Maintaining a collegial culture in our new environment
May 29, 2014
What will the future look like?
We are often asked what the future will be like now that the Faculty Association is a certified union under the Labour Relations Code. The new collective bargaining regime will invariably bring changes. Faculty members and librarians will be represented by their union in negotiations in many situations, not just at the bargaining table. Flexibility for individuals to negotiate variations in their employment terms and duties may be more limited. This will take time to get used to and understand. The fact is that none of us really knows exactly how this will affect us in the long run.
But even with a union presence, faculty members and librarians must continue their substantial involvement in guiding the university. University culture has always had a different perspective from the “employer versus employee” approach assumed by many trade unions. A crucial aspect of a university is its reliance on individual faculty members and librarians, as academic experts, to have input into policies and decisions related to the university’s academic mission and functions. This difference is the hallmark of collegiality.
Collegiality and the union
When we think about the future, we should give some thought to what “collegiality” means in this new context. What is the role of a union in a collegial environment?
Unions deal with terms and conditions of employment promoting primarily employees’ economic interests; provide resources to their members in cases of dispute with the employer; and bargain on employees’ behalf. We must distinguish between this and the right and responsibility of individual faculty members and librarians to contribute to the academic direction of the university. Collegiality in this sense is built into the fabric of university culture. It is a responsibility shared by faculty members and librarians with the university leadership. The strength of a university resides in the ability of its faculty members and librarians to exercise academic judgment and thus foster academic excellence.
What does collegiality mean at UVic?
At UVic, we consider it crucial to maintain this collegial culture, which is embodied in the mutual respect, professional ethics, independence and commitment to the university’s mission that faculty, librarians and administrators share. We think that at present this collegiality manifests itself in many ways. To start, academic leaders – Deans, Vice-Presidents, Associate Vice-Presidents and the President – are usually drawn from the ranks of academics. In most cases, these academic leaders return to their faculty roles when their terms are complete. This strengthens the foundation of the university as a community of scholars, with academic freedom and concomitant responsibilities to participate in all aspects of the academic enterprise.
Individual faculty members and librarians participate extensively in the academic mission through departmental, faculty and senate processes:
- Recommending curriculum changes and new academic programs
- Assessing applications for appointments, reappointments, tenure or promotion
- Defining excellence in research in the disciplinary context
- Defining excellence in teaching and mentoring and assessing peers
- Exercising substantial authority over academic policies through university processes
- Participating in Faculty and departmental governance through their committees and councils.
Faculty members and librarians also have strong representation on many university-wide committees. Their ability to influence academic decisions is protected by a committee of peers, the University Review Committee, which recommends to the President in the event of a disputed case of academic advancement. In B.C., faculty members also have legislatively mandated roles on the Senate and the Board.
We believe that there is a long-established and healthy collegial culture at UVic and that this is based on the evidence of our past practice. Whatever changes unionization brings, we will continue to protect excellence and academic freedom by preserving the rights of faculty members and librarians to exercise their academic judgment. Unionization should not change that.