Category Archives: Equity

Idle No More Vancouver w Ta’Kaiya Blaney

Posted on January 12, 2013 by | Comments Off on Idle No More Vancouver w Ta’Kaiya Blaney

Today marked a milestone for Idle No More as thousands gathered for protests, sacred drumming and fires, and speeches sustained throughout the day, across Canada.  Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, one month into a hunger strike, made a brief press statement while other First Nations chiefs led rallies or represented in a high stakes meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In Vancouver, over 500 marched and rallied in solidarity on City Hall. As if on queue, at the mid point an eagle soared overhead, suddenly the PA system was patched, and the poignant statements of speakers resonated louder throughout the park at the seat of Vancouver government.

Shortly after, Ta’Kaiya Blaney stepped up to the mic and stilled the crowd with her resolute insights on Idle No More, education, and the environment. “We were given a voice for a reason,” she began, “to speak out for those who have no voice, like the whales, the salmon.”  “We have a voice and do not be afraid to speak out for what you’re passionate about, about what concerns you” she continued. “We were given that voice for a reason, to use it, and each and every one of us here has a gift, share it.” “We are idle no more.”

At 11 years old, Ta’Kaiya has already established herself as First Nations singer-songwiter and international activist. About a year ago, at an Occupy rally, she introduced Earth Revolution and without missing a step today from her position on Idle No More she performed a heartfelt rendition of this amazing song.

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Posted in Advocacy, Diversity, Economics, Equity, Idle No More, Protests, Solidarity, Student Movement, Students

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Concordia University president’s salary raises eyebrows

Posted on November 1, 2012 by | 2 comments

Photo by Phil Carpenter, Montreal Gazette

MONTREAL (11 October 2012) — Many on the Concordia University campus are singing the praises of new president Alan Shepard — but news of his generous compensation package on Thursday still sparked some controversy.

With a base salary of $357,000 a year plus plenty of perks* — including eligibility for a performance bonus of up 20 per cent of the annual salary, a housing allowance of $4,200 a month, a monthly car allowance of $1,200 and French classes for him and his family — Shepard’s compensation once again underscores the issue that universities crying for money nevertheless seem to find the resources for highly paid administrators.

“Administrators are paid quite a bit in institutions that are struggling for money,” said Erik Chevrier, a graduate student representative on Concordia’s board of governors.

“This is a problem throughout Canada,” said Lex Gill, another board of governors representative.

Universities say they need to pay market value for good administrators.

McGill University principal Heather Munroe-Blum earned $369,250 in 2011 plus an extra $120,481 in compensation.

But university fiscal mismanagement has been a growing concern; last March, former education minister Line Beauchamp fined Concordia $2 million for unwieldy fiscal management.

Read more:
Montreal Gazette 

*Comparatively, UBC President Toope’s salary was for 2010-11 depending on which UBC report is used, $528,504 (UBC’s Financial Information Act Report for Year Ended March 31, 2011) or $378,000 +   $50,000 Incentive Plan + $58,408 Housing perks + others = $580,978 (UBC’s Public Sector Executive Compensation Report, 2011/12). For access to information across Canada, see How Much Does Your University President Make?

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Posted in Accountability, Administration, Budgets & Funding, Corporate University, Employment rights, Equity, Faculty, Organizing, Solidarity, Student Movement, Students, Unions, Working conditions

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Chan v UBC Hearing Scheduled at BC Supreme Court

Posted on October 30, 2012 by | Comments Off on Chan v UBC Hearing Scheduled at BC Supreme Court

The BC Supreme Court has scheduled a Hearing date for the Jennifer Chan v UBC and others [Beth Haverkamp, David Farrar, Jon Shapiro, Rob Tierney] racial discrimination case for Tuesday 13 November 2012 at 10am.  In January this year, BC Human Rights Tribunal decided to move the case to Hearing. In March, UBC petitioned to the BC Supreme Court for a judicial review to challenge the BCHRT’s decision. The Hearing is now in front of the BC Supreme Court and open to the public:

The Supreme Court is located at 800 Smithe Street (between Hornby and Howe).

The case involves the David Lam Chair in Multicultural Education selection process in Fall 2009. Please see the Ubyssey’s (UBC student newspaper) feature article for background to the case.

Two new, similar complaints were accepted for filing by the BCHRT:
1) by an aboriginal Law Professor at UBC alleging denial of Tenure and Promotion on the basis of race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, family status and sex.

2) by an anonymous Professor in BC alleging denial of Tenure and Promotion on a basis of her ancestry and place of origin.

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Posted in Accountability, Administration, Advocacy, BC Education, Chan Case, Equity, Ethics, Faculty, Legal issues, Working conditions

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Workplace Issue #19 Launched

Posted on May 16, 2012 by | Comments Off on Workplace Issue #19 Launched

The Institute for Critical Education Studies is pleased to announce the launch of Workplace Issue #19, “Belonging and Non-Belonging: Costs and Consequences in Academic Lives.”  The new issue is accessible at Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor.

This special issue represents powerful narrative analyses of academic lives– narratives that are sophisticated and sensitive, gut-wrenching and heart-rendering. “Belonging and Non-Belonging” was guest edited by Michelle McGinn and features a rich array of collaborative articles by Michelle, Nancy E. Fenton, Annabelle L. Grundy, Michael Manley-Casimira, and Carmen Shields.

Thank you for the continuing interest in Workplace

Institute for Critical Education Studies
https://blogs.ubc.ca/ices/

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Posted in Academic freedom, Equity, Faculty, Organizing, Working conditions

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Update on BC Human Rights Tribunal complaints against UBC

Posted on April 12, 2012 by | 1 comment

Workplace Blog has learned that in addition to Professor Jennifer Chan’s racial discrimination complaint against the University of British Columbia, there is at least one additional racial discrimination complaint against UBC lodged with the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

Wang, Tai, Wang v. The University of British Columbia, Churg, Barfoot, Wright (BCHRT Case 6120) has been scheduled for a hearing regarding BC Human Right Code Section 13 Employment – Ancestry, Colour, Mental Disability, Physical Disability, Place of Origin, Race. The complainants, who were laboratory technicians in the UBC Faculty of Medicine, filed their original complaint in 2008.

According to the BCHRT March 2012 schedule, hearing dates for Wang et al v. UBC are: August 13 to 17, 20 to 24, 27 to 31, September 10 to 14, 17 to 21, 24 to 28, 2012. Hearing dates often change at the last moment. Call the Tribunal at 604-775-2000 or toll free at 1-888-440-8844 to see if a hearing will proceed as scheduled.

Documents relevant to specific BCHRT cases (e.g., original complaints and responses) are available for public review 90 days prior to scheduled hearing date. To obtain documents call the BCHRT at 604 775-2000.

Documents related to the Wang, Tai, Wang complaint will be available May 13, 2012.

Documents related to Chan v. UBC are available now. Call BCHRT at 604 775-2000.

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Posted in Chan Case, Equity, Legal issues, Working conditions

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UBC asks BC Supreme Court to review racial discrimination complaint

Posted on April 6, 2012 by | Comments Off on UBC asks BC Supreme Court to review racial discrimination complaint

The Ubyssey: UBC asks BC Supreme Court to review racial discrimination complaint

UBC has applied to the BC Supreme Court for a judicial review of a professor’s discrimination complaint.

A BC Human Rights Tribunal (HRT) decision called for a full judicial hearing of a complaint made in May 2010 by UBC Education professor Jennifer Chan. But the university is arguing that UBC’s internal review process has already put the case to rest.

Chan alleges that she was a victim of racial discrimination when considered for one of the university’s research chairs.

Chan, who is of Chinese descent, was a finalist for the Lam Chair in Multicultural Education but was not selected. She has argued that sloppy appointment procedures allowed racial bias to creep into the process. Chan filed a human rights complaint in May 2010. Earlier this year, the HRT declined UBC’s application to dismiss the complaint.

“The university believes the BC Human Rights Tribunal made some important errors in its preliminary rulings on the case of Associate Professor Chan,” said Lucie McNeill, Director of UBC Public Affairs.

McNeill said the university disagrees with the HRT’s decision because they believe Chan’s case was dealt with by UBC’s equity procedures.

“The HRT is essentially saying [that] irrespective of the internal process we have through our equity office, that somebody is entitled to that last final appeal at the human rights tribunal,” said McNeill. “But things should only go to appeal if they’re justified to go to an appeal.”

In writing the decision, Tribunal Member Norman Trerise argued that requiring an employee to go through an internal process and then denying them the right to an appeal with the HRT “essentially pulls the rug out from under that faculty member.”

“The university believes that this case is actually not correct and that interpretations at the HRT were not proper,” said McNeil. “[The university] has a responsibility to stand up and say ‘no, we cannot let this stand as precedent.’”

In an email statement to The Ubyssey, Chan said she has exhausted her pro-bono legal support and will have to self-represent.

“UBC is further delaying the complaint process, adding legal costs and stress,” she wrote. “UBC should play fair and let the HRT hearing go ahead as scheduled with full disclosure of evidence.”

McNeill denied that the university is trying to delay the case.

“The university doesn’t want to commit more time and resources to a lengthy hearing,” she said.

“This is not about avoiding or delaying tactics or anything like that. We take complaints of discrimination very seriously.”

You may also be interested in:

Does UBC have an equity gap? A look at the independence and integrity of the Equity Office

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Posted in Chan Case, Equity, Legal issues, Working conditions

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Petrina named Expert Witness for Chan v UBC Racial Discrimination Case

Posted on March 31, 2012 by | Comments Off on Petrina named Expert Witness for Chan v UBC Racial Discrimination Case

Stephen Petrina has been named as an Expert Witness for Jennifer Chan in her racial discimination case against the University of British Columbia at the BC Human Rights Tribunal.  The BCHRT decided on 23 January 2012 to hear the Chan v UBC and others [Beth Haverkamp, David Farrar, Jon Shapiro, Rob Tierney] case and the Hearing is scheduled for: June 11 to 15, 25 to 29, and July 3 to 6 and 9 to 13, 2012

BC Human Rights Tribunal
1170 – 605 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

Chan initially filed her complaint on 10 May 2010 against the University of British Columbia, Beth Havercamp, David Farrar, Jon Shapiro, and Robert Tierney. A background to the case was recently published by the UBC student newspaper, Ubyssey, in a feature article.

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Posted in Administration, Chan Case, Employment rights, Equity, Ethics, Faculty, Human Rights

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Chan v UBC Human Rights Tribunal Hearing Schedule

Posted on March 22, 2012 by | Comments Off on Chan v UBC Human Rights Tribunal Hearing Schedule

The BC Human Rights Tribunal has scheduled Hearing dates for the Jennifer Chan v UBC racial discrimination case for: June 11 to 15, 25 to 29, and July 3 to 6 and 9 to 13, 2012

BC Human Rights Tribunal
1170 – 605 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

All are welcome to attend. For information on the case, see the recent UBC student newspaper, Ubyssey, feature article and the BCHRT for decision to hear the Chan v UBC and others [Beth Haverkamp, David Farrar, Jon Shapiro, Rob Tierney] case.

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Posted in Chan Case, Employment rights, Equity, Human Rights, Legal issues, Working conditions

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Student News on Chan v UBC Racial Discrimination Case

Posted on March 15, 2012 by | Comments Off on Student News on Chan v UBC Racial Discrimination Case

The Managing Editor for the Ubyssey, UBC’s student newspaper, reported in a feature article in this morning’s issue on the Chan v UBC and others racial discrimination case to be heard by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) this summer. Jonny Wakefield reports:

The threshold to dismiss a complaint at the BCHRT is low. Since 2006, it appears that no cases against UBC have gone to a full judicial hearing. But one professor’s complaint has survived numerous attempts by the university to have it thrown out. The hearing, scheduled this summer, will be one of the very few times that the university has had to deal with a complainant in a public forum.

That discrimination complaint came from Jennifer Chan. Chan is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education. In May 2010, she filed a complaint of racial discrimination with the BCHRT, naming the university and four employees—among them senior administrators—as respondents. Chan, who is Chinese Canadian, alleges she was not selected for a prestigious research chair in part because of her race.

That appointment was to the Lam Research Chair in Multicultural Education. Chan was shortlisted for the chair in October 2009 and when it was announced that another candidate—a white woman—was given the appointment, Chan started to make complaints about bias in the process.

In short, Chan said the search committee of five members from the Faculty of Education broke every hiring rule in the book. It failed to keep any records of its procedures, including how the search was conducted and what criteria were used to determine merit. The committee also failed to consult Chan’s references, which included former Lam Chair holders. The Ubyssey contacted Chan’s references independently and confirmed that they had not been contacted regarding her application.

“A lot of my students would ask for references for their part-time summer jobs,” she said. “This endowment chair is a very prestigious position. Why were external references not contacted? Was it because the candidate was predetermined? Or was it because of some other factor?”

One of those factors, she argues, was her race.

See Ubyssey 15 March 2012 pp. 6-7 for more, and BCHRT for decision to hear the Chan v UBC and others [Beth Haverkamp, David Farrar, Jon Shapiro, Rob Tierney] case.

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Posted in Accountability, Chan Case, Equity, Human Rights, Legal issues, Students, Tenure & Promotion

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Rights tribunal to hear UBC prof’s racial discrimination complaint

Posted on February 16, 2012 by | Comments Off on Rights tribunal to hear UBC prof’s racial discrimination complaint

Vancouver Sun: Rights tribunal to hear UBC prof’s racial discrimination complaint

The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has agreed to hear the case of a University of B.C. professor who claims she was passed over for a research chair position because of her race.

Jennifer Chan, an associate professor in the faculty of education at UBC, filed a complaint alleging that the university and four administrators discriminated against her with respect to the appointment of the David Lam Chair in Multicultural Education in 2009. UBC denies any such discrimination took place and applied to have the complaint dismissed.

In her submission, Chan argues that she was better qualified for the position than the successful applicant and points out that only one member of the selection committee was a visible minority. She also alleges systemic discrimination which she claims is evidenced by being “forgotten” in her tenure and promotion schedule and the fact that visible minorities are almost entirely absent from leadership positions. Chan, who is of Chinese descent and immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in 2001, was the only visible minority candidate to be shortlisted for the position.

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Posted in Chan Case, Equity, Human Rights

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English Professor at UMass-Dartmouth Wins Discrimination Case

Posted on June 17, 2011 by | 1 comment

Boston Globe: UMass gets $364,000 penalty in bias case

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has been fined $10,000 and ordered to pay one of its English professors $154,000 in lost wages and $200,000 in damages for emotional distress as part of a decision issued by the state’s antidiscrimination agency.

According to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, its June 1 decision in favor of LuLu Sun, associate professor of English, also includes the “unprecedented step’’ of ordering the university to promote Sun to full professor. Sun’s complaint to MCAD alleged discrimination based on her gender, race, and Chinese ancestry.

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Posted in Employment rights, Equity, Legal issues

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Judge Denies Affirmative-Action Researchers Access to California Bar Association Data

Posted on March 31, 2010 by | Comments Off on Judge Denies Affirmative-Action Researchers Access to California Bar Association Data

The Chronicle: Judge Denies Affirmative-Action Researchers Access to California Bar Association Data

A California state judge has rejected a bid by two researchers examining affirmative action to gain access to California Bar Association data on the long-term success of law-school graduates.

Judge Curtis E.A. Karnow of the California Superior Court for San Francisco County ruled last week that the state bar is not legally obliged to release the data sought by Richard H. Sander, a professor of law at the University of California at Los Angeles, and Joe Hicks, a former governor of the California state bar who is involved in a consortium of affirmative-action researchers organized by Mr. Sander. The two men were joined by the California First Amendment Coalition in their lawsuit, which seeks state-bar data on law students broken down by race and ethnicity

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Posted in Equity

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First Israeli Arab woman appointed full professor at Tel Aviv University

Posted on March 25, 2010 by | Comments Off on First Israeli Arab woman appointed full professor at Tel Aviv University

Haaretz: First Israeli Arab woman appointed full professor at Tel Aviv University

A 54-year-old education expert at Tel Aviv University has become the first Israeli Arab woman in the country to be appointed a full professor.

“It’s a real breakthrough,” Fadia Nasser-Abu Alhija said of her appointment yesterday. “First of all, I am proud of myself for this personal accomplishment. But I believe I won’t be the last – more and more Arab women are entering the higher education system in a variety of fields.”

As of 2007, there were 33 Arab full professors employed in Israeli research universities – all of them men, according to a master’s thesis written by former Open University of Israel graduate student Iris Zarini.

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Posted in Equity, Faculty

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Virginia’s public colleges and universities may be able to ban anti-gay discrimination after all

Posted on March 11, 2010 by | Comments Off on Virginia’s public colleges and universities may be able to ban anti-gay discrimination after all

Inside Higher Ed: Reversal on Anti-Gay Bias

Virginia’s public colleges and universities may be able to ban anti-gay discrimination after all.

Days after the state’s attorney general told the institutions that they couldn’t ban discrimination against gay people, the governor said they could. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s announcement came amid growing student protests about the attorney general’s policy and strong statements by some college officials that suggested they would ignore the attorney general. Both McDonnell and the attorney general, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, are Republicans.

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Business Leaders Oppose Democratization of British Universities

Posted on March 9, 2010 by | Comments Off on Business Leaders Oppose Democratization of British Universities

The Guardian: Abolish Labour target of sending 50% to university, report urges
The government’s strategy has driven down standards and devalued degrees, say graduate recruiters

The national graduate recruitment exhibition at the Barbican in London last year. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Labour’s target of getting 50% of young people to go to university has driven down standards and devalued degrees – and the next government should abolish it, leading graduate recruiters argued today.

The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), which represents 750 employers, many of them blue-chip companies, also called for a phased increase in top-up fees. It said its proposals would force higher education institutions to be more open about the job prospects their courses offered.

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Posted in Corporate University, Equity, Students

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Jury Finds Oregon Professor Suffered Bias for Not Being Fully Japanese

Posted on February 17, 2010 by | Comments Off on Jury Finds Oregon Professor Suffered Bias for Not Being Fully Japanese

Register-Guard: Bias verdict is hollow victory
A former professor who won damages from the UO says she would rather have her job back

The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Tuesday, Feb 16, 2010

A former professor who last week won a reverse race discrimination lawsuit against the University of Oregon said Monday that she feels vindicated by the federal jury’s verdict but is still paying a high price for the unfair treatment.

A U.S. District Court jury awarded Paula Rogers more than $164,000 after finding that she suffered adverse treatment and a hostile work environment in the UO’s East Asian Languages and Literatures department because she is only half Japanese. Jurors also found that Rogers suffered departmental retaliation for filing a grievance over the discrimination.

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Civil-Rights Panel Names 19 Colleges It Will Investigate for Gender Bias in Admissions

Posted on December 16, 2009 by | Comments Off on Civil-Rights Panel Names 19 Colleges It Will Investigate for Gender Bias in Admissions

The Chronicle: Civil-Rights Panel Names 19 Colleges It Will Investigate for Gender Bias in Admissions

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights today approved a list of 19 colleges and universities that it will examine for evidence of gender discrimination in undergraduate admissions.

The commission aims to find out if the institutions—a mix of public, private, religious, secular, and historically black colleges and universities—are giving admissions preferences to men as the number of female applicants rises. Title IX, the federal gender-equity law best known for opening up opportunities for women in sports, prohibits educational institutions that receive federal funds from discriminating against applicants based on gender.

The institutions to be subpoenaed are Georgetown, Howard, Johns Hopkins, Lincoln (Pa.), Shepherd, and Virginia Union Universities; Gettysburg, Goldey-Beacom, Goucher, Messiah, and Washington Colleges; the Catholic University of America; Loyola University Maryland; Shippensburg and York Universities of Pennsylvania; and the Universities of Delaware, of Maryland-Baltimore County, of Maryland-Eastern Shore, and of Richmond.

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Posted in Equity

Who’s in the know: Women surge, men sink in education’s gender gap

Posted on December 8, 2009 by | Comments Off on Who’s in the know: Women surge, men sink in education’s gender gap

Globe and Mail: Who’s in the know: Women surge, men sink in education’s gender gap
Female students are dominating campuses, a shift that will change ‘who does what.’ But leaving men behind has its costs

In a red-brick building at the University of Guelph, where veterinarians have been schooled for the better part of a century, a demographic shift is taking place that offers a window into the future of human behaviour.

In the past decade, Ontario Veterinary College has seen its student numbers turned on their head: Women account for more than 80 per cent of its students during that time, and now make up more than half of the province’s practising vets.

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Va. Military Institute faces sexism accusations

Posted on November 24, 2009 by | Comments Off on Va. Military Institute faces sexism accusations

AP: Va. Military Institute faces sexism accusations

LEXINGTON, Va. — Virginia Military Institute is defending itself against a lengthy investigation into accusations that the school’s policies are sexist and hostile toward female cadets, a dozen years after women won the right to enroll.

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Oklahoma: Quadriplegic student forced out of dorm

Posted on November 10, 2009 by | Comments Off on Oklahoma: Quadriplegic student forced out of dorm

NewsOK.com: Disability may keep ECU student from staying in dorm room

ADA — A Tupelo quadriplegic is wrangling with East Central University officials over whether he can live in the

Joshua Jackson, 35, an East Central University junior, was notified Oct. 21 he could not live in the dorms unless he hires an assistant to stay overnight. He must move out by Dec. 12 if he doesn’t have one. Campus officials say the decision is a matter of safety. Jackson says the $11,000 a year it would cost to pay for an assistant is not within his means.

Read more: http://newsok.com/disability-may-keep-ecu-student-from-staying-in-dorm-room/article/3415868?custom_click=lead_story_title#ixzz0WUK6XIaP

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