Crispin Thorold

The University of Toronto’s Anti-Semitism Working Group has delivered its final report and made a series of recommendations to tackle anti-Semitic racism and religious discrimination on campus – all of which have been accepted by the university.

The report’s eight recommendations also address definitions of anti-Semitism, the extent and limits of academic freedom in a university setting and the provision of kosher food on campus.

Arthur Ripstein

“Anti-Semitism is an ancient but still present and problematic form of hatred,” said Arthur Ripstein, chair of the working group and a University Professor of law and philosophy. “Our aim in drafting this report is to make realistic and actionable recommendations of the ways that the university can move forward in addressing it and to ensure that U of T is a place where Jewish members of the community feel safe and welcome.”Comprising student, staff and faculty representatives, the working group conducted extensive consultations across the three campuses. Its findings draw on nearly 700 survey responses, more than 200 email submissions, six focus groups and several interviews with Jewish student organizations, as well as one with Jewish faith leaders.

The Anti-Semitism Working Group was established last December by U of T’s president, provost and vice-president, human resources and equity (now people strategy, equity and culture) to review programming, activities, processes and practices in place at the university, as well as to make recommendations to support the university’s response to anti-Semitism.

The review comes at a time when incidents of anti-Semitism are sharply on the rise in broader society. In July, the chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission warned that there had been “an alarming increase in antisemitic acts” during the pandemic.

Ripstein recounts that the university has a troubling history of anti-Semitism. In the 19th century, Jews were not able to become faculty members, and through to the middle part of the 20th century some faculties had quotas on the number of Jewish students that could be admitted.

“The situation for Jewish members of the university has improved considerably since that time,” said Ripstein. “But there are still situations in which they are made to feel unwelcome or harassed. Our aim is to address those issues in ways that are sensitive to the particular position of the university as a place of learning and as a place of academic disagreement.”

Each of the working group’s recommendations focuses on ways the university can make itself a more inclusive and equitable place. That includes calling for the university to apply its equity, diversity and inclusion policies consistently, and procedures to ensure that anti-Semitism is treated in the same way as other forms of racism and religious discrimination. Other recommendations include:

The university should focus on problems and issues specific to the distinctive context of the university as a place in which difficult and controversial questions are addressed. In so doing, it should not adopt any of the definitions of anti-Semitism that have recently been proposed because of concerns about their applicability to a university setting.
Academic units, administrative units and student organizations in which enrolment is mandatory must not make participation in their activities or access to their resources conditional on taking a particular position on any controversial question.
The university should issue regular communications about its approach to controversial events, emphasizing that it will not enforce content-based restrictions on such events but that such events must be held in a respectful, safe and open manner.
The university must develop measures for responding to various forms of social exclusion, harassment, micro-aggressions and bullying (including online instances) for all equity-deserving groups and apply these consistently.
The university and its divisions and academic units should apply the Policy on Scheduling Classes and Examinations and Other Accommodations for Religious Observances consistently, avoiding scheduling mandatory events on significant Jewish holidays and permitting Jewish members of the university to participate fully in a range of accommodations.
The university should ensure kosher food is readily available on its campuses.

In response, U of T President Meric Gertler, Acting Vice-President & Provost Trevor Young and Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity and Culture Kelly Hannah-Moffat said they were pleased to accept all the working group’s recommendations.

“We are profoundly opposed to anti-Semitism,” the university leaders said in their official response to the report. “We are determined to ensure that our campuses are places where members of the Jewish community feel that they are safe, included and respected as members and friends of the U of T community.”

They also thanked the members of the working group, as well as all those who took part in the consultations. “Through their consultations and deliberations, and through their report, [the working group has] made an extremely valuable contribution to the University on behalf of its Jewish community," they said.

The working group report examined the tensions between the essential need for a culture of respect and inclusion and the university’s unique position in society, where, in the words of the Statement of Institutional Purpose, “the most crucial of all human rights are the rights of freedom of speech, academic freedom, and freedom of research.”

Within this context, the working group recommended that the university not adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. “The reason that we are not recommending the adoption of the IHRA, or other definitions, is that all of them are designed for different purposes,” explained Ripstein. “They are not suitable to the distinctive context of the university. Adoption of them would not integrate with the requirements on us and our other existing policy commitments.”

The university’s senior leaders confirmed that a definition of anti-Semitism will not be adopted: “We appreciate that some members of the University community as well as external stakeholders may be disappointed … We also acknowledge and appreciate the working group’s principled and thoughtful reasoning on this point."

The working group report noted that free speech and academic freedom requirements mean that unpopular views must not lead to any form of sanctions or exclusion from the university experience. Also, academic units should not pressure or require individuals to endorse or oppose political causes, the report said.

The institutional response highlights several ways in which individuals will be reminded of their responsibilities, including through proactive communications and training that address anti-Semitism. There will also be a review of existing policies and guidelines to ensure that they respond to the particular challenge of addressing racism and faith-based hatred that’s found on social media.

The university will provide progress updates on the implementation of the report’s recommendations on its Anti-Racism Strategic Tables webpage.

U of T accepts all 56 recommendations of Anti-Black Racism Task Force

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 20:00:46 +0000

U of T accepts all 56 recommendations of Anti-Black Racism Task Force

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 04/14/2021 - 16:00

Cutline

(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

Topic

Diversity and Inclusion

Cheryl Regehr

Equity

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty of Arts & Science

Meric Gertler

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

The University of Toronto’s Anti-Black Racism Task Force has delivered its final report, which includes more than 50 action-oriented measures and solutions to tackle anti-Black racism and promote Black inclusion and excellence on the university’s three campuses.

The university administration has accepted all 56 recommendations.

The task force was established by the university leadership in September last year as part of its response to the global anti-Black racism protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as well as incidents of systemic racism in Canada, and impassioned calls within the university community for urgent, substantive and meaningful change.

Throughout the course of the 2020-21 academic year, the 25-member task force examined existing university policies, processes and practices and considered others that would address anti-Black racism. It also reviewed correspondence received by the university on anti-Black racism during the Black Lives Matter protests and in previous years. This included demand letters, open letters, statements and petitions by faculty, staff, student and union groups.

The report provided recommendations in seven systemic areas ranging from leadership and accountability, to complaints and investigations processes. It also has recommendations specifically for students, staff, faculty and librarians.

“This is a pivotal moment for the University of Toronto,” said Professor Dexter R. Voisin, co-chair of the Anti-Black Racism Task Force and dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. “Our university is the biggest player in Canada in terms of academic prestige. That brings responsibility, as well as visibility. Other institutions are watching to see how we respond.”

Read the Anti-Black Racism Task Force’s final report

In their institutional response, U of T President Meric Gertler, Vice-President & Provost Cheryl Regehr and Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity Kelly Hannah-Moffat said they “accept and embrace all of the recommendations of the Task Force,” and that they are determined to seize the “opportunity that the Task Force has identified for us.”

The university leaders also expressed their gratitude to the students, staff, and faculty who served on the task force and its working groups, including its four co-chairs, and all the members of the U of T community who shared their experiences, insights, and expertise.

They stressed that the university community and society as a whole have the responsibility for addressing all forms of racism.

“We must not expect only Black and racialized communities to do so … In particular, we would like to thank the members of the Black community who contributed, despite the hurt and exhaustion felt by many in the wake of recent events, as well as historical injustices and lasting trauma,” they wrote in their response.

Read the university’s response to the task force’s report

The seven systemic areas addressed by the report include:

Leadership and accountability
Diverse governance
Collection and use of data
Funding structures and advancement support
Promoting Black inclusive spaces
Complaints and investigations processes
Anti-Black racism training

One of the most fundamental areas is data collection, analysis and reporting. “Data collection is so important,” said Roger Bulgin, co-chair of the task force and chief administrative officer at Woodsworth College. “It is vital to substantiate – not just to tackle anti-Black racism, but also for mental health, for campus policing, and all forms of racism.”

The university has been compiling data about staff ethnicity and gender for several years through an employment equity survey. Staff engagement has risen significantly to 87.1 per cent for the most recent survey. However, the task force said that more can be done, including a dedicated communications campaign to encourage greater participation.

It also recommends stronger reporting, including an annual report “to assist divisional leaders in assessing how their diversity and particularly Black representation within their division was comparable to that of peer divisions.” There is a similar recommendation for the results of the new Student Equity Census.

The co-chairs of U of T's Anti-Black Racism Task Force (clockwise from top left): Desma Charlemagne-Michel, Dexter Voisin, Njoki Wane and Roger Bulgin (photos supplied)

In the area of leadership, there are recommendations to appoint new senior equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) leads in every division who will have combating anti-Black racism as a primary component of their work. There are also recommendations for the university’s governance structures, including a call for the Governing Council Secretariat to build a more diverse pool of candidates for election to governance positions.

Training features strongly as well, with recommendations for enhanced unconscious bias and anti-Black racism progressive training to be made available to all staff, faculty and librarians, including hiring committees. The task force said training should be mandatory for those in more senior and sensitive roles.

There is also a focus on reforms to complaints processes, as well as a call for better communication of university policy in this area.

It is also recommended that U of T build advancement capacity to attract donors to a Black excellence campaign.

Examples of the report’s detailed, area-specific recommendations for students:

Reforms to admissions and student recruitment processes
Enhanced anti-racist and inclusive pedagogies workshops
The development of a contact database of Black alumni to engage with students

The report’s recommendations for staff include:

The integration of EDI best practices in recruitment processes, including new language to encourage Black applicants to apply for roles at U of T
Onboarding materials for new Black staff that raise awareness about affinity groups and mentoring programs
New mentorship opportunities, succession strategies and pathways for Black staff

For faculty, instructors and librarians, the report’s recommendations include:

An institutional Black Doctoral Scholars of Excellence program
An annual lecture series to showcase Black Excellence in Research
A focus on increasing the pipeline of Black librarians

The task force report notes that much of this work is underway. “Not everything needs to start from scratch,” said Desma Charlemagne-Michel, a co-chair of the Anti-Black Racism Task Force and director of human resources at U of T Scarborough. “Although many of the recommendations are for completion within one to two years, most of the work has already started in some capacity.”

Over the past few years, U of T has created a Black Research Network, recruited top students and researchers through newly established graduate and post-doctoral fellowships, as well as made significant investments in a hiring fund for Black and Indigenous faculty. It also created the ground-breaking Employee Equity Survey and its associated annual reports.

The university also helped organize and facilitate the National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities, a series of national forums focused on addressing equity and inclusion in Canadian post-secondary education, and the subsequent Scarborough National Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education: Principles, Actions, and Accountabilities.

Transparency and accountability will be central to the university administration’s response to the task force’s report. That includes a new, dedicated website with updates on implementation of the task force’s recommendations. The university’s senior leadership note in their response that they anticipate being able to implement most of the Task Force’s recommendations within the timeframes suggested.

As the university’s senior leaders note, “we share the determination that no future Task Force should be needed to prompt the actions we already know are necessary.”

A virtual entrustment ceremony that marks the handing over of the task force’s final report to the president, provost, and vice-president, human resources and equity will be held on May 5, 2021, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.