Contract Faculty Info & Events

Welcome to the CFC Information and Events page. The UBCFA Contract Faculty Committee organizes a number of events throughout the academic year for sessionals and lecturers. In this section on our site, we hope to keep you updated on all of them. If you’re a sessional or lecturer, you’ll also receive email notices advising you of what’s coming up (and if you aren’t receiving our notices, please get in touch).

For more information on our Sessional Conference Fund click here.


Fair Employment Week 

Every fall, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and its member associations including the UBC Faculty Association, organize and host a week-long celebration of contract faculty. Here’s a rundown of the events during FEW October 2023:

  • MONDAY, Oct. 16: Letter to the President
    The UBCFA will send a letter to the President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor about the precarious employment status of contract faculty at both UBC campuses. A link to our correspondence can be found here.

  • TUESDAY, Oct. 17, 12:00-2:30PM
    UBCV Lunch

    As part of our campaign to raise awareness and celebrate the accomplishments of contract faculty, we’re inviting you to join us for a special lunch. This event is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate your contributions to the academy.

    LOCATION: Room 176 by the garden at Sage Bistro, 6331 Crescent Road.

    Space is Limited so please RSVP to the Faculty Association by Thursday, October 12th to reserve your seat.

  • TUESDAY, Oct. 17th, 4:30-7:30PM
    Joint Pub Social 

    This event is being held jointly by BCITFSA, FPSE, and CUFABC. Come and celebrate the work of contract faculty together with peers from other Institutions. First drink is on us! Appetizers will also be available.   

    LOCATION: Steamworks’ Uber Lounge, Gastown Location.

    In order to keep this event for our Contract Faculty we ask that you RSVP.

  • WEDNESDAY, Oct 18th: 3:30-5:30PM
    Workshop for Sessionals: Know Your Rights (hybrid)

    Orientation session for sessionals who want to learn more regarding their rights under the Collective Agreement. As this is a member only event we ask that you RSVP to the Faculty Association to receive the link to the Zoom room. Please let us know if you plan to attend by Monday October 16th.

  • WEDNESDAY, Oct 18th: Social Media Day of Action
    On this day, to amplify the voices of contract academic staff, we encourage members to use CAUT’s new customizable social media material templates.

  • TUESDAY, Oct. 24th, 12:30-2:30PM
    Members Lunch at UBCO 
    As part of our campaign to raise awareness and celebrate the accomplishments of contract faculty, we’re inviting you to join us for a special lunch. This event is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate your contributions to the academy.

    LOCATION: Room ADM 101.

    Space is Limited so please RSVP to the Faculty Association by Monday, October 16th 2023 to reserve your seat.


Hybrid Community of Practice Sessions – UBCV/UBCO

Join your contract faculty colleagues for the Contract Faculty Community of Practice presented by the UBC Faculty Association in partnership with the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT). Our sessions will be held both in person and online so contract faculty on both campuses can participate. Schedule below.

Teaching Community Engagement Using the Social Impact Lab Toolkit (HYBRID)

This CoP session will describe how the Social Impacts Lab Toolkit developed by the Centre for Community Engaged Learning was applied to a 4th year engineering design course to support student engagement with their community-based project partners. The session will include examples of lessons and assignments developed using the toolkit, as well as an analysis of the student’s experience. This will be followed by a discussion of how the toolkit could be adapted to courses in other disciplines. In addition, the Centre for Community Engagement’s resources will be outlined, in which attendees can find links to workshops and grant opportunities.

The session will be presented by Dr. Paul Lusina, and facilitated by Dr. Lusina, Dr. Sarika Bose and Dr. Judy Chan . If you are an instructor who is interested in moving students towards community-based thinking and community engagement, this will be a good place to begin; if you are already doing this, we invite you to join us and share your own ideas and experiences.

LOCATION: Room 2.22, Irving K Barber Building and Zoom.

RSVP on the CTLT website: https://events.ctlt.ubc.ca/events/contract-faculty-cop-feb/

Save the Date – CoP’s

Thursday, March 28th – Topic TBA


Pub Socials (UBCV Campus)

Friday, March 1st 3:30PM-5:30PM at Gallery 2.0.


Contract Faculty Colloquium – Friday, May 3

The Contract Faculty Colloquium brings together Contract Faculty from across campuses to showcase and share their intellectual work with other colleagues. This year’s 8th Annual Colloquium will feature papers by Contract Faculty colleagues from a range of disciplines. We will examine various pedagogical processes and share pedagogical strategies throughout the day-long event at the UBC Vancouver campus, which will be presented in hybrid form so that we can include as many colleagues as we can from both campuses. A link will be available to see the day’s agenda and brief bios of our speakers soon.

This event is co-sponsored by the UBC Faculty Association and CTLT and organized jointly by the UBCFA Contract Faculty Committee and CTLT staff. We will be serving coffee and a light lunch for those who attend in person, so please let us know when you register if you plan to stay for lunch. Registration is free, but we would ask that you honour your registration or cancel well ahead of time so we can have accurate numbers for catering and avoid food waste.

We hope to see you there!

Present at the Contract Faculty Colloquium

Deadline for Submissions February 16th, 2024

Friday, May 3rd 10:30AM-3:30PM (HYBRID)

Would you like to present at our upcoming Contract Faculty Colloquium? Use this opportunity to rehearse for an upcoming conference, recap something you recently presented, share an innovative idea and perhaps find a collaborator or research partner. We want to open the floor to some of our astounding Contract Faculty. Can’t make it to the whole event but still wish to present? No problem! Complete your submission and we’ll do what we can to create an Agenda for the event that works with everyone’s schedule.

Submissions and participation from both campuses are encouraged.

Presentation Submission Criteria

Submit your proposal (3 points, 100 words max.) for a brief (10 minute) presentation on your field-specific research, pedagogical research, or practice to Dr. Sarika Bose, Chair, UBCFA Contract Faculty Committee. We’d appreciate receiving your submission by Friday, Feb. 16th. Team proposals are welcome!


2024 Contract Faculty Publication Display 

Deadline for Submissions March 22nd, 2024

An Opportunity to Exhibit your Latest Work

The UBC Faculty Association Contract Faculty Committee, in partnership with UBC Library, is holding a celebration of work of Contract Faculty (in concert with the 2023 Contract Faculty Colloquium) to be held on the Vancouver Campus Friday, May 3, 2024.

Publication Submission Criteria

Your work must have been published within the last 5 calendar years. You may submit a monograph, an article in a journal or a non-academic piece (e.g. a performance; a book of illustration; a book of poetry; a novel). We also accept excerpts of performances, TED talks, etc.

Publication Submission Options:

  • Send a published book or video

  • Email or send a copy of your article

  • Forward an email with a link to your talk/performance.

Submit to:
Dr. Sarika Bose, Chair
UBCFA Contract Faculty Committee
Office: 224 Buchanan Tower, 1873 East Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
Tel: 604-822-2344; Email: [email protected]

Submission Deadline: Friday, March 22, 2024

For further information or to register for the Colloquium, please contact Dr. Sarika Bose.


Sessional Conference Fund

The UBC Faculty Association and UBC are pleased to announce travel grants for sessional faculty who will be presenting papers at academic conferences in 2024.

Depending on demand, this year’s grant will have a maximum value of up to $1500.00 and may be used for travel, accommodation, conference fees and meals (UBC per diem). You may claim expenses for presenting at a conference you attend in 2024, regardless of whether you are on contract at the time of the conference. You can submit your expenses for reimbursement once you return to employment, so long as it is prior to February 28th 2025.

If you would like to apply for one of these grants, please complete the Application Form available on the UBCFA website or on the Faculty Relations website and forward it to the UBC Faculty Association at [email protected] by February 28, 2024. Successful applicants will be notified.

Although not guaranteed every year, this grant is available to sessional lecturers who present papers at conferences within the calendar year. Applications are only accepted after a call has been made (usually in January) and MUST be submitted by February 28th for conferences in that calendar year in order to qualify (unless otherwise specified). Applications made after this date are not accepted. For additional information, visit the Sessional Conference Fund page.

 
Reference Material for Contract Faculty
Links to journals, websites and materials of interest to Contract Faculty