January 1, 2009

 

I hope the New Year and the new semester are engaging and fulfilling. Fall 2008 was a time of so many changes and new initiatives at Mount Royal: many new degree programs, the General Faculties Council, the General Education curriculum and new teaching arrangements, new institutional and MRFA committees, interim implementation of the List S scholarship workload mechanism, and the reopening of the Collective Agreement to begin considering issues around academic rank, promotion and tenure. We added over 40 new full-time faculty and many part-time faculty to accommodate these initiatives.

 

The MRFA Executive met yesterday with President Dave Marshall and discussed the current external and internal environment. We heard that the provincial government agreed in December to provide planning money for a new library, which should be seen as a commitment to build it once the preparatory work is completed. We also discussed the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada site visit at the end of January - a critical moment in our journey, since membership will not only raise our profile nationally but also offer our graduates much more mobility. As part of our commitment to faculty welfare, Exec offered necessary critiques of some institutional processes and offered constructive solutions. I hear so often that our collegial culture is a treasure, and I’m grateful to everyone who participates in it and particularly to the Executive Board for their commitment to addressing injustices, reducing friction, and improving our collective environment.

 

Rod Corbett and the Communications Committee, along with our Executive Assistant Chantelle Anderson, continue to enhance the MRFA website. Within the next week we’ll be publishing a new update to our MRFA-At-A-Glance document along with an MRFA Policy Manual, both outlining supports for faculty. Among the many services we provide through the Association, I’d particularly like to remind everyone of the MRFA Compassionate Fund, designed to provide emergency assistance to faculty in unexpected need.

 

Please feel free to get in touch with any of your concerns or questions.