UPEI creates new positions in sexual violence prevention, equity, and student support
CBC
The University of Prince Edward Island has created seven new positions with a focus on student support, equity, diversity and inclusion, and sexual violence prevention, six months after a third-party review of workplace harassment and misconduct was released.
The report by Toronto law firm Rubin Thomlinson recommended the university hire more staff to help prevent and respond to issues in those areas.
"This is the beginning. There is lots more to do," interim UPEI president Greg Keefe said in an interview Thursday.
Including salary and benefits, the new employees will cost the university more than $500,000 annually, said Keefe. The province is paying for about two-thirds of that with UPEI picking up the rest, he said.
The Rubin Thomlinson report, released in a redacted form in June 2023, brought to light allegations of sexual violence, bullying, racism and sexism on campus, with both students and staff as victims.
It outlined evidence of what it called a toxic workplace culture, especially during the term of former president Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. His sudden retirement in December 2021 came just as a misconduct claim was being filed against him. The third-party review was commissioned a few days later.
Then in June, a day before the public release of the redacted report, the university put its vice-president of administration and finance on an administrative leave of absence. In October, UPEI announced that Jackie Podger was no longer an employee of the university.
The report called on UPEI to take action on issues raised by the people who contributed to the Rubin Thomlinson review and make the campus safer and more inclusive.
Keefe said the seven new positions bring the university closer to that goal, but acknowledged it will still take years of work to reach it.
"There will be more resources that are required. There will be many more things to do… This is the beginning of a long-term strategy."
He said the university now handles complaints differently than in the past, with new investigators and a separate process involving an off-Island firm should complaints be filed against senior administrators.
"We do receive complaints and frankly we have received more complaints in recent times and I think that's actually a good thing," he said. "People are trusting the process."
Margot Rejskind, the U.P.E.I Faculty Association executive director, said she still wants to see more action taken by the university.
"We do remain concerned that this is an announcement," she told CBC News. "We have seen those kinds of announcements before. And when we've come and asked for details about how it's going to be operationalized, they've declined to provide that.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.