Thanks to the English Society and ALL our amazing students for their support during the MSVUFA strike!

As we settle back into our teaching and research duties after more than three weeks of job action, the MSVU English faculty would like to express our deep and abiding gratitude to all our students for their tireless support on the picket line, all over the MSVU campus, and throughout the wider community. We are particularly grateful to the English Society, which, alongside several other departmental student societies, spear-headed an array of impressive and effective campaigns to encourage the BoG to bring negotiations to a fair and equitable conclusion. Your support lifted our spirits, but — more than that — it was instrumental in compelling the employer to recognise the strength of student-faculty solidarity, which ultimately contributed to the successful resolution of the strike. Words are not enough to express our thanks!

Rhoda Zuk receives CAUT Award

 

Dr. Rhoda Zuk with her CAUT Dedicated Service Award

Today at the Mount’s Faculty Association general meeting, Dr. Rhoda Zuk received the CAUT Dedicated Service Award. According to CAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers), the award “was established to recognize exceptional service provided by individuals at the local or provincial level.” Dr. Zuk received a certificate of recognition at the meeting, and her name will be listed in the CAUT Bulletin and on their website, as well as announced at their Council meeting.

The English Department Chair, Dr. Reina Green, read a citation for her, which is excerpted below:

[Rhoda Zuk] is not only a valued colleague, but a mentor and an inspiration. She has been involved with the union since she began working here and over the last several years she has sat on the Faculty Association executive as secretary, president, and past-president. She has been a trustee of the CAUT Defence Fund, an executive member of the Nova Scotia Federation of University Faculty Associations—the forerunner of Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers–and she has been a member of our bargaining team not once, but twice. She quietly gets on with the job—whether the job is being chair of the department, sitting on senate, or being president of the union—with little fanfare or complaint and is considerate and gracious to all….

She has the knack of identifying the heart of a problem—the injustice at the core of it all. She is an advocate in all she does for the marginalized. She has been a proponent of Fair Work Week and an adamant supporter of our part-time colleagues, and is a vociferous advocate for students struggling with inadequate support, financial or otherwise. I know that at the bargaining table she would be equally adamant about our rights as faculty members and is most deserving of this award….

Rhoda Zuk is the fourth English Department member to receive this award, joining Susan Drain, Chris Ferns, and David Monaghan among the Mount’s previous recipients.

The Department extends its congratulations to Rhoda for this well-deserved award!