Scarborough Charter

Building momentum: Canadian Black Scientists Network partners with U of T Scarborough

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 18:21:27 +0000

Building momentum: Canadian Black Scientists Network partners with U of T Scarborough

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 01/04/2023 - 13:21

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Co-founded by U of T Scarborough professor Maydianne Andrade in 2020, pictured, the Canadian Black Scientists Network now boasts more than 500 members (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Matthew DiMera

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Our Community

Canadian Black Scientists Network

Scarborough Charter

STEM

U of T Scarborough

When Maydianne Andrade co-founded the non-profit Canadian Black Scientists Network with other Black scientists across Canada two years ago, she felt there was a need to create a larger sense of community.

What she didn’t anticipate was the rapid growth.

“We just see momentum building and building every year,” says Andrade, a professor in the department of biological sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

By the time the Canadian Black Scientists Network (CBSN) held its first annual national conference virtually in 2022 for Black excellence in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine (BE-STEMM), it had already grown from 20 members to 150. Now, as it prepares to host the second conference in 2023, it has more than 500 members.

As the CBSN was looking for a university partner to host the network for a five-year term, U of T Scarborough was an ideal choice. It had already been the virtual host for the first BE-STEMM conference, and as the home of the Scarborough Charter – a commitment from more than 50 Canadian universities to address anti-Black racism and to promote Black inclusion – there was a symbolic and practical alignment with the network’s goals to remove barriers facing Black researchers and practitioners in STEMM.

“This partnership enables a variety of things. The first is to raise the visibility of the network,” Andrade says.

“It really advances the vision of both organizations and also aligns with the institutions that signed the charter from across the country. It’s providing essential support because although we are a virtual network, we do need some physical support – and the campus has been very generous in contributing to our operating requirements.”

As the inaugural president of the CBSN, Andrade has witnessed the importance of the network’s work with Black communities.

Olamide Falomo, CBSN's new program administrator, next to Maydianne Andrade at U of T Scarborough (supplied photo)

“It is a completely unique conference in Canada – and one of very few in North America – where you can hear more than one Black STEMM researcher talking about their work,” she says. “In any one place we tend to be fairly small in number, [so] that visibility is lost.

She adds the conference is an opportunity to learn about the work that Black experts in STEMM across the country are pursuing.

“We’re about research across all these different disciplines, but we’re also about change. We're really about action,” Andrade says. “We are here to get our people gainful employment, good career paths and to make sure that there are no barriers to their success.”

A recent immigrant to Canada, Brenda Tibingana-Ahimbisibwe was looking to return to work now that her two young children are in school. But she wasn’t hearing back from any prospective employers. Despite having trained as a medical doctor in Uganda and having a master’s in public health from the University of Manchester, she was considering leaving science behind. But after attending the CBSN conference’s virtual career fair, Tibingana-Ahimbisibwe landed a job with Statistics Canada.

“When you come as an immigrant, you don't really have any connections. Moving here, it was just my husband and me,” she says. “It’s quite daunting to re-enter your field at a level that matches your skills. You do need people with insight to help you navigate. You need support.”

Albert Kaboré, meanwhile, was looking to transition to civilian life after retiring from the Canadian Armed Forces when he attended last year’s career fair at the conference. Kaboré, who has a PhD in microbiology and immunology from Laval University, credits the conference with connecting him to his current position as the manager for evaluation impact and measurements with Genome Canada.

“I would really encourage people just to take advantage of that venue to showcase themselves and to widen their networks,” he says.

The conference also includes a science fair where middle school and high school students can connect with Black mentors.

“It’s important to have mentors of all sorts,” Andrade says. “But particularly having someone who looks like you who has succeeded in this field is encouraging for youth.”

Andrade says that graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, research associates, people in the job market and new Canadians are interested in meeting Black scientists who have succeeded in an ecosystem that’s not always welcoming to them.

This year’s conference, BE-STEMM 2023, will feature a panel on the challenges faced by skilled Black immigrants.

While the government makes it easier for highly educated and skilled newcomers to immigrate here, it’s been well-documented that many find it difficult to find jobs in their field once they arrive. Systemic racism can make the problem even worse for Black newcomers.

“Black women are perhaps the most heavily negatively impacted,” Andrade says. “This panel is going to be a discussion about that problem – about how we can change our systems. We are progressively seeing a gap in terms of skill in our labour markets in Canada and elsewhere, and we have the people who could fill those gaps. But we have to see them where they are.”

Scarborough Charter event explores how Canada’s colleges and universities can support Black flourishing

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 19 May 2022 18:23:03 +0000

Scarborough Charter event explores how Canada’s colleges and universities can support Black flourishing

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 05/19/2022 - 14:23

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Wisdom Tettey, vice-president and principal of U of T Scarborough, was a panellist at an inaugural Scarborough Charter event cohosted by UBC and SFU (photo courtesy of UBC)

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Canadian universities and colleges that signed the historic Scarborough Charter are looking at ways to support Black flourishing across Canada.

“The opportunity to flourish, thrive and to be successful is very much tied into the success of our institutions,” says Wisdom Tettey, chair of the Scarborough Charter’s steering committee and vice-president and principal at the University of Toronto Scarborough. “If we want to be really healthy, inclusive places, people have to be able to achieve their fullest potential.”

It’s been six months since about 50 universities and colleges across Canada signed the Scarborough Charter, a series of commitments to fight anti-Black racism and further Black flourishing in higher education.

The University of British Columbia recently hosted an inaugural forum that brought signatory schools across Canada together for the first time. UBC also teamed up with Simon Fraser University to host a closing symposium, titled ”Community Making and Black Flourishing Through the Scarborough Charter.“ Panels were open to the public in-person at UBC and via livestream.

“The fundamental goal was to make sure people could see the relevance of the charter in their everyday life,” Tettey says. “A core part of the charter is continuing to have this work be informed, shaped and co-created by communities.”

In one of the event’s four panels, undergraduate and graduate UBC and SFU students shared their experiences navigating university and discussed ways to create a new system of supports for Black students. Another panel had activists speak on ways academic institutes can connect with Black communities.

Panellists highlighted white supremacy in higher education as a major obstacle to Black flourishing. Several mentioned that Black people must fight to have schools acknowledge the systemic barriers they face.

“You need doors open, you need to address what is referred to as gate-keeping, and that gate-keeping is shaped by deficit thinking, by the tyranny of low expectations and by denying the value and humanity and dignity of Black folk,” said Malinda Smith, vice-provost and associate vice-president research (equity, diversity and inclusion) at the University of Calgary and member of the Scarborough Charter's steering committee.

In a panel with Tettey, Smith noted that because higher education institutions were built to cater to white people, being included in them in their current state isn’t the goal.

“The Scarborough Charter is helping to transform how we think about our institutions, which means our institutions cannot remain the same,” Smith said. “They have to be changed so we’re not being added into structures of oppression, but we are there to transform them.”

She also spoke on widespread underrepresentation in Canadian universities and colleges, and mentioned that many Black students will complete their entire education without having a Black professor or senior role model.

“We know that to be one, you have to see one sometimes,” she said of role models.

Panellists speak on stage at UBC during the Scarborough Charter's first symposium (photo courtesy of UBC)

Several panellists shared their personal experiences with racism and exclusion in higher education. Tettey says these stories don’t challenge the charter’s success – they’re an integral part of its journey.

“As we share our collective successes and the progress that we're making, it's important to subject those to critical review by the folks that we claim we're doing this for, because they are our best peer reviewers.”

Panel answers questions on field schools, Quebec and challenges

Tettey and Smith were co-panellists for a discussion on why a charter should be used for Black representation and inclusion. Smith opened by noting the charter was created during a global time of racial reckoning in 2020, but added that the work began “long before it became visible.” Many of their contributions, she added, have historically been erased or hidden from the public record.

“That moment of racial reckoning wasn’t just an ‘aha’ moment,” she said. “It emerged after decades of Black advocacy, a long [duration] of struggle, particularly led by Black students.”

Smith and Tettey’s panel was dedicated to answering virtually submitted questions from the audience, beginning with one asking whether the charter would be used to establish field schools with universities and colleges in Africa. Tettey clarified the document is meant to guide and support institutions, not to replace them.

The charter does include a commitment to encourage programs in Black and Black Canadian studies, and to promote curriculum that includes Black expertise and knowledges. But the charter doesn’t dictate how to achieve those commitments; it establishes them as goals while the Inter-Institutional Forum offers members mutual help in reaching them.

Tettey (right) and Smith (middle) were on a livestreamed panel moderated by Annette Henry (left), professor in the department of language and literacy education and institute for race, gender, sexuality and social justice at UBC (Submitted photo).

“There's a mechanism that allows us to come together, but the Scarborough Charter is not where the responsibility lies. It lies with our individual institutions. It lies with the individual colleagues who fashion curriculum,” replied Tettey. “But we are providing a network that allows you to work with others across the country to enable these opportunities at scale.”

Smith mentioned the range of African and Black studies programs offered by the charter’s signatory schools, some of which are decades old. The network allows institutions to not only connect on those programs, but consult with schools that may offer insights on how certificate and minor programs could become pathways to PhDs.

“There’s all kind of opportunities, and that’s an important aspect of the charter. Opportunities and possibilities that might not previously have been imagined,” she said.

Another question focused on how the charter would engage more universities in Quebec. Tettey said that effort is ongoing, adding that the approach is the same for institutions across Canada: work diligently and collaboratively to bring them into the fold. Previously in the panel, Smith acknowledged that Adelle Blackett, principal drafter of the charter, is also a full professor and Canada Research Chair in transnational labour law and development at McGill University in Quebec. Blackett is a key connection between the charter and the province, as Smith is for Alberta.

Tettey said every institution has its own character and autonomy that should be respected – and he noted that schools need to show commitment before signing. An institution must have truly accepted it needs to take steps toward equity to be ready for the work of the charter, he said.

“The work needs to be sustained and if you don't build a strong commitment at the institutional level, this will fizzle,” Tettey said.

This article was updated on May 24, 2022

U of T's Wisdom Tettey speaks to TVO about how Canadian universities are fighting anti-Black racism

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 18:36:10 +0000

U of T's Wisdom Tettey speaks to TVO about how Canadian universities are fighting anti-Black racism

geoff.vendeville Fri, 02/11/2022 - 13:36

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(Photo by Dylan Toombs/University of Toronto Scarborough)

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Wisdom Tettey, vice-president and principal of the University of Toronto Scarborough, says the Scarborough Charter can serve as a model for universities of all sizes as they seek to confront anti-Black racism.

Tettey told TVO that the charter, signed by more than 50 universities across the country, including 24 in Ontario, grew out of the first National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities in October 2020. The document has four guiding principles: Black flourishing, inclusive excellence, mutuality and accountability.

“One of the things that participants committed to was a charter that comes out of that process, providing a guiding post, if you will, for institutions to help frame their own individual efforts addressing anti-Black racism and Black inclusion,” Tettey told TVO.

“You may be a small school and what you're able to do is limited, but you and your community can decide on what is meaningful within the confines of your particular institution, and then deliver on that and hold yourself accountable to that.”

U of T joins Canadian universities and colleges in signing charter pledging to fight anti-Black racism, promote Black inclusion

lanthierj — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 16:23:15 +0000

U of T joins Canadian universities and colleges in signing charter pledging to fight anti-Black racism, promote Black inclusion

lanthierj Thu, 11/18/2021 - 11:23

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U of T President Meric Gertler signs the Scarborough Charter, a document pledging to fight anti-Black racism and promote Black inclusion in the Canadian post-secondary sector (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

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The University of Toronto has joined nearly 50 universities and colleges across Canada in signing a historic charter pledging to fight anti-Black racism and to promote Black inclusion.

The 22-page Scarborough Charter outlines key barriers to Black inclusion and possible ways to respond. It also contains actions and accountability mechanisms for individual institutions and the higher-ed sector as a whole to deliver on promises to make structural and systemic change.

“We are tremendously proud of the role that the U of T community has played in the development of the charter alongside our colleagues across Canada,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

“Combatting anti-Black racism and promoting Black inclusion are urgent priorities in our society. This is also a crucial component of inclusive excellence which is so fundamental to our academic community.”

The charter itself outlines four guiding principles: Black flourishing (removing structural barriers to equity, inclusion and social justice); inclusive excellence (valuing, embracing and promoting contributions from diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences); mutuality (fostering equitable relationships within communities that have reciprocal benefits); and accountability (delivering on commitments made to transform structures, policies and procedures).

Each institution signing the charter will use these principles to guide their own policies and practices relating to decision-making processes and governance structures, as well as those relating to research, teaching and learning, and community engagement. For example, it provides guidance on curriculum development that centres Black expertise and knowledges, hiring practices and research support, among others.

McGill University Professor Adelle Blackett, a renowned international law expert who led the drafting of the Scarborough Charter, said the benefit of this particular type of charter approach is that it is precise, detailed and comprehensive enough to allow partners to build their own action plans while respecting institutional and regional diversity. She added that it also provides the architecture to sustain and enhance commitments over time.

“By drafting a Charter, we sought to centre the experiences, contributions and aspirations of people of African descent in Canadian higher education and assist processes of respectful, local co-construction,” she said.

The partner institutions also agreed to create an Inter-institutional Forum that will continue to guide and promote the goals of the charter. This includes sector-wide collaboration, sharing of resources (such as data and best practices) and a sustained commitment to fighting anti-Black racism and promoting Black inclusion. This body will also periodically review and recommend a schedule of contributions made by the partner institutions.

U of T joined nearly 50 universities and colleges across Canada in signing the Scarborough Charter.

“Signing the Charter sends a clear message to our community that U of T will continue to support and advance work that enables Black faculty, staff, librarians, and students to thrive,” said Kelly Hannah-Moffat, U of T’s vice-president, people strategy, equity and culture.

“This work is occurring across our three campuses, both in partnership with our Equity Offices and independently, and we are committed to moving forward with the principles and actions outlined in the Charter.”

Hannah-Moffat said the charter will also work in tandem with U of T’s Anti-Black Racism Task Force Report recommendations that will be implemented across all three U of T campuses.

The charter is the result of a year-long collaborative process that started during the first National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities held in October 2020. The two-day national forum focused on anti-Black racism and Black inclusion in Canadian higher education. Following the forum, a charter was drafted and then the partner institutions consulted with their own communities for feedback and input.

Professor Wisdom Tettey, U of T vice-president and principal of U of T Scarborough, said the entire process has been a truly collaborative effort involving input from partners across Canada.

“It’s heartening to see these efforts manifested in this charter,” he said.

Graham Carr, president and vice-chancellor of Concordia University, said he was proud to sign the charter and that it aligns with current work the university is doing relating to anti-racism and promoting Black inclusion.

Carr added it was crucial for partners from across the Canadian post-secondary sector to unify in creating an instrument that would hold each other accountable.

“These institutions will be called upon to take bold, decisive and transformative action to move beyond representation by removing systemic barriers to their Black communities so that they can be meaningfully included at every level of their institution,” he said.

“These actions are generations overdue and must be considered a national priority.”

'A historic moment': National charter on anti-Black racism, Black inclusion in higher ed moves forward

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 16:15:41 +0000

'A historic moment': National charter on anti-Black racism, Black inclusion in higher ed moves forward

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 03/22/2021 - 12:15

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(Photo by UTSC Communications & Public Affairs)

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Canadian universities and colleges are moving closer to creating a national charter aimed at dismantling anti-Black racism and fostering Black inclusion in the post-secondary sector.

The charter is an outcome of the first National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities held in October 2020. More than 3,000 members of the higher education community – and more than 60 partner institutions across Canada – came together for two days of conversation focused specifically on anti-Black racism and Black inclusion.

The charter document, called the Scarborough National Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education: Principles, Actions and Accountabilities, will be a national plan of action that participants agreed was an important step to fight structural racism, according to Kelly Hannah-Moffat, the University of Toronto’s vice-president, human resources and equity.

“It’s been a privilege to work alongside post-secondary partners from across Canada on this important document,” Hannah-Moffat says.

“Addressing something as complex as systemic racism requires insight from a diversity of voices, and we’re proud that’s been the case in drafting this charter. The charter will inform our ongoing work on inclusion and inspire new initiatives at the university.”

The charter co-creation process included input from people in the post-secondary sector and other partners across Canada. Drawing from participants’ perspectives, insights and ideas, the national dialogues advisory committee, consisting of members from the post-secondary sector across Canada, drafted a charter that is currently being reviewed by partner institutions for their feedback.

Members of the U of T community can provide feedback on this form.

Once the charter is finalized, there are plans to establish an association of institutions that will meet on an ongoing basis to sustain the commitments made in the charter.

“There’s been good discussion and debate about the charter’s contents, but it’s been done in a spirit of co-operation and working towards a collective goal,” says Robert Summerby-Murray, president and vice-chancellor of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

One important lesson Summerby-Murray says he has taken away from the National Dialogues is the need to shift the conversation away from “equity-seeking” to “equity-deserving” – a phrase now being used at Saint Mary’s.

“Understanding that distinction is a recognition that equity is something individuals deserve,” he says. “We all have a role to play to step away from being equity gatekeepers and instead focus on what it means for people to deserve it.”

Annette Trimbee, president and vice-chancellor of MacEwan University in Edmonton, hopes the charter can be a guidepost to help institutions work towards their own equity, diversity and inclusion goals, and help them to be held accountable for the goals they have set.

She says local context and place matter, and that some institutions are further along in advancing the goals of the charter.

“I think the charter can serve as a North Star in guiding policies and strategies at universities and colleges across Canada,” Trimbee says.

She adds that both MacEwan and the University of Winnipeg, which she previously led, have made reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a priority. However, she stressed that the National Charter is something that should work together with those efforts.

“These pieces work together. Inclusion is inclusion, and racism is racism – whether it’s anti-Black or anti-Indigenous racism. It’s important to be mindful that this charter will only add to the work being done on reconciliation.”

Barrington Walker, associate vice-president, equity, diversity and inclusion at Wilfrid Laurier University, hopes the national charter can inspire positive change in a similar vein as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action, which seeks to address Canada’s past wrongdoings and conflict with Indigenous Peoples.

He says the charter should provide a blueprint for addressing anti-Black racism in the Canadian post-secondary sector.

“I hope that universities and colleges will no longer be in a position where they can throw up their arms and claim they have no idea how to address these issues on their campuses,” he says.

He’s also optimistic that other non-partner institutions that didn’t take part in the National Dialogues can use it as inspiration for work on their own campuses.

“This experience has been unparalleled in my personal and professional life, and it’s been an absolute privilege to take part,” he says. “I also think it’s a historic moment for Canadian post-secondary education, and one that I hope will leave a lasting impact.”

Scarborough Charter

Building momentum: Canadian Black Scientists Network partners with U of T Scarborough

Scarborough Charter event explores how Canada’s colleges and universities can support Black flourishing

Panel answers questions on field schools, Quebec and challenges

U of T's Wisdom Tettey speaks to TVO about how Canadian universities are fighting anti-Black racism

Read more at TVO

U of T joins Canadian universities and colleges in signing charter pledging to fight anti-Black racism, promote Black inclusion

'A historic moment': National charter on anti-Black racism, Black inclusion in higher ed moves forward