CONTENTS
- AUGUST 31, “TWO PROFS LEAVE U OF S”, STAR PHOENIX
- AUGUST 30, PRESS RELEASE, INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED WATER RESEARCH CHAIR LEAVING U OF S (Dr. Monique Dubé)
- AUGUST 30, LETTER FROM DR DUBE TO ROB NORRIS, MINISTER FOR ADVANCED EDUCATION
- JUNE 15, LETTER FROM ACADEMIC WOMEN FOR JUSTICE TO MINISTER ROB NORRIS, SUPPORT FOR INQUIRY INTO WOMEN IN SCIENCE AT U OF S
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1. AUGUST 31, “TWO PROFS LEAVE U OF S”, STAR PHOENIX
Internationally Recognized Water Research Chair Leaving U of S
http://www.leaderpost.com/profs%20leave/5331203/story.html
Star Phoenix Staff August 31, 2011
A husband and wife pair of prominent academics are leaving the University of Saskatchewan.
Monique Dube, a Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystem Health Diagnosis, and Todd Pugsley, a clean energy specialist in the department of chemical engineering, are leaving the university for the private sector in Calgary as of Thursday.
Earlier this year, Pugsley was the spokesperson for a group of U of S academics that called for a major change in university governance after controversy arose over some senior-level appointments. That prompted a sparring match with the university administration.
But U of S provost Fairbairn said the issue did not come up in discussions with Dube and Pugsley over the terms of their departure. A confidentiality agreement is in place, said Fairbairn.
Pugsley was to teach two classes in the upcoming semester. Other professors will now handle those courses. Dube was to teach a restricted elective course for eight students and alternative arrangements are being made, according to the university.
Pugsley is moving to Suncor Energy Inc. while Dube has taken a position with Total E&P Canada Ltd.
2. AUGUST 30, PRESS RELEASE, INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED WATER RESEARCH CHAIR LEAVING U OF S (Dr. Monique Dubé)
As follow-up to the message below I wish to inform you that effective Sept 1, 2011 I will be leaving the University of Saskatchewan.
The attached press release summarizes the news.
My husband, Dr. Todd Pugsley in the Department of Chemical engineering is also leaving the University on this date.
This was not a decision I had expected to have to make and was not taken lightly. I leave behind approximately 30 staff and students, millions in research funding and associated deliverables, and research infrastructure.
The facts associated with my case were communicated to you previously as well as to your Deputy Minister, Clare Isman. In a letter received from Mr. Isman on August 10, 2011 I was encouraged “to take advantage of the program and services offered by the U of S” and “the Ministry was assured that all of the policies and programs that would normally be made available to a person in my situation are being provided”.
As per the invitation in DM Isman’s letter dated August 10, 2011, and in light of my imminent departure from the U of S, I am contacting you in the hope that you personally will join me and perhaps my colleagues in a further discussion of the facts I raised with you in earlier correspondence.
I can be reached at moniquedube at sasktel.net for the month of Sept and Monique.dub at threatscanada.ca after that. My new cell number is (403) 890 7043. Please contact me if you wish to discuss my departure within the confines of the terms of my departure.
Respectfully,
Dr. Monique Dubé
Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystem Health Diagnosis University of Saskatchewan
Room 332, Kirk Hall 117 Science Place Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C8 CANADA
www.usask.ca/crc/profiles/dube.php
Science is for Service
You must do the things you think you cannot do. – Eleaner Roosevelt –
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4. JUNE 15, LETTER FROM ACADEMIC WOMEN FOR JUSTICE TO MINISTER ROB NORRIS, SUPPORT FOR INQUIRY INTO WOMEN IN SCIENCE AT U OF S
From: agnes.whitfield at bell.net Sent: June-15-11 9:43 AM
To: rnorris@mla.legassembly.sk.ca; dharpauer@mla.legassembly.sk.ca; Dube, Monique
Subject: Support for inquiry into women in science at the University of Saskatchewan
The Honourable Rob Norris
Minister of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration
Minister Responsible for Innovation, Innovation Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation, and the Saskatchewan Research Council
Dear Minister:
As President of Academic Women for Justice, I am writing to support Professor Monique Dubé’s request to you for an independent investigation into the climate for women in science at the University of Saskatchewan.
As Minister of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration, Minister Responsible for Innovation, Innovation Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation, and the Saskatchewan Research Council, you are particularly well placed to make an important contribution to enhancing Saskatchewan’s competitiveness. Your leadership can play a key role in driving the development of cutting-edge research in Saskatchewan by fostering the kind of positive, energetic climate for research and research skills building that will attract outstanding researchers to the province and enable them to flourish.
As a Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystem Health Diagnosis, Professor Dubé has a stellar record. She has developed the Healthy River Ecosystem Assessment System (THREATS), a nationally recognized framework and related software to assess changes in the quality of the water in our rivers and the health of their fish. She has published over fifty articles on her numerous research projects. Her achievements have earned her national and international recognition, including most recently the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council’s Synergy award.
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Dr Dubé is also committed to teaching and training young scientists, and to communicating the results of her work to the general public. Most recently, she has been honoured, as you know, by the YMCA, in recognition of her outreach activities.
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That a scientist of Professor Dubé’s caliber should be facing the kinds of unfair and inequitable treatment she has brought to your attention is a cause for great concern. Issues such as failure to respect commitments under the Canada Research Chair Program, undue delays in the tenure process, harassment, and retaliation tactics point to the existence, at the University of Saskatchewan, of an environment that is not conducive to the support and development of cutting-edge research.
Academic Women for Justice feels strongly that the greatest synergy and scientific advancement occurs in working environments that are fair and equitable to women and men, and that issues of gender bias inevitably hinder scientific endeavor and hold back the creation of new knowledge
I would respectfully draw your attention to the comprehensive and rigorous study published in 2007 by the American Association of University Women, entitled Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
This report makes a number of concrete recommendations for improving the working environment for women, to the betterment of the whole scientific community. These suggestions could provide useful guidance for an independent inquiry into the environment for women in science at the University of Saskatchewan.
It is our opinion that a forward-looking inquiry of this kind would contribute substantially to improving not only the climate at the University of Saskatchewan for outstanding women scientists such as Professor Dubé, but also the performance of the university as a leader and innovator.
I do not know if you are aware that at present, the University of Saskatchewan houses only 24 research chairs, a mere 1,333% of Canadian Research Chairs, based on statistics on Tri-Council funded Research Chairs in Canada compiled by Professor Nadia Ghazzali, NSERC Industrial Alliance Chair on Women in science and engineering at Laval University, and Nicole Morin-Rivest.
In terms of gender balance, the University of Saskatchewan does slightly better than the unsatisfactory national average, when all research chairs are taken into account, with 29.17% of chairs being held by women, compared to 25.17% across Canada.
However, the distribution of these chairs at the University of Saskatchewan offers a different picture. In the category of NSERC funded Chairs, which applies to Professor Dubé’s chair, the University of Saskatchewan is well below the national average, with women only holding 20 % of these chairs. More significantly, women hold only a scant 7.1% of the most senior, or Tier I Chairs.
In this quantitative context, the absence at the University of Saskatchewan of equitable and effective structures to deal with workplace tensions related to gender bias and chilly climate for women in science at the University is another compelling reason for an independent inquiry with a broad mandate.
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As President of Academic Women for Justice, I will also be writing shortly to the federal minister responsible for the Research Chair Program to express our concern about the serious issues that Professor Dubé has raised.
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We will recommend that the University of Saskatchewan be considered ineligible for further funding through the Canada Research Chairs Program until an independent, arms-length inquiry has been carried out into the research climate at the University of Saskatchewan and corrective measures have been taken.�
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Yours sincerely,
Agnes Whitfield, Ph.D.
President/Présidente,
Academic Women for Justice/Femmes universitaires pour la justice
Professor, Department of English/Professeure titulaire, Département d’études anglaises
York University/Université York, Toronto (Canada)
http://people.laps.yorku.ca/people.nsf/researcherprofile?readform&shortname=agnesw