Created 27 August 2021 08:08
MEDIA RELEASE
(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Stó:lō Territories – Vancouver, BC, August 27, 2021) – The Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC (CUFA BC) welcomes the announcement from the Research Universities Council of BC (RUCBC) introducing stronger campus health and safety measures with self-disclosed vaccine status and rapid testing alternatives for all campus community members.
“We welcomed the return of mask mandates announced by the Provincial Health Office this week and we now have the rest of the pieces in place to move forward with developing health and safety measures across the entire campus community,” says President Dr. Daniel Laitsch.
Faculty have been calling for clarification on emerging Government health measures following a series of announcements earlier this week that introduced mask mandates and partial vaccine requirements for non-essential activities on campus. We had further called on post-secondary administrators to take action by introducing more robust measures on campus that go beyond the directives from the Provincial Health Office. Now the work of developing these protocols can be done within the framework of consultation with faculty, staff, and students, their representing unions, and the joint occupational health and safety committees.
We look forward to continuing our support of Government, administrators, unions, and other stakeholders in operationalizing campus safety measures that meet the needs of all campus community members.
For further information or comment please contact CUFA BC Executive Director Annabree Fairweather at 604-367-5856 or [email protected].
CUFA BC represents over 5,500 faculty members, including professors, professional librarians, lecturers, instructors, and other academics at the five research-intensive universities in British Columbia, which include University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria, Royal Roads University and University of Northern British Columbia. CUFA BC celebrates fifty years of working closely with the member Faculty Associations at each institution. Our purposes are to support high-quality post-secondary education and research in British Columbia and to advocate for the interests of our members.
DOWNLOAD CUFA BC Statement: Faculty Welcome Institution Leadership