President’s Message

Originally published in the Summer 2016 edition of The Beacon. The beginning of any academic term is, for most, an exciting time of year as we welcome new students and new StFXAUT members, introduce new instructional strategies and elements into our courses and labs, and continue the journey of developing students’ skills in communication, critical […]

Read More »

Committee Reports

ANSUT (Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers) by Bruce Sparks As the AUT’s representative to the Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers (ANSUT) I attended the three regular meetings held during the academic year 2015-2016. Unlike last year (the year of Bill 100) there were no obviously dramatic issues. Meetings continued to be very useful forums […]

Read More »

On (some of) the problems with merit pay

Written by Brad Long, this article first appeared in the Spring 2016 edition of The Beacon Academic excellence lives within our ranks; although the Administration can provide the conditions that enable excellence to flourish, the realization of excellence rests with members of the StFXAUT who are on the front lines of delivering the academic mission of […]

Read More »

Precarious Employment

Written by Philip Girvan, this article appears in the Spring 2016 issue of The Beacon “The general consensus is that the longer you spend as a contract academic, whatever you want to call it, part-time instructor the worse off it is for you.” – Anon The Winter 2016 issue of The Beacon highlighted issues raised […]

Read More »

President’s Message

Full transcript of the President’s Report presented at the Annual General Meeting of the StFXAUT membership on May 4, 2016 by Brad Long Welcome everyone. My report consists simply of several updates from my vantage as President, a few reminders, and a few words of thanks. I’ll start with a note about students. One of the […]

Read More »

The Value of Service Work

Written by Mathias Nilges, this article first appeared in the Winter 2016 edition of The Beacon One of the unwritten rules of fine dining is that good service be prompt, attentive, and competent and at the same time practically invisible. The less one notices the service, in other words, while feeling expertly taken care of, […]

Read More »

Issues impacting Part-Time Academic Instructors

Written by Philip Girvan, this article first appeared in the Winter 2016 edition of The Beacon. Canadian post-secondary institutions have become increasingly dependent on temporary or Contract Academic Staff (CAS). CAUT director of research and political action, Sylvain Schetagne, notes in the October 2015 issue of the CAUT/ACPPU Bulletin, that “[m]ore than 30 per cent of […]

Read More »

Getting to Know You: Dr. Robyn Bourgeois

This profile of Dr. Robin Bourgeois originally appeared in the Fall 2015 edition of The Beacon. Getting to Know You:  Dr. Robyn Bourgeois joins Coady’s Indigenous Women in Community Leadership Program “A nation is not conquered until the hearts of the women are on the ground. Then it’s done no matter how strong the warriors or how […]

Read More »