The Brock University Faculty Association (BUFA) and the University are collaborating on an equity audit of the tenure and promotion processes outlined in the latest BUFA Collective Agreement, to ensure that these processes are responsive to employment equity provisions for self-identified faculty members and professional librarians. The equity audit includes the permanence process for professional librarians.

Article 20.01 of the BUFA Collective Agreement identifies the following as designated equity-seeking groups: “Women, Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) peoples, Black people, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities/racialized groups, and Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQI+).”

The project is guided by a committee that includes equal representation from BUFA and the University. The committee will make recommendations to help ensure that career progression decisions, criteria, and processes are equitable and non-discriminatory, with particular reference to equity-seeking groups. In doing so, the committee will consider relevant language in the Collective Agreement. The project will include a review of the academic literature, as well as a consideration of leading practices at other Canadian universities. The review is expected to be complete by the end of the calendar year.

Acknowledging that the Committee is not able to modify existing Collective Agreement language, the Committee will produce a report that may provide guidance or training for tenure and promotion committees, and/or be used by either BUFA or the University to develop language to be considered in the next round of collective bargaining.

As part of the equity audit, the committee is consulting and seeking feedback from faculty members and professional librarians on their experiences with the tenure and promotion process.

The consultation will include an anonymous online portal for faculty members and professional librarians to share their thoughts, feedback, and personal experiences on the intersection between Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization (EDID) and the tenure and promotion processes.

Opportunities to participate in focus groups will also be announced in the coming weeks.

Faculty members and professional librarians who prefer to share their personal experiences directly with BUFA may do so through email at bufa@brocku.ca.

The online consultation portal is available now and will remain open until April 9, 2024.

Questions or comments about the audit may be directed to provost@brocku.ca or to bufa@brocku.ca.