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September 8, 2009
Public Health Response Committee
Mount Royal's Public Health Response Committee has been working for some time on a preparedness plan for a flu pandemic. Wellness Services provides information on flu risks and prevention strategies through their website at: http://www.mtroyal.ca/Wellness/podcast/video/wellnessPodCAST_09-06-04.shtml
Given the recent concerns about the global H1N1 flu outbreak, the Public Health Response Committee is looking to increase awareness in the campus community regarding the upcoming flu season. Among the considerations, young adults are reportedly more susceptible to the H1N1 virus than to other flu strains and this creates increased risks among post-secondary age students. This leads to a concern that flu season this year may put considerable pressure on Mount Royal's Health Services. One of their recommendations is that those who are ill contact Health Link to help determine whether a doctor's visit, isolation, or time away from work is appropriate, since unnecessary visits create opportunities for transmission.
In particular, Health Services has asked that faculty be mindful and flexible in their requirements for documentation of flu-related absences, missed classroom assessments, or late assignments, especially as indicators of higher infection rates appear. (Doctors will not issue notes without seeing the patient, but visits only for the purpose of documentation do put pressure on the system.) Health Services is in turn sensitive to the need to maintain appropriate academic standards and rigour.
Thanks for your consideration,
Francesca Mancini,
Wellness Services Administrator
and
David Hyttenrauch,
President, MRFA
MRFA President's Report
September 2009
Welcome to our first semester as Mount Royal University. While in many ways not much changes on the program and teaching side, the faculty environment is still undergoing some radical shifts. This year marks the official launch of the TS and TSS faculty work patterns, new annual reporting and post-tenure review processes, academic rank and promotion, and a revised tenure system. The tenure system alone extends the probationary period, allows larger departments to use an elected Tenure and Promotion Committee, and envisions new criteria based on the changing cope of faculty roles and responsibilities. This is the second year for General Faculties Council, our academic governing body with a substantial faculty majority; our goal must be to make that an effective forum for conducting academic debate and making academic decisions.
The current priorities for the MRFA's Executive Board are to support the implementation of the many changes to our Collective Agreement, to identify what kinds of professional resources faculty will need over this year, to share our expertise with departments and administration, and to sustain the collegial culture of our Association with existing and new faculty. For example, we will be taking the lead role in developing the curriculum for (and delivering) new mandatory workshops on tenure processes. While the Faculty Recruitment and Retention Task Force is compleing its work, I will be Co-Chair with Robin Fisher, Provost and Vice-President Academic, of a new part-time issues working group which will be advisory to various internal bodies including negotiations. Gerry Cross, our First Vice-President, is heavily involved in Agreement implementation issues, but it is also a negotiating year (with this revised agreement expiring in June), so he and the Negotiating Committee will be engaged in wide consultations over the year. Qasim Syed, our Second Vice-President, continues to lead the Professional Affairs Committee in addressing emerging faculty needs. As an Executive, we continue to navigate various faculty conflicts, Collective Agreement interpretation issues including grievances, and the sometimes difficult relationships with both ACIFA (our provincial body of college faculty assocaitions) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers. We are also looking at succession planning, both within the MRFA and in the University (where several Deans are in the penultimate years of their terms.) We also expect to carry out a thorough review of the MRFA budget and service priorities this year.
Last week we hosted a successful committee hand-off event giving outgoing and incoming MRFA committee members an opportunity to share perspectives and understand the ongoing business each committee deals with. As always, I'm very grateful for the dedicated service colleagues provide for the betterment of our Association and institution. Beyond the MRFA, this looks to be a challenging year for the Faculty Councils, General Faculties Council, and the Appointments, Promotion and Tenure Committee. Thank you, truly, for everything you all do to make Mount Royal a warm and exciting place to work.
David
Dr. David Hyttenrauch
President
Mount Royal Faculty Association
Ph. (403) 440-6191
Fax (403) 440-6752
Cell (403) 827-6732 (TAP-MRFA)
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