Newsletter
McMaster University Faculty Association
SEPTEMBER 2005, Volume 32.1 
Ian Bruce, EDITOR
in this issue:
President's Report
General Announcements
Committees 2005/06
New & Retiring Member
Gerry Keech
MACGreen
Travel Information
Housing
Faculty Salary Statistics

 

President's Report
The Year Ahead

I love September! Suddenly the temperature is lovely, everything is green and best of all the happy buzz of student life is all around us again.  I think the greatest personal benefit of being a professor is the constant rebirth: every year, come September, we have a new crop of teenagers; no wonder many of us fail to see that we are aging: the students don’t! Life on campus is forever young.  Welcome to a new year in our world; make the most of it.

Every year in September, the Association’s President updates the membership on what’s happened over the summer and what he or she sees as the issues of importance for the Association over the fall and winter terms.  We are going to have an interesting year!
 

President's Third Term
On behalf of all of us, I want to congratulate Peter George on beginning his third term as our leader.  McMaster’s successes over the past year have been unprecedented.  Our reputation for research excellence and innovation was clearly recognized when we were named Research University of the Year.  We even went up a bit in the dreaded Maclean’s rankings! The year was filled with announcements of large research awards to our faculty and millions of dollars donated to McMaster to implement our visions.  This only happens when the President offers the leadership to make the team work well together.  The faculty at McMaster are an important part of Peter’s team, and his efforts in fostering the open and collegial relationships we enjoy here are greatly appreciated.  We wish him well in steering us to even greater successes over his next term as President.
 

Campus Parking
Well, it’s been a lively summer on this front.  Over the summer the Association’s phone and your President’s e-mail have received many an irate message regarding parking on campus.  The new construction in the central campus led to the closure of a larger number of parking spots in Zone 1 than had been expected.  Faculty members who had parked there for several years were quite suddenly ask to enjoy the walk or shuttle ride from Zone 6.  Not everyone enjoyed this new wellness program! Your Association has been involved in meetings and discussions on how to handle this crisis.  A substantial number of our members would prefer to have a car-less campus and would prefer to see all parking spots disappear.  About an equal number feel strongly that they must have quick and easy access to their cars for health reasons or for work and family obligations that take them on and off campus throughout the day.  This is not an easy issue.  I can assure you that the Parking Office, Human Resources, and Karen Belaire have worked hard to meet the needs of as many faculty members as possible.  There is now recognition that our parking priorities policy must be re-examined.  That will happen over the coming year.  The plan to build a parking garage will also be resurrected and given new consideration and study.  The parking issue is now front and centre.  The solutions will not come quickly.  Our patience will continue to be taxed, but the planning process has been given a boost by the faculty outrage expressed this summer.  The Association will continue to be involved with this issue over the coming year.
 

Spousal Hiring
I want to remind all departments that the spousal hiring policy is now in place.  This policy may help us with the recruitment and retention of academic couples.  The policy accelerates the process for hiring when a suitable position for a spouse is available on campus.
 

Day Care
At the spring meeting of CAUT, members were advised to consider adding day care needs to their considerations of working conditions when contracts are being renewed.  These needs are important for recruitment and retention of young faculty members.  Although we have an excellent on-campus day care at McMaster, there is no policy that provides preferential placements for children of staff and faculty.  There is also no infant care and no evening care.  Some universities consider these to be particularly important for young faculty members.  During my meetings with the Provost and the President since May, these matters have been discussed.  There is agreement that we should pursue ways to improve the day care situation on our campus.  I am working with some child development researchers on this matter.  I would love to have input from any faculty member interested in this issue.  Please e-mail me and we’ll meet to talk about your views and needs.
 

Joint Committee
Last year we negotiated a new one-year contract that now expires on June 30, 2006.  This means that we are again in a negotiating year.  The Joint Committee for this year is now in place: for the Administration, the team consists of Ken Norris, Provost; Karen Belaire, VP Administration; and Susan Denburg, Associate VP (Academic), Health Sciences.  The Association’s team is led by Mike Veall , our Remuneration Chair, along with me as President and  Ian Hambleton, our Vice President.  Mike Veall did a wonderful job leading our negotiations last year and I am very grateful to him for assuming this responsibility again this year.  Last year the negotiations were held at a time when the contents of the Rae Report were rumoured but not confirmed.  The government’s response to the Rae Report was difficult to predict.  Both sides of the negotiation table thought it prudent to make a short-term  agreement  until  the  situation  became clearer.

This year, the atmosphere is much different.  Dr. Rae supported the needs of the universities and the government brought money to the table.  Over the next 5 years, government funding will increase by $1.2 billion; this is front-end loaded.  At the spring meeting of OCUFA, it was estimated that about $282 million in additional funding will be given to Ontario’s universities in the coming year.  We don’t know what McMaster’s share will be.  Performance accountability is an important part of this increased funding.  Although McMaster favours ‘quality’ indices, faculty/ student ratio has been raised in this context.  The Association awaits news on how these increased funds will affect our operations.  Needless to say, your representatives on the Joint Committee will be working for improvements in salary, benefits and working conditions.

Over the summer, two committees met to study and advise the Joint Committee on issues related to our post-retirement pensions and benefits package and to the abolition of mandatory retirement.  Input from these deliberations will be considered during our negotiations this year.
 

Mandatory Retirement
In the spring, legislation was tabled regarding the abolition of mandatory retirement.  This legislation is not likely to come into effect until late in 2006 or early 2007.  Consequently, faculty members with retirement dates prior to this will still be subject to mandatory retirement.  Last year, McMaster took the position that we would follow the dates required by the legislation,   rather   than  follow   the   University  of Toronto in ending mandatory retirement for its faculty effective 2006.  Although the discussion will continue, I see no intent to change that position at McMaster.  Consequently, I would advise the 2006 retirees to pursue individual arrangements with their Departments and Deans if they wish to continue their work at the University.
 

Collegiality
As a final note, I want to welcome new faculty members to McMaster.  We hope that you will become involved with the activities of the Association.  It is a tradition here to invite all new faculty members to join members of the Executive for lunch at some time over the fall and winter terms.  I look forward to meeting many of you in these informal gatherings.  We hope to hear about your ‘settling in’ experiences and we are open to offering advise on any matter.  I think that in the coming year you will experience a working atmosphere that is unique and envied by faculty members at many other universities.  At McMaster, the Administration and the Faculty Association work in a friendly, supportive and collegial fashion.  Our President and Provost keep the Association ‘in the loop’ when important matters are being discussed.  We are part of a team, not adversaries.  It is my hope and my intention to lead the Association over the coming year so as to consolidate the collegial relations we have enjoyed on this campus for so many years.  I look forward to hearing from our membership.  No problem need go unheard; just call us!

Have a wonderful year at McMaster!

 Betty Ann Levy

Commitee Structure
2005/2006

Executive
Committees
MUFA Council

Observers Needed
Required: faculty and librarians who are members of the Faculty Association — yes, RETIREES also qualify — to serve as observers for  appeal and grievance hearings.  The role of the Observer is to report on the adequacy of the procedures, with a view to making recommendations to improve relevant policies, not to comment on the conduct or the judgement of the tribunal.  Hearings usually take place over one or two days.  For more information, send us an e-mail (mufa@mcmaster.ca), give us a call (24682), or drop us a line (HH 103A).
 

New Members

Valerie Abbott-Mitchell
Catherine Andersoni 
Megan Armstrong
James Benn
Clifford Burgess
Michelle Butt
Soo Hyun Byun
Mirna Carranza
Philip DeCicca 
Paulina Dlugosz
Maureen Dobbins
Michael Egan
Franco Gallippi
David Goutor 
Elzbieta Grodek
Mazen Hamadeh
Hannah Holmes
Shucui Jiang
Jan Kaczor
Mehran Kasra
Gail Krantzberg
Christopher Longo
Saikat Majumdar		 Nursing
Mod Languages &Linguistics
History
Religious Studies
Physics & Astronomy
Nursing
Medical Physics
Social Work
Economics
Biochemistry & Biomedical Sci
Nursing
History
Mod Languages & Linguistics
Labour Studies
French
Pediatrics
Economics
Surgery
Pediatrics
Mechanical  Engineering
Civil Engineering
Health Services Mgmnt
English & Cultural Studies		 Scott Martin 
Egla Martinez-Salazar 
Susan Masten 
Cristina Masters 
James McGowan
Michael Mercier 
Yurij Mozharivskyj 
Gianni Parise 
Anne Pearson 
Stephanie Posthumus 
Philip Savage 
Angela Sheng 
Rick Sin 
Christina Stojanova 
Rebecca Sultana 
Evan Tapper 
Hakan Tunc 
Geraldine Voros 
Marzena Walkowiak 
Timothy Walters 
Scott Watter 
Simon Wood 
Lana Wylie 		 Anthropology
Women’s Studies
Civil Engineering
Political Science
School of the Arts
Geography & Earth Sciences
Chemistry
Kinesiology
Religious Studies
French
Communication Studies
School of the Arts
Social Work
School of the Arts
English & Cultural Studies
Communications Studies
Political Science
Social Sciences
Mod Languages & Linguistics
English & Cultural Studies
Psychology, Neuro &  Beh
School of the Arts
Political Science

Best Wishes to Retiring MUFA Members

We wish to extend best wishes to those faculty and librarians who have  retired during the 2004/05 academic year.  We look forward to seeing them at the annual luncheon in their honour (this year on November 2) hosted jointly by the Presidents of the University and the Faculty Association.
 
Virginia Ariga 
Don Dawson 
Robert Drysdale 
Pat Ellis 
Charles Goldsmith 
Mabel Hunsberger 
Dominique Lepicq 
Alan Mendelson 
Linda Moffat 		 Mod Languages & Linguistics
Economics
Civil Engineering
Nursing
Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Nursing
French
Religious Studies
Hum Resources & Mgt		 Evert Nieboer 
James Rice 
Elizabeth Rideout 
Shepard Siegel 
Mary Anne Trainor 
Adrian Upton 
David Weaver 
Nick Werstiuk 
Sandra Witelson 		 Biochemistry & Biomedical Science
School of Social Work
Nursing
Psychology, Neur & Beh
Health Sciences Library
Medicine
Mechanical Engineering
Chemistry
Psychiatry & Behavioural Neuro



Faculty Handbook Updates
Revised pages for the Faculty Handbook, which was first distributed in October 1999, have recently been mailed out to MUFA members and administrative departments.  If you did not receive your package, contact the MUFA Office (ext. 24682, mufa@mcmaster.ca).  If you require another hard copy of the complete Handbook, contact the Bookstore’s Custom CourseWare Department at ext. 23356.

The Faculty Handbook is also available on the MUFA web page (www.mcmaster.ca/mufa).
Are you Considering Early Retirement?
In the past, some faculty members have signed individual agreements with the University concerning the conditions of their retirement.  These agreements have covered special (non-standard) access to office space, laboratory facilities and other matters.  At present, there is no established procedure, other than the civil courts, for resolving subsequent disputes concerning the interpretation of such agreements.  The Faculty General Grievance Procedure applies only to those who “hold the academic rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor or lecturer”.  Professors emeriti are not covered even in the case of disputes concerning an agreement signed prior to retirement.  Hence, it is especially important that clear, specific wording be used in such agreements.  It is strongly recommended that our colleagues seek the advice of MUFA and of their own lawyers before signing any such agreements.
Are You Being Considered for Tenure and/or Promotion?
If you are a faculty member who is being considered for tenure and promotion to associate professor or for promotion to professor, you may find it helpful to have a faculty colleague act as an advisor during this process.  This colleague can assist in the preparation of your research résumé, teaching dossier and other material.  An advisor can also accompany you to interviews at various stages of the process should this prove necessary.
This practice has been informally sanctioned in the past.  The Tenure and Promotion Policy explicitly states that a faculty member may be accompanied by a faculty colleague acting as an advisor when appearing before a Departmental, Faculty or Senate committee.
Please feel free to contact the Chair of the MUFA Committee on Special Enquiries and Grievances should you desire further information concerning this policy or assistance in seeking out an appropriate advisor.
McMaster Family Practice Unit 
to Offer Primary Care Services to New Appointees
A number of years ago, the  Director of the McMaster Family Practice Unit agreed to provide primary care services for faculty members and their families who are new to the Hamilton area.  If you require a family doctor, call the Family Practice Unit at 905-521-5016 or 905-521-5015 and identify yourself as a new faculty member at McMaster.

 

Gerry Keech
Professor Emeritus
Computer Science & Systems
June 3, 2005
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 Despite the summer slow-down of campus activity, there were a good number of McMaster people among the many mourners assembled at White Chapel Memorial Gardens to pay their last respects to Dr. Gerry Keech on June 6, 2005. Given the impact that he had on computing at McMaster it is appropriate to review some of the highlights of his long career. 

Gerry graduated from Toronto in Engineering Physics   and got his Ph.D at McMaster in Theoretical Nuclear Physics in ’56.  He worked for AECL (Chalk River) until 1960 when he was recruited by President Harry Thode to join the growing Faculty of Engineering. 

However, the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering lost him only 2 years later when, in recognition of the growing importance of computers, he was made Director of the new department of Computer Services, later Information Processing & Academic Computer Services (IPACS) where he served for 22 years.

The IBM 7040 hardware in ’63 was primarily for administration, but the vital need for computer power for academic research was recognized.  Gerry’s urging resulted in $2M for a CDC6400 and operating funds to cover maintenance and staff that grew rapidly from 30 to 70.  Installed in 1968, one of the heaviest uses was for theoretical chemistry but engineering research soon justified one of four networked satellite job entry facilities located adjacent to the main lobby of the Engineering Building.  Other remote job submission stations were in Arts III, Chedoke hospital and the Canada Centre for Inland Waters in Burlington.

Then, as now, McMaster was seldom out of the pages of the local Hamilton Spectator and the nationally acclaimed computing facilities were a frequent topic of interest.   A significant part of  Gerry’s time seems to have been in providing layman-level copy for local news reporters.

In the 70s the need to replace the aging CDC resulted in much discussion between IPACS and the user community.  Gerry was on most of these committees and was notable for the fact that although an expert in the area he was always willing to listen to the ideas and opinions of others.  He subscribed to the qualified maxim “the customer is often not wrong”.  The role of computing in education grew along with the increase in decentralization of hardware as McMaster adapted first to a network of VAX machines with many user terminals to the personal computer era. 

The teaching of Computer Science grew in importance until, when Mathematics and Applied Mathematics were amalgamated in 1980, Gerry urged recognition of the importance of the new science by requesting that  his title be changed to Professor of Mathematical Sciences (Computer Science).  The trend continued with the creation of a Department of Computer Science and Systems in 1985 and after a well-deserved sabbatical Gerry became Chair of the new Department for  two 3-year terms.

After his retirement in 1993, he continued to provide yeoman service on the Council of McMaster University Retirees Association and served as Chair for two years.

Gerry was a remarkable fellow and is well summed up in a quote from a former President, “His integrity, forthrightness and keen sense of humour…made it a real joy to have been associated with him.”- sentiments that are shared by those who worked with him.

 Alan Smith,
 Professor Emeritus, Civil Engineering
Other Passings

HERMAN KLEEREKOPER, Professor Emeritus, Biology, July 12, 2005

SYLVIA BOWERBANK, Professor, English & Cultural Studies, August 5, 2005 (a remembrance will appear in the next newsletter).

JANE SYNGE, Associate Professor, Sociology, August 28, 2005 (a remembrance will appear in the next newsletter)
MACgreen: The Paper Trail
Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky.  We fell them and turn them into newspapers that we may record our emptiness.  — Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)

At MACgreen, the environmental service of the MSU, one of the major campaigns for 2005/06 is called "The Paper Trail".

To decrease the paper footprint of McMaster, everyone must reduce his or her individual consumption.  Electronic communication and double-siding are easy ways to reduce paper consumption, and MACgreen will bind any non-confidential single-sided scrap paper into paper notebooks.  (Just email us at green@msu.mcmaster.ca, and a volunteer will come by to take your scrap paper on a biweekly or monthly basis.)  Moreover, you can reduce the resources required to create your paper by purchasing post-consumer recycled paper.
Faculty can further decrease McMaster’s footprint by encouraging students to double-side their assignments.  This simple reminder reinforces sustainable habits and reassures students that double-siding is permitted.
The production of paper destroys forest ecosystems and habitats, releases toxic effluents into waterways, uses large amounts of energy and water, requires large amounts of land for plantation and disposal sites, and emits tonnes of toxic and carcinogenic emissions into the atmosphere.  Worldwide, pulp and paper is the fifth largest industrial consumer of energy, accounting for four percent of the world’s energy use.  Overall, producing one tonne of paper uses 98 tonnes of other resources [Environment Canada, 2000. The EcoBuyer Catalogue - The Official Catalogue of EcoLogo Products and Services. Ottawa:  TerraChoice Environmental Services Inc.].
    The disposal of paper releases greenhouse gases and takes valuable landfill space.  Paper and related products account for more than one-third of the materials discarded into Canada's municipal waste stream [http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/udo/wastepap.html].  Even if the paper is recycled, there are economic and environmental costs associated with waste collection and recycling processes.

    While concrete figures on McMaster’s annual paper use were not available for analysis, an analogous study at the University of British Columbia in 2001 estimated that that university uses 106 million sheets of paper per year, translating into the following [http://www.sustain.ubc.ca/paper_reduct.html]:
     

    • 8,300 trees cut down.
    • 19,000 kilograms of air pollution emitted.
    • Enough water to run a shower nonstop for six years.
    • Enough oil for 50 000 years' worth of oil changes for a typical car.


    Even if McMaster uses only half that amount of paper, the waste involved is still enormous.

 
Paper-saving Tips
  • Print and copy on two sides when it's possible.
  • Always ask for double-sided when someone prints or copies something for you.
  • Only print the relevant sections from long documents.
  • Edit your documents as much as possible on the computer before printing them. If you make more corrections afterwards, only print the pages that have been changed.
  • Install paper reusing bins near copiers and printers, for pages printed on one side only.
  • For handwritten work, use the virgin side of reused paper. If you write on new paper, in notebooks, or big notepads, use both sides.
  • Reduce margins. One centimeter (0.4 in) is often enough, and you rarely need more than 2.5 cm (1 in).
  • If it's appropriate, print with single line spacing.
     
    Especially for professors:
     
    • Consider alternatives to distributing documents in class. 
      1. For references, post documents or links to them on the course website, or hold documents in reserve at the library.
      2. For necessary course packs, print them double-sided, in quantities depending on the number of registered students in the class.
    • Encourage students to hand in papers printed on two sides, or by email, if you like to correct on a computer screen.
    • For course outlines, homework descriptions, and exam questionnaires, fit as much content as possible on each page, and print double-sided.
    • For Powerpoint presentations and slideshows that students will probably want to get in paper form, prepare efficient documents.
      1. In the slideshow, avoid slides with very little content. In order to save ink, avoid black or dark backgrounds, or in that case print using inverted colors. In any case, make sure the background is transparent (white) in the printed version.
      2. Print using the "Handout" mode, with at least 4 to 6 slides on each page, printed double-sided.
      Samantha Green 
      MACgreen Director 
For Your Information

CAUT Travel Advisory

CAUT has had frequent reports of members who have faced difficulties when crossing into the United States — whether to attend conferences in the US or to transit through the US to attend conferences or undertake academic work in other countries.  As a result of these difficulties, CAUT has prepared a travel advisory regarding your rights as a Canadian citizen when you are crossing into the United States at land borders or in preclearance areas at Canadian airports.  The document, Travelling to the United States: Your rights at the border, can be obtained on the web at http://www.caut.ca/en/ publications/traveladvisory/
 

Travel Expense Reimbursement Rates

At its meeting on May 26, 2005 the Finance Committee of the Board of Governors approved amendments to the following travel expense rates.

 Kilometre Allowance: from $.32/km to $.37/km (effective June 1, 2005).

 Meals without Receipts: The maximum per diem rates have increased from $45/day to $48/day (effective June 1, 2005).

 Within Canada: $48/day ($10 breakfast, $13 lunch, $25 dinner)
 Outside Canada: $48US/day ($10 breakfast, $13 lunch, $25 dinner)

Housing

Luxurious century old manor house...
just minutes from McMaster.  Available: Two desirable one-bedroom apartments suitable for discerning professionals.
  Rents include heat, all utilities and parking off Locke Street. Laundry facilities available in the building, along with an intercom security system.

To view contact: Sheila Edge.  Tel: (905) 521-4840; email: Sheila.te@cogeco.ca
 
 

McMaster Faculty Salary Statistics 2004/05

September 29, 2005
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