RAAS Report
Friday June 27, 2025
Rob Case / Sara-Jo Pipher, Editors
RAAS Reports has returned!
Watch for a brief “summer update” issue sometime in August, and then a return to our more complete format in the Fall, including brief reports from our committees and Board Reps, news from in our sector, calls to action, and more.
If you have information to share or ideas about the content you would like to see, please email them to 2025raas@gmail.com.
PRESIDENT’S UPDATE:
This will be my last update as RAAS President. In case you missed the memo, Edwin Ng has been duly elected to serve as RAAS President beginning July 1 (2025). Thanks for stepping up to this position, Edwin, and congratulations on the strong support at the ballot box. RAAS is in good hands with a great new president and a really strong executive.
As you probably already know, beginning July 1 (2025), I will be taking on the role of Director of the Renison School of Social Sciences and Humanities. I am excited about this new role (and a bit daunted), even though it has meant giving up my role as RAAS President a year earlier than planned.
There is no question that the role of RAAS President can be challenging at times, but I have found it to be the most meaningful and rewarding role I have ever taken on. Representing the collective voice of faculty is both a significant responsibility and a profound privilege. I have appreciated the platform it has given me, backed by our collective will, to have direct input into decision-making processes within Renison. I have appreciated the opportunities the position has given me to participate and represent RAAS in provincially- and national-level initiatives, to contribute to solidarity building across our sector, and to build relationships with faculty association leaders from all around Ontario and across Canada. Perhaps most fundamentally, I have appreciated the opportunities it has provided to get to know all of my colleagues here at Renison, to feel some camaraderie, and to gain a better understanding of your particular concerns and interests.
The past few months have been very stressful and difficult. In addition to the loss of numerous staff colleagues in both the degree and non-degree programs, several of our academic colleagues have lost or are in the process of losing their jobs. Several others, who have been working as Definite Term Lecturers, are being relegated to sessional contracts if anything at all.
It has felt helpless at times. As pressures mount in our institution and across our sector, however, I am increasingly convinced of the importance of Faculty Associations not just for protecting their Members, but for pushing back against crass economic decision-making and protecting public knowledge development and quality public education. We were not able to protect APPLS and EMLS, but it is because of our CA that colleagues holding continuing appointments at least get a decent notice period prior to layoff and decent severance. Moreover, it was because of our Collective Agreement that the administration was required to bring the question of program redundancy to Academic Council rather than cutting programs by administrative fiat or through a directive from the Board of Governors. In the current climate of post secondary education in Ontario, strong faculty associations are more important than ever.
We have lost much as an academic community, and we can’t ignore the fact that for some of our colleagues, the losses are profound and concrete. There is nothing to celebrate in that. But we cannot become complacent either. If anything, now is the time to regroup, get ready to protect what remains, and start looking towards the future. As we emerge from the restructuring we have been through, the time feels right to bring some new energy into the RAAS Executive.
I look forward to working with and supporting our refreshed executive, with Trish continuing as Vice-President, Craig joining us as Secretary-Treasurer, and Edwin coming on as President. Many thanks to all of you for committing yourselves to this work, and to Amir for serving a term as Secretary-Treasurer. Thank you to Vinh, as well, who will be continuing on the executive as Grievance Officer after a 6-month sabbatical leave.
Over to you, Edwin.
Rob Case
RAAS President
Welcome to our new Administrative and Communications Assistant, Sara-Jo Pipher!
Sara-Jo Pipher is an independent consultant with a range of experiences providing the kinds of administrative support RAAS needs, which she balances with other work (elder care, home support, bereavement and spiritual care provision) and play (such as jumping into any body of water she can find in the summer and, in the winter, dreaming about canoe tripping). Sara-Jo will assist us by taking minutes and helping to maintain our records, pulling together and editing RAAS Reports, managing the RAAS email, etc. Reach Sara-Jo at 2025raas@gmail.com.
CAUT NEWS AND UPDATES:
Find the latest CAUT updates here.
CAUT Training Opportunities for 2025/26:
CAUT is pleased to announce the schedule for its national virtual courses for the upcoming academic year:
Fall 2025
Communications – September 15-19
Grievance Handling – October 6-10
Labour Action for Equity – October 27-31
Job Action: Strike Prep – by request
Winter 2026
Organizing – January 19 – February 6
Collective Bargaining – February 23-27
Job Action: Strike Prep – by request
See descriptions for each of the above courses here
Please plan to attend one (or more) of the CAUT training events on behalf of RAAS in the coming year. These training sessions will not only equip you with new information, skills, and perspectives that will be invaluable to us all, but they are also a great opportunity to make new connections to other scholars from across Canada and to other faculty associations. Any costs involved in participating will be reimbursed. See the memo attached for more details, and contact Edwin or Trish to get yourself registered as a RAAS participant.
OCUFA NEWS AND UPDATES:
June 21, 2025. The National Post
“Ontario’s Postsecondary Students and Faculty Have Been Let Down Once Again in the Provincial Budget”
May 16, 2025: OCUFA’s comments on the 2025 Ontario Budget
OTHER NEWS IN OUR SECTOR:
Receive daily media updates and analysis about our sector directly to your inbox. Subscribe to OCUFA’s distribution list: go here.
In Ontario…
'Ford government broke post-secondary funding,' MPP Ted Hsu says
June 10, 2025, The Kingston Whig-Standard
Ontario Bill 33:
June 6, 2025, Academica Group
June 9, 2025, University World News
Across Canada...
Political turbulence poses threats, opportunities
Université de Montréal rector Daniel Jutras reflects on how Canadian universities are reacting to events in the U.S. and the grounds for optimism amid the turmoil.
June 17, 2025, University Affairs
Fewer international students adding to university budget challenges
May 24, 2025, The Canadian Press, CTV News
More layoffs likely as international student admissions drop, SFU president says
June 18, 2025, CBC
SATIRE:
Study: More Single Millennials Settling For Parrot Who Can Dial 911
June 12, 2025, The Onion
The long bird days of summer?
~ Stay cool everybody! ~