Professor elected as the vice-chair for the status of women and equity committee

Associate Professor of Psychology, Dr. Cathy Chovaz has taken on a leadership role in shaping policy recommendations for colleges and universities across Ontario.

The Status of Women and Equity Committee is a standing committee of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) Board of Directors. This committee provides information regarding issues of concern to women and all academic staff members at Ontario universities who are seeking equity in areas related to gender, ethnicity, race, indigeneity, disability, sexuality, religion, or age. The committee collects, analyses and disseminates this information.

Dr. Chovaz currently sits on the King’s faculty association executive committee as the Equity Chair. She will continue in this role for a second year in 2018-19. She recently completed a three-year term on the Canadian Association of University Teachers Equity Committee where she represented faculty with disabilities.

“In all these positions my hope is to continue promoting equitable practices on behalf of all equity-seeking groups. Equity and equality are critical in our universities to ensure best employment practices as well as proving good leadership and modelling for students,” says Dr. Chovaz.

OCUFA represents 17,000 tenure-stream and contract professors and academic librarians in 28 member faculty associations at universities across Ontario. Since 1964, OCUFA has worked to preserve and enhance the quality of Ontario universities, while protecting the rights and aspirations of faculty.

Dr. Chovaz is the Director for the Centre of Deaf Education & Accessibility Forum at King's. She has a cross appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University.  She teaches courses related to mental health and deafness, child psychopathology and abnormal psychopathology.  She is Canada’s first Deaf clinical psychologist and she maintains a consultation private practice.