Welcome
Dear
Heads and Chairs:
As a head or chair, you are deluged practically daily with requests for your
attention and your time. While I am about to do the same, I pledge that this
is one of those instances where your investment will really be of benefit.
This group IS for you.
Welcome to the Canadian Council of University Biology Chairs (CCUBC). Each
fall the CCUBC organizes an annual meeting during which we hold formal workshops
and informal discussions with colleagues from across Canada. The meeting will
be in Halifax in 2011. The range of topics that we cover includes: curriculum
development, personnel management, interactions with higher administration
and NSERC/CFI funding. A highlight of the meetings are the “5 minute reports’
presented by each Head or Chair that speak to common issues, trends and innovative
programmatic developments. The meeting provides great opportunities to learn
from each other’s experiences and make contacts that allow for specific questions
about various practises. Being involved has been a huge help to me over the
past 5 years. I honestly believe that things I have learned through CCUBC
when discussed with my colleagues have helped to make our Department in Regina
better. Selfishly, I have also made contacts leading to research collaborations
based on discussions at CCUBC and it provides a means for new heads and chairs
to learn about colleagues cope with the workload and stress of the position.
I strongly encourage you to consider joining CCUBC and attending the annual
meeting and for those veterans, please consider making a pitch to a colleague
from another institution to join us.
Membership in the CCUBC, aside from the annual meeting, provides additional
benefits. The CCUBC’s website and e-mail listserver is a forum for rapid communication
among Biology Heads and Chairs. For example, through its website position
announcements can be advertised or information on practices in other Departments
quickly gathered. Moreover, CCUBC undertakes an annual lobbying exercise in
Ottawa in which we have lobbied politicians and representatives of granting
councils. CCUBC is currently working towards a more robust lobbying effort
in concert with other life science units.
The mutual benefits of CCUBC membership are tremendous. Through discussion
of our shared experiences, inquiry into novel practices, communication with
politicians, granting councils and each other, CCUBC provides a collegial
environment that helps Heads and Chairs navigate the many challenges common
to us all. It has been a great experience to have had the opportunity to get
to know a group of people so committed to service and to excellence in higher
education and I thank you all for the valuable insights and enjoyable times
that I have shared with you. I look forward to our meeting this year and encourage
members to rejoin and, for those who are not yet members, to join CCUBC and
participate in this year’s annual meeting in Halifax.
Sincerely,
Mark Brigham, President
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Contact US:
Mrs. Wafaa H. Antonious
CCUBC Secretariat
C/O Rofail Conference and Management Services
17 Dossetter Way
Ottawa, ON K1G 4S3
Email:
Info@CCUBC.ca
Tel.: 613 421 7229
Fax.: 613 421 9811
Updated: July 4, 2011