QCAA Analysis, Budget, Faculty Board

“Empty and Hollow Inside”: One Reader’s Response to the FAS Dean’s Town Hall

Dear Dean Lemieux (Bob), I attended the FAS Town Hall in Humphrey Auditorium yesterday, and left feeling grateful to be in the privileged position of being able to retire next year. I think the most depressing aspect of the Town Hall was the lack of any discussion of what we are doing as an institution … Continue reading “Empty and Hollow Inside”: One Reader’s Response to the FAS Dean’s Town Hall

QCAA Analysis, Budget, Faculty Board, Uncategorized

Further Diminishing FAS? The Proposal to Allow FAS Students to take 12 External Credits

QCAA received the following commentary on the FAS proposal to raise the external credit allowance from 6.0-units to 12.0-units. (See “Motion Regarding Revisions to the Academic Program Regulation” in the FAS Faculty Board Agenda package for Friday, November 21). We are grateful to the readers who submit such analyses to us and invite others to … Continue reading Further Diminishing FAS? The Proposal to Allow FAS Students to take 12 External Credits

QCAA Analysis, Decolonisation

Guest Post: Is Austerity Undermining Queen’s’ Commitment to Reconciliation, Decolonisation, and Indigenisation?

Ten years ago, in 2015, after six years of listening to the testimonies of over 7000 residential school survivors, the late Honourable Murray Sinclair, Chancellor Emeritus, released the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In 2016, Queen’s established its own Truth and Reconciliation Task Force to respond to the TRC Calls … Continue reading Guest Post: Is Austerity Undermining Queen’s’ Commitment to Reconciliation, Decolonisation, and Indigenisation?

criticalmass Analysis, University Updates

QUFA’s Tentative Roll-Over Agreement: Concerns and Questions

The Queen’s University Faculty Association has reached a tentative roll-over agreement with the university administration. If ratified, the roll-over would extend the current collective agreement for one year, until June 30, 2026.  The administration wants this roll-over, claiming it sought the delay due to fatigue from a string of difficult negotiations with other campus unions … Continue reading QUFA’s Tentative Roll-Over Agreement: Concerns and Questions

criticalmass Analysis

Not for Sale: Neoliberalism, Right-Wing Politics, and the Crisis in Post-Secondary Institutions

As we continue to reel from the recent provincial election in Ontario and look ahead to the influence of Pierre Poilievre at the federal level, we are increasingly concerned about how neoliberalism and privatization continue to actively dismantle public institutions, including post-secondary education. Doug Ford’s re-election grants his government a renewed license to impose conservative … Continue reading Not for Sale: Neoliberalism, Right-Wing Politics, and the Crisis in Post-Secondary Institutions

criticalmass Analysis, PSAC strike, University Updates

Gaslighting, the politics of budgets, concerns about surveillance, and more

On Thursday, April 17, Queen's Senate had a meeting that dealt with budgetary issues, fallout from the PSAC 901 strike, the shrinking of the Bachelor of Arts program, and how Deans are appointed. A win, and a note about gaslighting and the politics of budgets The Provost’s budget update largely focused on scapegoating the Faculty … Continue reading Gaslighting, the politics of budgets, concerns about surveillance, and more

criticalmass Analysis, Calls to Action, Events, University Updates

FAS Faculty Board Special Meeting Update: Some Answers and Many Outstanding Questions

With less than 48 hours' notice, 150 members of the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) logged into a meeting to discuss the Provost’s plan for seat transfers at Queen’s. The Provost’s announcement at the March 27 Senate meeting that he would move a further 200 seats from BA/BAH programs in FAS to the Faculty … Continue reading FAS Faculty Board Special Meeting Update: Some Answers and Many Outstanding Questions