Application for *NEW* Special Equity Support Initiative 2024-27

Deadline: Monday, June 15th, 2026

Special Equity Support Initiative Fund Guidelines and Application

As per the Memorandum of Settlement for the Renewal of the YUFA Collective Agreement, the Special Equity Support Initiative is intended to "grant teaching release to employees who self-identify as members of a racialized group, Indigenous or persons with disabilities to support teaching, service, and/or research. This Initiative will award up to eight (8) 0.5 FCE course releases in each of the 2025-2026 and the 2026-2027 academic years. The maximum award that an applicant may receive is 0.5 FCE. It is understood that faculty and librarians/archivists will not be simultaneously awarded a release from both Article 19.33 and this Initiative.  Eligibility criteria shall consider how a 0.5 FCE teaching release under this Initiative will assist the applicant in support of their teaching, service and/or research." 

The deadline for applications is June 15, 2026.

Checklist:

For an application to be considered by the YUFA Committee charged with adjudicating research releases for the Special Equity Support Initiative, the following is required:

• A completed application form including proposal (see application form below)
• Confirmation that the relevant chair has been informed of the intent to apply
• A current curriculum vitae including information on your teaching, research, and service experience. To be eligible to apply for this fund, YUFA members must self-identify as members of a racialized group, Indigenous, or a person with a disability.

Please note: We have moved to email submission. All supporting documents are required and applications will only be accepted by email, sent to [email protected]

Please compile all your supporting documentation and send it as one single PDF document to [email protected] with “Special Equity Support Initiative” in the subject line.

Purpose of the Fund:

Course load reductions through this fund are intended to provide recipients with additional time within normal workload to engage in activities in support of or relating to Decolonization, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DEDI). Advancement or implementation of aspects of anti-racism, disability justice, equity and decolonization, including but not limited to the York University Decolonization, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, including the Indigenous Framework for York University; Framework to Address Anti-Black Racism; and/or Faculty/School/Department equity, diversity, inclusion initiatives.

Adjudication Criteria:

All applications will be considered, with highest priority given to the proposed activities below, in the following rank order:

1. Those engaged in service activities that pose additional (especially onerous) time commitments.
2. Those who through their teaching responsibilities or in their units carry out additional (especially onerous) mentoring, advising and support of students or those who have been asked to develop a new course dealing with an equity issue in an area which is emerging and thus especially labour-intensive.
3. Those who are engaged in research on anti-racism, decolonization, and/or disability but who have not been able to secure internal or external research funding.

Please note that documenting engagement in multiple designated activities will also be considered. The crucial criteria will be the potential for broader impact of the activity, or activities, combined with the time commitment to engage in these activities.

Application for Special Equity Support Initiative 2026-27

Name:                                                             ______________________________________

Department/Division/School:                      ______________________________________

Faculty/Library:                                             ______________________________________

Year Appointed to York Faculty/Library:   ______________________________________

Telephone:                                                    ______________________________________

Please self-identify by checking one or more of the following:

Member of a racialized group             ___

Indigenous person                               ___

Person with disabilities                        ___

Amount of Release Time Requested* (maximum 0.5 FCE):

*Please note, this course release cannot be combined with any other type of teaching load reductions which would result in the member having a teaching load of less than 1.0 FCE for the 2025-2026 academic year [see Article 18.15 (i)]. Course load reductions through this fund must be taken in the academic year for which they are awarded.

Other course releases*:

*Please note that faculty and librarians/archivists will not be simultaneously awarded a release from both Article 19.33 “Support for Service in Respect of EDI” and this Initiative.

Special Equity Support Initiative Proposal:

On a separate page, please provide the title, description and rationale for the leave (three pages maximum). Please describe how a teaching release under this initiative will assist you in your service, teaching activities, and/or research according to the criteria above. Please also document how much additional time these activities entail/or have entailed.

Submit your full application, in one PDF file, to:  [email protected]