UTM Positive Space Committee Terms of Reference

(updated November 2018)

Purpose

Positive Space Campaign, reporting to the Office of the Vice-President and Principal, challenges the patterns of silence that continue to marginalize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students, staff and faculty even in environments with anti-discriminatory and inclusive policies. It proactively creates opportunities to foster constituent awareness and engagement and promotes inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in every area of campus life. The Positive Space Campaign exists to prevent particular negative occurrences from arising and to respond when they do occur.

 

Membership

UTM’s Positive Space Campaign is led by two co-chairs named by the Vice-President and Principal. A staff / faculty representative, who serves as one of the Co-Chairs, is appointed for a period of two years and is eligible for re-appointment at the end of their first term but may not serve more than two consecutive terms. (see Staff / Faculty representative: Co-Chair Role Description (hyperlinked: (http://positivespace.utoronto.ca/mississauga/utm-positive-space-staff-faculty-co-chair-nomination/). A student representative serves as another Co-Chair and is appointed for a one-year period. (see Student Co-Chair Role Description (hyperlinked: http://positivespace.utoronto.ca/mississauga/utm-positive-space-student-co-chair-application/).

The Co-Chairs and committee members help develop and support the campaign and contribute to its annual projects. The composition of the committee is open to representative of campus constituencies including students, staff and faculty, includes members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, and represents a variety of skills, knowledge and experience. Committee members promote the Positive Space Campaign in their department/area and within the university, represent their area of the university, and bring information back to their department, groups, colleagues, and/or peers. . Committee membership may include ad hoc members to support particular campaign initiatives.

 

Campaign Administration

Resources to support the campaign are provided by the Office of the Vice-President and Principal. The campaign committee meets monthly and as needed for its planning activities  Meetings are scheduled by the co-chairs in consultation with all members. The committee will decide if it will function under any specified rules of order.

 

Responsibilities

The Positive Space Campaign engages all sectors of the campus in activities and events that create a positive, diverse and inclusive community for learning, working and living. It identifies particular areas of concern, develops strategies to address them and initiates and conducts awareness projects that reflect its mandate.

UTM’s Positive Space Campaign engages in tri-campus initiatives whenever possible and works in conjunction with university equity policies and officers.

The Campaign co-chairs submit an annual report to the Principal at the end of each academic year that summarizes the committee’s activities, provides an overview of areas of concern and recommendations for remedies of the same.

 

Display Your Pride, 2018