Traditionally, academic unionism and collegial governance have been seen as two distinct, if not competing, approaches to power in the academy. A tendency toward increased managerialism, however, means that any such division of the academic house constitutes a weakness in our collective ability to maintain and defend the traditions and priorities of the University. The Spring 2016 edition of OCUFA’s Academic Matters was devoted to recent governance fights in Canadian universities. Several article from that issue that relate specifically to Ontario faculty associations have been linked below.
For years, TUFA has delegated one member of the Executive to serve as our Official Visitor to Senate and another to represent the Association on Faculty Board. In an effort to stimulate a conversation about governance at Trent, we invited Larry Savage, Director of the Brock University Centre for Labour Studies (and author of the third article linked below) to speak at our Fall 2015 General Membership Meeting on ways that associations like ours can reinforce the academic voice in collegial governance. Ensuring the health of shared governance at Trent will be a priority for TUFA in the coming years.
One step in this direction came earlier this year when TUFA signed a memorandum of agreement with the University that will allow faculty members and librarians to retain their formal membership status in the Association while serving on the Board of Governors.