Kin-Yip Chun
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Kin-Yip Chun is a Canadian geophysicist at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
's Department of
Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
. He gained attention when he sued the University of Toronto for alleged
racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...
.


Academic career

Chun received a
Bachelor of Applied Science The Bachelor of Applied Science, often abbreviated as B.AS., BAS, BSAS, BASc, B.A.Sc., or BAppSc, is an undergraduate degree. There are also ''Bachelor of Arts and Science'' and ''Bachelor of Administration Science'' undergraduate degrees, also a ...
degree in
Engineering Science Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...
from the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, an
M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in Geophysics at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and a
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
at
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...
. From 1983 to 1984, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory at UC Berkeley. He joined the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
as a research associate in 1985. His research was in seismology. As a
research associate Research associates are researchers (scholars and professionals) that usually have an advanced degree beyond a Master's degree. In some universities/research institutes, such as Harvard/Harvard Medical School/Harvard School of Public Health, the ...
, he was not on the university's
payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...
. He depended upon research grants to fund his work and cover his living expenses. Chun remained a research associate for nine years, serving as a `status only' faculty member from 1990 to 1992. His employment was never transformed into a permanent academic appointment. He applied for the four permanent, tenure-stream positions that came open at the University of Toronto in geophysics between 1987 and 1992. He was short-listed for the first three positions, but was not successful in any. He was not short-listed on the fourth. In 1994, the University appointed a dean from the faculty of medicine to investigate allegations that Chun had that he had been“improperly denied a permanent academic position in the Department of Physics because of his race”and that he had been “the victim of harassment and discrimination by faculty members in the Department of Physics based on his race.” The report, which was released in October 1994, reviewed the job searches and determined that there was no evidence that, “Dr. Chun was improperly denied a permanent academic position in the department of physics because of his race.”. Chun's contract was terminated at the end of 1994.


The Dr. Chun Case

Chun's dismissal soon drew nationwide media attention to his plight. He was supported by many student groups and the
Ontario NDP The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following th ...
leader
Howard Hampton Howard George Hampton (born May 17, 1952) is a politician who was a member of Provincial Parliament for the province of Ontario. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada, from 1987 to 1999 in the electoral district of Rainy Ri ...
. In June 1995, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) sent two members of the Academic Freedom and Tenure (AF&T) Committee to the University of Toronto to investigate, and their report suggested a pattern of systematic discrimination. The AF&T also made several recommendations, including allowing Chun to return to the university with a salary and job security, and holding a fair competition for a tenured position in the faculty. The
Ontario Human Rights Commission The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961, to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC is an arm's length agency of government accountable to the legislature through ...
backed Chun's complaint, stating that racism was a factor in stopping him from obtaining a full-time position, describing the Physics Department as a "poisoned work environment", "cronyism", "the dynamic of an 'old boys' network" operating in all four job competitions, and "a series of reprisals culminating in his dismissal". The University however refused to acknowledge the AF&T report and its recommendations, and tried to have the OHRC dismiss the case. The case dragged on for years. Back in 1994, the University's own appointed investigator for the case, Dr. Cecil Yip, stated that Dr. Chun "acted and has been treated like a professoriate in spite of the fact he has derived his salary support entirely from his own external research contracts. And he has served the Department and the University well in this capacity." Further, "it is certainly justified for Dr. Chun to feel ... he is being penalized for good performance", and concluded, "In my judgment Dr. Chun has been exploited by the Department." Overall, the ''Yip Report'' concluded that Chun had been exploited, though it found no evidence that he had been a victim of racism. In 1998, Chun launched a $1-million lawsuit against the University for unjust dismissal.


Settlement and Aftermath

By the time the controversy had ended, President
Robert Prichard John Robert Stobo Prichard, (born 1949) is a Canadian lawyer, economist, and academic. He is the past president and chief executive officer and former director of Torstar Corporation. He is now the chairman of the Bank of Montreal. Academia Bor ...
had departed and he had been succeeded by
Robert Birgeneau Robert Joseph Birgeneau (born March 25, 1942) is a Canadian-American physicist and university administrator. He was the ninth chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley from 2004-13, and the fourteenth president of the University of Toro ...
. A mediated settlement was reached in 2000 and Chun dropped his appeal against the Ontario Human Rights Commission, as well as his $1-million lawsuit against the University. In return, Chun received a full-time faculty position of Research Scientist and
Adjunct Professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
, $100,000 in compensation, an estimated $150,000 in legal fees and a $260,000 research start-up fund. Columns by
Margaret Wente Margaret Wente (born 15 February 1950) is a Canadian journalist and was a long-time columnist for ''The Globe and Mail'' until August 2019. She received the National Newspaper Award for column-writing in 2000 and 2001. In 2012, Wente was found ...
of ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' which attacked the settlement received severe criticism from members of the university community. The Arts & Science Students' Union (ASSU), which represents more than 22,000 full-time undergraduate students at the University of Toronto described the incident as the "Dr. Chun miscarriage of justice" when bringing up the controversies of Prichard's administration, on the back of their 2001 Arts and Sciences Anti-Calendar. In 2003, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) established a committee to study Dr. Chun's case. They concluded there were "serious irregularities" in the hiring process in each case and that Dr. Chun was treated unfairly. They discovered when he had made allegations of systemic discrimination, he was subject to various forms of harassment and unfair treatment, such as being prevented from attending departmental meetings, denied a faculty library card, frustrated from pursuing his research, and prohibited from teaching courses. The inquiry described this as a serious violation of academic freedom.


External links


The Committee in Support of Justice for Dr. Chun
*http://www.chuninquiry.ca/press_release.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20070706150240/http://library.opirguoft.org/index.php?cmd=ShowData§ion=6&subsection=37&type=6 *https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2381/ohrc/ohrc22-chunsettles.html&date=2009-10-25+06:43:30 *https://web.archive.org/web/20011230144037/http://www.utoronto.ca/acc/chun/chrono.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20060708034605/http://www.varsity.utoronto.ca/archives/118/sep08/news/chun.html * http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin1/000915a.asp * https://web.archive.org/web/20060504073505/http://www.varsity.utoronto.ca/archives/120/feb28/opinions/chilly.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20050311002240/http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/~pnijjar/interactive/dr_chun.html * http://www.varsity.utoronto.ca/archives/120/jan20/opinions/editorial.html * http://www.safs.ca/issuescases/wente.html * http://www.thevarsity.ca/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=cc8f4ff3-1b60-41ec-99e3-fb2c23f44315 *https://archive.today/20130115233343/http://www.safs.ca/sept2000/settlement.html


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chun, Kin-Yip Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Anti-Chinese sentiment in Canada Canadian expatriate academics in the United States Canadian geophysicists Canadian people of Chinese descent Columbia University alumni Race and law Racism in Canada University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Toronto alumni University of Toronto faculty