Weekly News Roundup

UNIONS | INSTITUTIONS | GOVERNMENT

A new agreement that sets the stage for a better era of labour relations has been ratified by the members of the University of Northern British Columbia Faculty Association and the University of Northern British Columbia. From your friends and colleagues at CUFA BC: congratulations to the UNBC Faculty Association and administration in achieving this historic agreement!

BC | UNBC | Tyee | My PG Now | Alaska Highway News

More support is coming for community-based, Indigenous, adult and family literacy programs that help British Columbians gain valuable skills in reading, writing, math and digital literacy.

BC | BC Gov News

More than 1,700 Indigenous people in communities throughout British Columbia will be able to access education or skills training for in-demand jobs.

BC | BC Gov News

University professor from the Island receives B.C. Good Citizenship medal

A university professor on Vancouver Island is being lauded by the B.C. government for her activism and her advocacy for heritage. Imogene Lim, a VIU anthropology teacher, has received the Province of B.C. Medal for Good Citizenship for her “outstanding service and commitment to helping others in their communities,” said the government in a press release.

BC | Comox Valley Record

IndigiNews is covering education for Indigenous students, teachers, and families

As IndigiNews’s education reporter covering Vancouver Island, follow a monthly roundup of what’s relevant to Indigenous students, teachers, parents and families.

BC | The Discourse

Catholic order gives $150K to support Indigenous nursing students at Thompson Rivers University

The nursing school of Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., has received a donation of $150,000 from the Victoria-based Catholic order the Sisters of St. Ann to support Indigenous nursing students.

BC | CBC

Laurentian University terminates federation agreements with Huntington, Thorneloe and University of Sudbury

Laurentian President Robert Haché says Laurentian has the capacity to teach all students in a more efficient manner. Thorneloe University has announced that it will apply to Court to block an attempt by Laurentian University to unilaterally terminate the 60-year old federation agreement between Thorneloe and Laurentian that was jointly entered into when the institutions were established.

ON | THE | CBC | Eduvation | HESA | Cision

Since her time as a graduate student to my present appointment as professor at Dalhousie University, Dr. Afua Cooper has been involved with championing and developing Black studies in universities and beyond.

National | The Conversation

As COVID-19 vaccinations continue across Canada and beyond, many students are hoping this will mean the summer job market will be less terrible than it was in 2020. Although the number of students hired this year has rebounded slightly, employment among young people is still far lower than it was before to the pandemic.

National | Capital Current

Should Canada cancel student debt?

The US is talking about it, students are calling for it. We take a look at the arguments.

National | The Tyee

Alex Usher explores NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s campaign promise to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student debt.

National | HESA

Germs, Gender, and the Journal

COVID-19 has occupied our collective attention for the past year and promises to continue to do so even as vaccinations get underway. As with all pandemics, its effects have been uneven: race, age, and class shape people’s vulnerability – as does gender, the issue that we, as editors of the Canadian Historical Review (CHR), are considering in this particular blog post.

National | UTP Journals

A Look at the BCcampus COVID-19 Website: A Robust Resource

As the pandemic ramped up in the spring of 2020, BCcampus conceived, created, and published an online repository for students, staff, and faculty throughout the province, offering support and resources to help with mental health concerns, financial relief, safety, personal rights, and the pivot to online learning and teaching.

BC | BCcampus

PSE Appointment Announcements – April 5, 2021

Follow the latest position appointments around post-secondary sector in Canada:
Dr. Robina Thomas (Qwul’sih’yah’maht) has been named the founding associate vice-president, Indigenous, at the University of Victoria. Dr. Aaron Devor will continue his work as the world’s first chair in transgender studies for a second five-year term. Andy Sidhu has been reappointed chancellor of the University of the Fraser Valley and began a new three-year term on April 1.

National | UA

Cleaning a college in a pandemic: ‘Without us this campus shuts down’

There’s a lot that is different this spring on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. It’s quieter, since coronavirus safety protocols restrict large gatherings, and the dorm common areas are often empty. But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: On most weekdays, you can find Lavonda Little at Reid Hall, a four-story residential building, working as a custodian, a job she’s held for the last 16 years.

International | NPR

This article maps the major changes taking place in academic work within the broader context of the neoliberalisation of universities. Recognising the great variability in the form and pace of neoliberalisation across institutions and national contexts, the article identifies a set of features and indicators to aid in the comparative assessment of the extent and effect of neoliberal processes at different institutions.

International | Sage Journal

2021 Cascadia Open Education Summit

This free digital conference explores innovation, research, and best practices in open education around the theme of “Regional influence. Global impact.” We are featuring a keynote speaker from each of our four represented regions to celebrate the achievements in open education made here on the West Coast. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect virtually with new and old colleagues, watch live and pre-recorded presentations, and learn about homegrown open education projects that could go on to change the world.

International | ePly

The professor is in: How to negotiate in a pandemic

Negotiations for academic positions are always high-stakes, given the scarcity of tenure-track jobs in many disciplines, and the fact that job offers come at the end of a long and grueling search process. But this year, negotiating a position — should you be lucky enough to get one — may feel especially fraught.

International | Chronicle

Tenure’s Broken Promise

Families send their children to college hoping they’ll be guided into the professional world. Policy makers and business leaders call for college graduates who can think across disciplines and for an education system that engages the public. But the structure and norms of the traditional tenure track encourage hyperspecialization, exclusivity, and esotericism.

International | Chronicle

A list of US colleges that will require students to be vaccinated against Covid-19

As US colleges look toward the fall-2021 semester, they’re grappling with whether to require — or just strongly encourage — students to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Here’s a list of institutions that have decided to require students to be vaccinated in order to enroll in person this fall.

International | Chronicle