Higher education unions from around the world thanked CAUT last month for the pivotal role it played in the development of a UNESCO statement on the rights of academic staff.

An Ontario labour arbitrator has ruled in favour of David Noble (shown in photo, left), a partial victory for the York University social sciences professor in his ongoing dispute with the university over academic freedom.

Most Canadians think tuition fees should be lowered or frozen, a new poll commissioned by CAUT and the Canadian Federation of Students showed last month.

Disagreement is one of the greatest sources of pleasure available to intellectuals. Academics’ lust to ban speakers because they are controversial, off-piste, unfashionable, pernicious or even just plain wrong seems inexplicable.

It is becoming increasingly clear that a major challenge facing Canadian academic staff is one that is rarely discussed — the basic definition of work.

Congratulations to our colleagues at Acadia University for the impressive gains they made on many fronts following their recent three-week strike, including improved salaries, workload, research funding and precedent-setting pay equity provisions.

It was surprised to read Sandy Hershcovis’ views on teaching and research and then read Graeme Decarie’s reaction.

Ironically, both the wealth and the debt of Canadian universities have reached record levels.

Royal Roads University Faculty Association is the newest member of CAUT, following acceptance of its application at the November CAUT Council meeting.

The Harry Crowe Foundation’s recent conference “Protecting the Integrity of Academic Work,” (Bulletin, November 2007) is commendable for considering some of the ways the integrity of scholarship is being challenged in today’s universities.