usfa@usaskfaculty.ca

Reminder: USFA Member Social Tuesday, December 17th

Don’t forget that on Tuesday, December 17th at 4:00, we have a member social planned.  Stop by the Windows Room on the main floor of the University Club for some holiday cheer. It will be a chance to connect with other USFA members from across campus and to speak with Executive members about the TransformUS […]

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Are cuts necessary?

Yesterday the President provided the reports of the TransformUS Task Forces to the campus community. Between now and February there will be opportunities for consultation and to provide feedback on these reports. It’s very important to remember that the process for prioritizing programs was chosen by the Board of Governors and Senior Administrators and, while […]

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Facts Not Fear

The USFA does not accept the projected structural deficit of 44.5 million dollars. Our analyses indicate that any supposed structural deficit is significantly smaller and that the Employer has adopted assumptions that compound any financial problems that may exist. Once again, the strategy of creating a crisis to soften resistance is being employed. We suspect […]

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It’s Winter, no time for cherry picking

The USFA has asked for assurances from Senior Administrators that there will be no involuntary job loss for faculty as the University navigates its way through the current financial “crisis.” To date this assurance has not been given. Senior Administrators and the Board of Governors have projected a $44.5 million operating budget deficit by 2015-16 […]

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December 31 Deadline for Flexible Spending Program

It’s important to regularly check on the balance in your Health Spending and/or Personal Spending Accounts under the Flexible Spending Program and note when available funds “expire.” Unspent funds can only be carried forward for one year and funds you do not spend after two years revert to the employer. You can find account balances […]

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Let’s set the record straight

Statements being made by Senior Administrators are leading to the unfortunate conclusion that the ‘dire straits’ in which the College of Medicine finds itself is the fault of lazy faculty not willing to fulfill their duties. Let us set the record straight. Reliance on the expertise of clinical faculty to deliver clinical service has impacted […]

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Is there really a $44.5 million deficit?

Senior Administrators and the Board of Governors have budgeted an operating deficit of $44.5 million by 2015-16. This budgeted deficit is very different than having a deficit in the audited financial statements, and is based on a number of questionable assumptions that can fluctuate from year to year and have a significant impact on the […]

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Get science right

Get Science R!ght is a CAUT campaign to raise awareness about the way the federal government policy and funding decisions are threatening Canada’s future in science and research. We have a limited number of posters from this campaign which we are distributing to FARs so they can be posted in prominent locations.  Go to www.getscienceright.ca […]

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Big Science with little output?

In a recent article entitled Big Science vs. Little Science: How Scientific Impact Scales with Funding (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0065263).  Fortin and Currie from University of Ottawa provide a quantitative analysis of the impact of recent changes in NSERC funding. They conclude that scientific impact (measured in a variety of ways) was generally a decelerating function of funding. […]

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