As we begin a new academic year, I wanted to introduce myself in my role as IFO Equity & Inclusion Coordinator. I am excited to step into this role as we navigate the increasing challenges and opportunities that higher education presents for faculty, students and staff. I believe that all great advancements start with some form of challenges, issues, or conditions that require evaluation and redirection as necessary. The challenges that we may face as faculty, especially, could also provide opportunities for innovation and change for better and equitable education for all our students.
I will be continuing the IFO initiatives and strategies to create and support equitable and inclusive practices, processes, and actions that honor what we as union members have in common — our humanity and our work as educators. By ensuring that all stakeholders have the opportunity to participate, we increase the possibility of benefiting from the often ignored and excluded expertise, gifts, talents, and intellectual curiosity that are necessary pillars for learning institutions.
If you are new to the IFO, welcome! The IFO adopted an Equity & Inclusion strategic plan that guides the work of the members, staff, and leadership as we seek new ways to embed and integrate equity and inclusion in our work for the union. There are issues of concern to members that need to be negotiated and/or implemented, as well as those that will come up in the course of the academic year that will have to be examined and dealt with as they arise.
I invite you to contact me at any time to discuss issues, concerns, or strategies for improving the work environment so that all members represented in the union have opportunities to thrive, not merely survive, as we provide one of the most crucial services — education — to our students and by extension to the communities where these students will eventually work and live.
Together, we will continue to do better as a union, with the understanding that the work is never completely done, but that we will make progress and be the change that we want to see if we are to act justly, work with integrity, invite and embrace participation by all, and listen to voices that may be different from our own.
All the best for a great academic year!
In solidarity,
Anne Fischhaber
Equity and Inclusion Coordinator