Anti-Racism

This is an issue that should have been dealt with years ago, however, there have been many missed opportunities to address this in the past. The trauma that stems from George Floyd's murder certainly as raised awareness of racism issues, not only in the US, but broadly across the world, and created the current momentum, which is quite unique. Instead of focusing on the missed opportunities of the past, we are committed to learning and progressing.

As we embrace this momentum as a Faculty, we are focused on ensuring that there is an equitable and sustainable system within our Faculty. Building an infrastructure for our entire community to feel comfortable and having a direct line to know who to report these incidents to is going to be very important for the continued success of this initiative, in order to ensure that this course of action is sustainable.

The President’s Taskforce and the Science Taskforce have a similar focus, however, the Science Taskforce will focus on issues specific to the Faculty of Science. One member of the Science Taskforce will be appointed to sit on the President’s Taskforce as well, to ensure that there is a direct conduit between the two Taskforces.

We are looking for 3 undergraduate students and one graduate student to be part of the Taskforce. Students received an email on June 23^rd with an invitation to submit a statement or interest to sit on the Taskforce. We are gathering all of the nominations received, and the already appointed members of the Taskforce will make the final selections.

Ideally, the final committee will include 1 undergraduate student from each of the following areas of science: one from a departmental program (biology, chemistry, earth and environmental sciences, or physics and astronomy), one from the affiliated schools (School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, or School of Pharmacy), and one from an Office of the Dean program (honours science, psychology, science and aviation, or science and business).

The role and specific responsibilities of students on the Taskforce will be finalized after the entire Taskforce meets. The total number of hours required would be fluid, depending on the size of the particular tasks being tackled at one time.

Yes, the student members of SART will be compensated for their service. Faculty members will receive service credit.

Currently, we are not in a position to provide the statistics for this question, as individuals are not required to self-identify as a member of the BIPOC community, and it is inappropriate to make assumptions of an individual’s self-identification. This is a gap not just at the University of Waterloo, but in universities across Canada, as it is not required to systematically track the ethnicities of our faculty and staff. We have already been in contact with the equity office and are in discussions with their office, in order to fill this gap and effectively track our progress forwards.

In our hiring practices, and appointment of leadership positions, it has been an ongoing practice for some time now to take diversity and how candidates address equity within the workplace into account. This is an integral part of what we do, and is certainly an important criteria when we make decisions.

Yes, all incoming professors have a module on Equity, Inclusion and Diversity (EDI) included in the training required by Faculty members. A review of this training is expected from the Science Anti-Racism Taskforce, as part of their assessment of our Faculty.

Yes, all recommendations made by the Taskforce will be public. Transparency is critical in order to create accountability from the entire Waterloo Science community. Regular updates are also important in order to give our community the opportunity to provide feedback to the Taskforce, and sustain the engagement and momentum towards eliminating racism that we are currently experiencing.

Recommendations can currently be made to our Taskforce through the anti-racism feedback form. When filling out this form, you may choose to remain anonymous, or to provide your contact information if you would like us to follow up with you about your recommendations or feedback.

Moving forward, the Science Anti-Racism Taskforce is planning to set up a method for individual or small group meetings with Taskforce members. More information will be shared with our community when it is available.

The Science Anti-Racism Taskforce will have a member who is also on the President’s Anti-Racism Taskforce. This will ensure that the concerns from the Faculty of Science are heard in the University-wide discussions, and there is good communication and coordination between the two Taskforces.

Within the Faculty of Science, the Taskforce is committed to creating actionable recommendations to create both short-term and long-term solutions to racism. Additionally, Bob Lemieux, Dean of Science, is committed acting on the recommendations put forward by the Science Anti-Racism Taskforce.

As a community, we need to sustain our engagement and tackling racism in the Faculty of Science and the University of Waterloo. Accountability from our community members is important in ensuring that the recommendations are acted on. We encourage you to continue engaging with us, challenging us to have the uncomfortable conversations, and tackle this difficult issue.

You should feel comfortable in reporting instances of racism, knowing that you will be protected and this will not impact your academic career. There are many resources on campus at the University level, including the Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Office and the Office of Human Rights that you can report to. You can also report to the Faculty of Science, undergraduate office or the Faculty Associate Graduate Studies to address these issues, including making a formal Policy 33 complaint, which will be sent to the Dean of Science Office. Racist behavior amongst our faculty will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form and that students will be fully supported if they experience instances of racism. We will do all we can to ensure that issues are resolved in in a way that will not compromise, or jeopardize a student's career.