on leadership, curriculum, SRC, awards, policies, etc. For example, you can make a significant impact on the lives of students, faculty and contract lecturers through service work in the Academic Integrity Office (for more information reach out to Allyson Miller, the AIO director (allyson.miller@torontomu.ca). Through service, our voices are heard, our ideas are shared, networks are built, and our expertise, valued. Thank you for your time, commitment, and dedication to our students, peers, your departments and schools, faculties, communities and professions.
I wish you the very best over the coming academic year.
Patrizia Albanese
Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs
Exploring leadership at TMU
Anne-Marie Lee-Loy
Associate Professor; Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies, Faculty of Arts
Q&A with Anne-Marie Lee-Loy on her career journey at TMU, why she thinks service at the university is important and her advice for faculty looking to take on leadership roles.
Advancing thermal management with innovation and inclusion
Esa Kerme, a distinguished mechanical engineer, is among the inaugural recipients of the Postdoctoral Fellowship for Black Scholars at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). His journey through academia is marked by a commitment to research, teaching and service.
Bargaining update
1. Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association
As you are aware, the University has been in negotiations with the TFA for a renewal of our collective agreement since spring 2023. The final stage of this process was Interest Arbitration, which occurred in April 2024. We received Arbitrator Kaplan’s award on July 16, 2024, and we have been working to implement the changes since then. For the most part, there are few changes to the day-to-day operations of our Schools, Departments and Faculties, with no significant changes to processes like tenure and promotion. Some of the more relevant changes are outlined below:
- Updated titles throughout the Collective Agreement, including changing the title of ‘Chief Librarian’ to ‘Dean of Libraries’ and the title of ‘Executive Director, Student Wellbeing’ to ‘Director, Student Integrated Health and Wellbeing’;
- Confirmed that the Dean may delegate their authority to an Associate Member, as appropriate, with respect to actions they are accountable for, as long as the Dean remains accountable for any delegated decision made;
- Included language to clarify the process for interdisciplinary hires;
- Included language to clarify the process for hiring Academic Chairs (e.g., tri-agency or endowed Chairs);
- Clarified the process for interdepartmental faculty transfers and cross- appointments;
- The Faculty Course Survey was renamed the ‘Course Operations Survey.’ We also clarified that only five questions will be used to assess the ‘student experience’ and they will not be used for the purpose of evaluating teaching effectiveness in tenure and promotion;
- Extended application of Article 9 (Grievance) and Article 20 (Discipline) to Professional Counsellors;
- Confirmed that any term counsellor or librarian position that continues to be required on an ongoing basis for a period of more than three years, subject to normal budgetary approval process, shall be assimilated into the TFA career complement;
- Amended FTE workload percentage options for Midwifery faculty and confirmed that overload provisions apply to courses taught beyond their allocated FTE teaching workload;
- Associate Members of the TFA continue to be eligible for promotion for the life of this collective agreement while the joint committee on promotion continues its work.
Compensation
Kaplan’s award addressed the following items:
| 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | |
| Across the board increases | 3.5% | 3% | 3% |
| Career development increments | $3,300 | $3,350 | $3,400 |
- A lifetime maximum of $20,000 is to be provided to members for surrogate and fertility services;
- The Long-Term Disability Benefit has been amended to the lesser of $15,000/month and 80% Insured Earnings;
- Reimbursement for dental implants for retirees over the age of 65 is no longer limited to the maximum eligible expense of a denture or bridge;
- Effective July 1, 2024, eligible members will be entitled to post-retirement benefits of up to $2,000 annually;
- Effective July 1, 2024, the amount for overload teaching by TFA has been increased from $6,300 to $8,300;
- For Salary Anomalies, $100,000 per year will continue to be provided to address general anomalies, and there will be a one-time payment of $200,000 to address gender anomalies;
- Professional Development Time for Professional Counsellors will be increased from eight days to ten days.
2. CUPE Unit 3 – Throughout the summer, we have made good progress at the bargaining table with CUPE 3. Bargaining continues through collegial and respectful meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
3. CUPE Unit 1 – Bargaining to begin this Fall
4. CUPE Unit 2 – Bargaining to begin this Fall/Winter
| Date and time | Event |
|---|---|
Wednesday, September 11 |
Neurodivergent Learners: Strategies for Accessible and Attentive Teaching |
| Thursday, September 19 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. |
Industry Partnerships and Collaboration |
| Tuesday, September 24 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. |
Learn How to Use Rshare |
| Wednesday, September 25 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. |
MyServiceHub - Important Functionality for Academic Leaders |
News and updates
Three TMU professors embark on distinguished research leave
Three TMU professors embark on distinguished research leave
Professors James Nadler, Monique Tschofen and Jonghun (Jay) Park named 2024-2025 Massey College Fellows.
Resources
Inclusive excellence in academic life at TMU
Resources and tools to promote awareness, education and action in the advancement of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) in academic recruitment and evaluation at TMU.
Hiring committee resources
On a hiring committee this semester, or looking to join in the future? Take a look at our hiring committee processes and resources webpage.
Resources for new faculty and academic staff
New to TMU? Check out our new faculty and academic staff resources page for information on orientation, getting to know TMU, moving to Toronto and much more.
National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD)
(external link) Don't forget, as part of TMU's continued mission to provide diversity information and professional development, we are an institutional member of the NCFDD. To learn more and to activate your membership visit the OVPFA website.