One of the consequences of AU’s efforts to carve 67% of AUFA members out of the bargaining unit is that AU is damaging its own reputation and making recruitment harder. Last week, AUFA received a copy of the letter below (addressed to AU Board Chair Nancy Laird).
The authors (librarians at the University of Lethbridge) have identified carving librarians out of the faculty association as problematic and as having caused one of them to decide against applying for a job at AU.
It is unfortunate that AU continues to pursue its misguided efforts to de-designate AUFA members. This approach is likely to continue damaging AU’s reputation as we go forward.
Jolene Armstrong, President
June 25, 2020
Ms Nancy Laird
Chair, Athabasca University Board of Governors
Dear Ms Laird:
We, the undersigned Professional Librarians at the University of Lethbridge, are writing to express concern regarding Athabasca University’s proposed de-designation policy. It is our understanding that the proposed removal of all professional staff from the Athabasca University Faculty Association (AUFA) may include professional librarians.
The rationale, including benefits to the wider institution, of academic status for academic librarians has been well articulated:
· CAUT Policy Statement on Academic Status and Governance for Librarians
· ACRL Standards for Faculty Status for Academic Librarians
Of chief importance are the unique ways in which academic librarians enable and support learning, teaching, and research for students and faculty throughout the university. Their work, which includes curating, organizing, preserving, and providing robust, equitable access to learning and research resources, and helping students understand how to find, use, evaluate and use such resources ethically, is fundamentally academic in nature and is integral to all academic endeavours.
We therefore disapprove of any efforts to remove academic librarians from their institution’s academic staff association. An academic library is central to a research-intensive university’s teaching, learning, and research mission. Academic librarians, who are indeed academics, advance every aspect of this mission. When you weaken your librarians, you weaken your library and your institution as a whole.
The threat of removal of librarians and other employee groups from AUFA is already a recruitment issue. One of our own librarians was interested in a position currently posted at your library, but the possibility of de-designation from AUFA discouraged her from applying. Destabilizing AUFA may well impede academic staff recruitment in other areas, which would be unfortunate for Athabasca University’s students and programs.
We urge you to reconsider the repercussions of implementing the proposed de-designations, as their true costs will add up over time and may ultimately undermine anticipated advantages. Beyond recruitment challenges, likely outcomes of going ahead with the policy include a widespread hit on employee morale, which would undoubtedly reduce creativity, productivity and employee retention—strengths that are desperately needed if Alberta’s universities are to survive the COVID-19 crisis and the provincial government’s ongoing budget cuts.
Athabasca University has a strong reputation and leadership role in online distance education within an academic and research-based environment. This achievement has taken decades of hard work and dedication on the part of many, including AUFA members. We urge you to rethink the proposed de-designations, as they will hamper the ability of your academic librarians and other AUFA members to continue to offer the well-regarded educational programs and support services that underpin the University’s unique position within Canada’s post-secondary sector.
Sincerely,
Paula Cardozo (AU MEd Alumna, 2009)
Sandra Cowan
Nicole Eva
Rumi Graham
Mary Greenshields
Mike Perry
David Scott
Emma Scott
CC
· Neil Fassina, President, Athabasca University neil.fassina@athabascau.ca
· Jolene Armstrong, President, AUFA jolenea@athabascau.ca
· Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians (CAPAL) capalibrarians@gmail.com
· Angela Henshilwood, President, Ontario College and University Library Association (OCULA) angela.henshilwood@utoronto.ca
· David Kaminski, President, University of Lethbridge Faculty Association kaminski@uleth.ca