Newsletter
DECEMBER 2004/JANUARY 2005
Volume 31.3

Tony Petric, EDITOR
in this issue:
President's Report
Bill Carment
Announcements
New Members
Letter to the Editor
Housing
2005/06 MUFA Executive
Volunteers

 

Presidents Report
[delivered at the General Meeting on January 4, 2005.]

A successful contract negotiation with the Administration is at the top of our agenda this year and I would like to thank Mike Veall for his discussion of the remuneration briefs as well as his willingness to take on the job of Remuneration Chair.  As Mike noted, the Remuneration Committee and, in turn, the Joint Committee will be meeting regularly over the next two and one half months, or until we have an agreement proposal to present to our members.

We also have the Administration’s stadium proposal on the agenda today and I have asked Liss Platt to lead a discussion of that item.  However, before introducing Liss, I would like to report on some of the other issues and activities we have been engaged in this year.

1.  Guidelines for the Appointment of Contractually Limited Appointments (CLA’s).  Last year much of our time was spent on issues related to contractually limited appointments.  The result of this activity was an agreement with the Administration relating to what are often referred to as “short term” appointments.  Ken Cruikshank, our Past President, reported on the details of the agreement in his Report to members at our Annual General meeting in May 2004, and I am pleased to add that this agreement was subsequently approved by Senate for implementation.  I would also like to acknowledge the considerable time and effort that Ken and the MUFA representatives on the CLA Committee (Les Robb, Donald Goellnicht and Marilyn Parsons) put into this project.

The Committee is now looking at issues relating to long-term appointments.  Some of the issues that the Executive has asked the Committee to consider are:

    a) A grievance procedure for contract holders whose contracts are not renewed or whose positions are suddenly abolished.

    b) Clarifying the length of contracts and, if applicable, providing longer termination notice.

    c) Providing a research component for those interested in pedagogical work.

    d) Investigating whether a teaching professorship could be converted to a tenure-track position.

    e) Encouraging the use of CAWAR, where appropriate, in the School of Nursing.

    f) Indicating that limits or targets, if any, on such appointments be at the Faculty level. I expect that we will be receiving a report from the Committee early in the new year.
 

2.  Spousal Hiring.  Last year the Joint Committee asked Senate to established a joint committee with MUFA to investigate issues related to spousal hiring.  Senate agreed to do so.  MUFA’s representatives on the Committee are Christine Wilson and Lorraine York.  The Committee did a survey of practices regarding spousal hiring in Canada and the United States, and discovered that practices varied from no policy to very detailed policies.  It then designed a policy intended to establish the spirit of what is intended without elaborating the details or mechanics.

Essentially, the proposed policy is intended to encourage spousal hiring where opportunities permit, providing that the spouse in question meets a department’s standards and that the appointment can be accommodated within the department’s academic plans.  The policy was endorsed by the MUFA Executive, with a minor wording amendment, and then sent to the Senate for approval.
 

3.  Rae Committee.  As we reported in the last Newsletter, Ken Cruikshank and I participated in the Rae Committee’s Hamilton Roundtable in October.  Of the eighty or so participants from the Hamilton area, fewer than ten were from McMaster, and of that number, the other McMaster representatives were either senior administrators or students.

As I think is well-known by now, the Rae Committee has organized its work around five themes:

 1. Accessibility
 2. Quality
 3. System Design
 4. Funding
 5. Accountability
Quality and accessibility, in particular, depend primarily on funding, and system design raises funding issues as well; hence, not surprisingly, much of the discussion at the Roundtable focused on funding.  The structure of the session involved dividing participants into ten tables of approximately eight people each, including a facilitator, with most tables comprising a cross-section of various interest groups, in the community.  My table, for example, included a member of the Hamilton Labour Council, a member of the Board of Governors at Mohawk, a representative from the Burlington Economic Development Commission, a high school councillor and a McMaster undergraduate student.  It also included Bob Rae, who sat in on our discussion.  Our table was one of two assigned the funding question, and it quickly became apparent that, within the rubric of funding, Mr. Rae’s primary concern was with mechanisms to ensure access.  That is, he took it as a given that government funding would have to increase, though by what amount was unclear.  He also stated that tuition would have to go up, but, once again, without suggesting the scale of increase needed.

Instead, he asked us to think about student assistance mechanisms to facilitate access.  A term he used repeatedly was “sticker shock” — that is, while acknowledging that tuition levels should increase, he expressed concern that graduating high school students would be discouraged from seeking post-secondary education as a result.

Though Mr. Rae is concerned about ensuring access, he also takes the position that while society as a whole benefits from a well-educated population, the main beneficiary of higher education is the student .  This premise was the basis for discussing various student funding mechanisms, including:
 

My understanding is that the Rae Committee is supposed to make its final report to the government by the end of this month or, possibly, early February.  The recommendations of its report remain to be seen, of course, but I would expect them to be dominated by Mr. Rae’s concern with student access and funding.
 

4.  Mandatory Retirement.  Another issue I would like to comment on briefly is the expected abolition of mandatory retirement.  (As Mike noted, this is an issue that the Administration would like to engage us to discuss in the current contraction negotiation process).  At the end of October, Betty Ann Levy and I attended a meeting of the OCUFA Board in Toronto.  One of the guest speakers was Kevin Flynn, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Labour.  It seemed pretty clear from his remarks that the government was well beyond the whether stage and that it was primarily a question of when mandatory retirement would be abolished.  He indicated that this spring was possible and that, when the government’s plan is implemented, it would likely be without exceptions and without legislated transitional arrangements.  Whether, and to what extent, individual institutions would be able to negotiate transitional arrangements and other details with their employee groups remains to be seen.  However, Mr. Flynn did say that the Ministry of Labour was examining the consequences of the abolition of mandatory retirement for the operation of pension and other legislation where employee age is a consideration.
 

5.  Parking.  The issue that I am contacted about most often by faculty colleagues is parking.  I wish I was able to report to you that we had secured from the Administration a commitment that it would provide low-cost parking for all of our members, with plug-ins for their block heaters, adjacent to the buildings in which they work.  Alas, that is not the case.

But let me backtrack for a moment.  Two years ago Tony Petric conducted a survey of our members to elicit their views on the supply and cost of parking.  One thing Tony discovered, and which has been reinforced through informal discussions since, is that there is a range of opinion among our members about parking on campus.  Some people feel that there should not be any cars allowed on central campus.  Others, who may already have a parking spot near their buildings, are not particularly concerned about parking.  And then there are those people whom I hear from most often — typically newer faculty, or their advocates, who may be on waiting lists for Lots 2 or 3, but whose prospects of getting a spot in those lots seems to diminish from year to year.  A fifteen-minute walk or combination of walk and shuttle bus ride may not be the end of the world, but I can understand why someone, after being attracted to McMaster by the prospect of a good working environment, is constantly frustrated by the act of trying to get to work.

Two years ago, after Tony had conducted his survey, we talked to the Administration about our findings. They were, I think it is fair to say, cool to the idea of responding directly to our members’ concerns.  However, this year we approached them again.  I spoke with both Peter George and Ken Norrie and we also raised the issue of parking in the Joint Committee.  We received an empathetic, if not conclusive, response.  In particular, we were told that the University has rented additional surface parking across Main Street on what is referred to as the Henkel property.  The Administration has also indicated that it will revisit an earlier plan, later suspended, to build a parking structure on campus and to search actively for other means of relieving pressure on campus parking and/or rationalizing the use of existing space.  Karen Belaire has further committed to investigate concerns about the operation and user-friendliness of the Parking and Transit Services Office.  Liss will likely have more to say about one aspect of the parking issue in her discussion of the stadium proposal.
 

6.  Principles Governing Contractually Limited Appointments for Librarians.  In September a committee comprising Nora Gaskin, Barb McDonald and Mike Veall presented their draft report on Principles Governing Contractually Limited Appointments for Librarians.  This policy is modeled on the faculty policy using a term (four months) rather than a year as the time frame.  The policy has been distributed to librarians and, once a final document has been approved by them, it will go to the Library Negotiation Committee, and then back to the MUFA Executive for endorsement.
 

7.  Social Activities

a.  New Faculty Luncheons.  We are continuing the tradition, started two years ago, of inviting new faculty appointees to lunch at the University Club.  A couple of times a month, two members of the Executive take a group of five or six new faculty members to lunch.  Apart from being an opportunity to get to know each other, it gives us a forum to learn about the concerns of new colleagues and to address any questions they may have.  It also gives us an opportunity to introduce them to the Faculty Association and to encourage them to get involved, not only in the activities of the Association, but also in University discourse generally.

b.  Retirees Luncheon.  In November, we co-sponsored, with the President’s Office, the annual Retirees Luncheon.  The turnout was excellent with Convocation Hall filled to capacity.  It was an opportunity for former colleagues to meet and chat with each other, and all in attendance appeared to enjoy themselves.
 

8.  MUFA Awards.  You will be receiving a letter about this in a day or two, but I will briefly mention the annual Faculty/Librarian Awards for Outstanding Service, which will be presented at a special reception in the spring.  I would ask you to consider nominating a faculty member or a professional librarian who you believe has made an outstanding contribution to the University.  We are interested in those people who have made a difference by providing excellent service to faculty, librarians, staff, students or alumni.

Nominating a colleague for these awards is relatively straightforward.  We ask that the nominator write a supporting narrative of not more that 750 words, indicating why the candidate deserves the award.  In addition, the nominator should attach, or arrange to send, between two and four other reference letters of not more than 500 words each in support of the candidate.  Nominations should be e-mailed (mufa@mcmaster.ca) or mailed to MUFA (Hamilton Hall 103A) no later than Friday, March 4, 2005.  Please ensure that the position and contact information for the nominator and all referees is clearly indicated.

The Awards Committee, composed of representatives of faculty, librarians, students, staff and alumni, will be asked to consider how much the nominated candidate has contributed to the life of the University, enhanced its reputation, provided excellent service, and demonstrated innovation.  Consideration will be given to the breadth and depth of the candidate’s impact on the University and the strength of support expressed in the nominating and reference letters.  The full Terms of Reference for the award is on the MUFA website (www.mcmaster.ca/mufa/award.html).

Please take a moment to consider whether one of your colleagues is deserving of a MUFA Award for Outstanding Service.  If you believe so, please show your support for them by writing a nominating letter and arranging for reference letters to be sent, in order to ensure that they will be considered for one of these awards.
 

9.  Conclusion.  I would like to close by acknowledging the other members of the Executive and their dedication and enthusiasm.  Over the summer and fall their support and commitment was indispensable, and I look forward to working with them for the rest of the year.  In addition, on their behalf, as well as my own, I would like to acknowledge and thank Phyllis and Kelly, whose knowledge and experience is invaluable to our Association.  They are also a lot of fun to work with.  To all of you, my sincere thanks and appreciation.

 Trevor Chamberlain


     Bill Carment     
Professor Emeritus
Psychology
November 18, 2004














































































 

 The following tribute is adapted from remarks made at a memorial gathering, held in the University Club on November 30, 2004.
 

Bill’s passing has caused me to think back some 40 years to when I first came to McMaster and began to know the small band that founded the Psychology Department.  Just to recite their names reminds us of how much we have lost.  Lynn Newbigging, Abe Black, Woody Heron, and Bill Carment (who joined the Department in 1957 after completing his PhD at Toronto) — all now with us only in memory.  And there was Leo Kamin, Rolfe Morrison, and Eleanor Wardwell — still living but of course no longer in the Department.  They were a close knit group, hard working, and ambitious to make a name for McMaster’s Department of Psychology.  They also liked to party.

When I first flew to Hamilton to see about setting up a lab in one of the temporary buildings, Bill and the others met me at the Royal Connaught.  They figured that I might be suffering some second thoughts about uprooting my family and bringing them to Canada from the US, and leaving the Bell Labs for a small department and university, not yet famous.  That was a really friendly thing to do and typical of Bill, as well as the others.  I never looked back.

Over the years our partying became — how shall I say it — less extreme, as was after all appropriate to middle aged folks.  Socializing continued to be a satisfying part of our life in this community, and Bill and Eleanor were an important part of that life.  They were generous, even creative, hosts.  We looked forward to the annual croquet tournament, to New Year’s Eve parties, and to many other happy times at their warm and friendly house in Dundas.

I want to tell you of another incident which also speaks to their kindness.  My son Phil, just out of high school, travelled with his best friend Paul Montaux, to Thailand to work for a year on a CUSO project.  On a train somewhere in India, they fell asleep, and Paul’s passport was stolen.  Bill and Eleanor were in New Delhi then where Bill was on leave and head of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute.  Eleanor had given Phil their address, and that is where they headed.  Weary and distraught when they arrived, they were taken in, fed, entertained, and shown around the city.  By working his connections at the US Embassy, Bill managed to get Paul a replacement passport in a matter of days — a remarkable feat.  The kids journeyed on to Thailand restored.

Bill rescued me from my addiction to smoking.  For many years I had an entirely one-sided contract with Lynn Newbigging — if I smoked, I would pay him an absurdly large sum.  The trouble was that the contract expired and was renewed annually.  When it expired, I would go to Lynn and Anne’s house, smoke up a storm, drink his scotch and get re-addicted.  Moreover, Lynn was always good for a dispensation on special occasions, and such special occasions became more and more frequent.  Bill was of sterner stuff and I turned to him for a new contract, the terms of which he dictated and which I honour as being valid in perpetuity.

Bill knew a lot about how things worked — plants, bugs, birds and other creatures.  He could take things apart and put them back together again — from VW engines to computers.  He took to computers early and helped the rest of us figure out why ours didn’t work.

Bill had a delightful, dry, sense of humour.  I remember laughing hard at his historical tour of psychology in Canada, beginning on the west coast, working his way east, with asides on different groups and specialities.

Bill took undergraduate teaching seriously.  He gave lively, well planned lectures, and was appreciated by his students.  As well, he was a friend and wise tutor to graduate students.  In his later years, he served as Director of the Continuing Education Program where he inspired loyalty from his staff, and did a fine job.  

He was always a strong advocate for faculty rights: he served on the Executive of the Faculty Association and as its President in 1969/70 and he was also one of the founding directors of the former Faculty Club housed in this building.   I have to say, however, that he would not have made a great politician.  He said what he thought rather than what would please.  An example I have trouble forgetting was that he told me (after a decent interval) that my job talk was lousy.  That stung a bit because I knew it was true.  On the other hand, he didn’t say that it was a mistake to hire me, and I took that as high praise.

Bill was a realist and a sceptic.  He knew social psychology in depth, but he did not overestimate what it can tell us about the human condition.  Still, he believed in its value and continued to contribute long after retirement.  With his friends and co-authors, Jim Alcock and Stan Sadava, he wrote an excellent, scholarly text in social psychology which has gone through many editions.  His interest in cross-cultural studies made him an early and life-long supporter of the activities of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and at different times he served as Director and President of this organization.

As the progressive lung disease that eventually took his life advanced, he still came, despite the struggle, to the Faculty Club to meet his friends.  He took his accustomed place, back to the window, where he could survey the scene.  He was reluctant to say much about his condition, and he never complained about the hand he had been dealt.  He faced the end with composure and bravery.

McMaster, the Psychology Department, and his many friends, were an important part of Bill’s life.  And he in turn has been an important part of this University, of the Department, and the lives of all who knew him.  He was an anchor against changing winds and tides.

My heart goes out to Eleanor and to his children.  I hope you can take solace in the sure knowledge that he was loved and admired by so many and touched our lives for the better.

 Herb Jenkins        
 Professor Emeritus, Psychology        

 


 

More Committee Appointments
Many thanks to the following individuals who have volunteered to serve the Association.  Kim Jones (Chemical Engineering) and Natalia Nikolova (Electrical & Computer Engineering) have agreed to represent their departments on the MUFA Council.
32nd Annual OCUFA Teaching Awards and Academic Librarianship Award for 2004

PROGRAM
Each year OCUFA recognizes outstanding teachers and an academic librarian in Ontario universities through its Teaching and Academic Librarianship Awards.

NOMINATIONS
Nominations are invited from individuals, informal groups of faculty or students, or both, and such organizations as local faculty associations, faculty or college councils, university committees concerned with teaching and learning, librarians, local student councils, departments, alumni, etc.

Guidelines to assist in organizing a nomination should be consulted by prospective nominators and are available from the MUFA Office or on the OCUFA web site:

 www.ocufa.on.ca./awards

PROCEDURE
Deadline for receipt of nominations: February 25, 2005

The original and six copies of the submission should be sent to:

OCUFA Teaching and Academic
     Librarianship Awards Committee
83 Yonge Street, Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1S8
High Adventure for Educators

Footprints Tours has a trip to East Africa in August 2005 to fit the schedule of educators.  The focus of this ambitious trip is to hike up Africa’s two highest mountains, Mt. Kenya (4,985m) and Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,896m).  Included in this 20-day  trip will be a visit to the chimpanzee sanctuary and Morani, the “tame rhino” at the Sweetwaters Game Reserve.  Contemplation of Mt. Kilimanjaro will be afforded while viewing the large herds of elephants in Amboselli Game Reserve.  The trip will wind up with a day at Ngorogoro Crater, the world’s largest volcanic crater and home to one of the greatest concentrations of Africa’s animals.  Both Mt. Kenya and Amboselli are world biospheres.  Those wishing a different itinerary for the same period please inquire.  For further information, see www.footprintstours.com or call 905-523-0280.
 


New Members

    Jeannie An
   Tina Fetner
   Krista Godfrey
   Horng-Tzu Hao
   Waliul Khan
   Marcia Salmon		     Innis Library
   Sociology
   Mills Library
   Business
   Medicine
   Mills Library		    Ruth Schofield
  John Siam
  Martin Stampfli
  Tamas Terlaky
  Bruce Wainman
 		    Nursing
  Trading Centre
  Pathology & Molecular Med
  Computing & Software
  Midwifery Programme
 
 
   
 

Letter to the Editor
Dr. Petric raised some questions in the last MUFA newsletter regarding the stadium project.   While discussion and debate is normal and welcome, it is important to clarify some points that he raises.

It is inaccurate to state that “plans for the sportsplex expansion were announced last month.”  Plans for the expansion of our athletics facilities, including the stadium project, followed the normal committee and Board approval process that was in place for all University projects.  Components of the approval process included the following:

1. July, 2001:  The Planning and Building Committee approved the construction of Phase 1 of the Athletics and Recreation facility project (the multi-sport complex). The stadium project was approved contingent on the success of the fundraising campaign to finance its construction.

2. August, 2001: The Executive Committee of the Board approved both components of the Planning and Building recommendation.

3. September, 2003:  The Executive Committee approved the collection of the student building fee that will raise $20 million for the multi-sport complex. 4. December, 2003:  The Finance Committee and the Board of Governors approved that preliminary design and a cost estimate for the stadium could be developed and that plans to obtain a lead-donor gift could move forward.

The location of the athletics expansion was also raised by Dr. Petric.  Plans for a stadium and a sports complex and their location in the north part of campus were approved through the development of the Campus Plan.  The Campus Plan underwent extensive consultation both on and off campus and was approved by the University Senate and the Board of Governors in 2002.

McMaster’s core mission is education and research.  Integral to the University’s mission is developing a campus that reflects all aspects of the university experience.  Seventy percent of our students use our athletics facilities but we have not made any significant investment in these facilities in more than 30 years.   Doing so now is an important step forward for the University, particularly for students, and for the communities we serve.

A campus open house is planned for January to provide more information and an opportunity to discuss the project’s features and timelines.

 Ken Norrie

House Swap
Australia, Sydney region.  Australian academic couple planning sabbatical in Canada seeking house and car swap for 2 months or more during period May to August 2005.  Please contact Professor Bob Hunt, rhunt@work.gsm.mq.edu.au
 



2005/2006 Executive

If you are interested in serving on the Faculty Association Executive or know of someone who would make an excellent candidate, please contact us:  Hamilton Hall 103A;  Ext. 24682;  mufa@ mcmaster.ca). DEADLINE — FEBRUARY 15, 2003.

olunteers Needed!

A voluntary organization such as the McMaster University Faculty Association can succeed in serving the interests of its membership only to the extent that the members participate in formulating and executing policy.  At any given time,  approximately two dozen individuals carry the burden for all of the members and after a few years most of them are exhausted by the tasks which they have voluntarily borne.  Their valuable experience and wisdom is then lost to us.  The best way to lessen this attrition of talent is for more of the membership to give some time and effort to the Association.  If you are not interested in putting your name forward for the Executive Committee, please use the form below to let us know if you would like to participate in MUFA’s efforts by serving on one of the following  committees.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I am interested in working more closely with the Faculty Association.  My interests are:
 

MUFA Council ___ Pension ___
Academic Affairs ___ Public Relations ___
Human Rights ___ Remunerations ___
Library ___ Grievances ___
Membership ___ Tenure ___
Ad Hoc Committees ___ Special Assignment ___

Are there other areas where the Faculty Association might be useful to its  members?

_____________________________________________________________________



NAME____________________________________________ 		 EXTENSION______________________
DEPARTMENT____________________________________  E-MAIL___________________________
Return form to McMaster University Faculty Association, HH 103A
 

January 13, 2005
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