Chapter Election Reminder:

Akron-AAUP chapter members are reminded that election ballots were mailed April 1^st (no joke) and must be returned by 5pm on Friday, April 18^th. The offices up for election this year are Chapter Secretary and Chapter Treasurer. We are using the double envelope method of voting this year, so it is important that chapter members seal their ballot within the ballot envelope, and then place that in the stamped return envelope.  Candidate statements for all four candidates are posted on the Akron-AAUP web site at www.akronaaup.org.  Please vote!  Ballots will be counted Monday, April 21^st at 11am at 178B Bierce Library.  Interested chapter members are invited to attend.  Results will be announced soon thereafter via email to all chapter members.


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April Meeting of the Chapter Membership Set for April 23rd:

Please plan on attending the Spring semester meeting of Akron-AAUP chapter members. Those in attendance will have an opportunity to catch up on your faculty union's accomplishments this year and a time to meet and network with colleagues.  Election results will be announced, and an additional election will be held at the meeting for a chapter representative to represent the chapter at the Annual National AAUP meeting in Washington, D.C.  Additionally the membership will be discussing the upcoming NCA Accreditation Focus Visit and our role in the accreditation process.  April 23rd, Student Union Room 308 from 3 pm - 5 pm.  Refreshments as always.

The meeting is for chapter members only. If you would like to join the Akron-AAUP and participate in our elections and chapter meetings, you can opt to do so by visiting the website at:

http://www.akronaaup.org/Membership/membership.htm. 

There you will see the links to the Dues Payment Election Form. Fill out and submit the form. Completed forms will be accepted at the meeting as well.

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Accreditation Focus Visit Set for April 28th:

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$1,000 Full-Time Enrollment Bonus for Bargaining Unit Faculty: 

All 670+ faculty in the Akron AAUP collective bargaining unit will receive an enrollment bonus check for $1,000.00 (minus the necessary deductions) in their April 30 paycheck.  This is a one-time bonus for the increase in full-time enrollment reported for fall semester 2007, and the 2nd such bonus realized by faculty since the implementation of the collective bargaining contract.  The bonus is guaranteed in Article 16, Section 10.B of our faculty contract, which states that an increase of 1,000 or more FTE from the preceding fall semester will result in a $1,000 bonus to be paid in a lump sum during the following spring semester.  According to the University administration, our official enrollment increase did exceed 1,000 new FTE students, as confirmed by the Ohio Board of Regents this spring. 

Combined, these two enrollment bonuses totaled more than a million dollars in unanticipated income for faculty.  We hope that some of you who have yet to join the Akron-AAUP will use this opportunity to take that modest, extra step in supporting our chapter’s efforts:

http://www.akronaaup.org/Membership/membership.htm; click on Dues Form.

This and other future features of our contract depend upon the active support and participation of colleagues like you, and for a mere $11-$15 per month over the current fair-share fees.   Please join us.

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Delayed Implementation of Salaries Grievance Resolved:

The Akron-AAUP has settled its grievance with the university Administration over the delayed implementation of salaries.  A copy of the joint statement is posted on the Akron-AAUP web site, here.  We would like to briefly summarize the resolution, and encourage all bargaining unit faculty members to take advantage of the option available to them.

The agreement creates a bargaining unit faculty development fund of $65,000, to be administered by the Institute for Teaching and Learning.  Individual faculty may apply for grants of up to $100 to purchase a range of materials or resources that will help them develop their teaching and improve student learning.  Purchasable items can include books, videos, DVDs, CDs, specialized software, classroom demonstration materials, lab or field experience expenses, seminars and workshops related to teaching and learning, and more.

Application forms, as well as the process to be followed, can also be found on the Akron-AAUP web site, here.

The chapter encourages all faculty members to take advantage of this grant funding opportunity now.  After December 2008, the remaining money in the fund will be available in amounts up to $400.

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Sporting Event Faculty Discounts:

Faculty are reminded that they are eligible to receive half-price tickets to all UA sporting events.  This contractual right had not been implemented consistently.  But we are assured by the university that it has fixed this problem.  So, look to receive that discount when you attend an athletic event.  And if there is a problem, please let us know.

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Issues for Faculty Concern Regarding Chair Dismissal: 

Akron-AAUP does not represent, defend, or speak for department chairs, as they are technically “management” and therefore part of the Administration. Neither do we agree with the idea that chairs give up their faculty status when they become “management”.  However, recent events in the College of Arts & Sciences regarding its chairs and their evaluation demand our attention, due to the impact on faculty.

The chair of Philosophy was dismissed from his administrative position prior to his full review, which was due this semester.  No reason was given, but this action came shortly after he sent a letter to the other CAS chairs publicizing what he reported as the A&S Dean’s policy regarding chairs’ working hours. For a succinct summary of the story, see this link to the Akron-AAUP web site and its further link to a story in The Chronicle of Higher Education http://www.akronaaup.org). The Dean responded to the ensuing publicity by sending out a letter denying that the University or the College of Arts and Sciences had the policy that Dr. Ducharme attributed to him. These two statements, by Dr. Ducharme and the Dean, cannot both be true, as they contradict each other’s claims.  If the Dean’s claims are true, then why was the chair relieved of his duties as chair?

This incident raises several issues for faculty. First, the University should clarify its policy on this matter. Since there are obviously conflicting reports, the University should clarify its true expectations of how available chairs must be, and how much—or how little—freedom they retain once they take on this role. All the departments currently searching for new chairs should make these expectations known during the job search, and these expectations may seriously affect the quality of applicants willing to serve under those conditions. It is commonplace for our own faculty to move into the position of acting chair, interim chair, or chair (or interim dean for that matter), so we are particularly interested in knowing the Administration’s expectations.  In our view, department chairs are not only academic administrators, but also teachers and scholars in every academic sense.  Their ability to do their jobs well depends on both managerial skill and their continued shared community of interest with their scholarly colleagues in the department and academic community. Being a chair constitutes an important portion of one’s full academic load, so it seems reasonable that the hours one is expected to be at one’s desk reflect that fact.

Second is the issue of governance. The philosophy chair, in the fourth year of his third term as chair, was due to undergo the formal review as outlined in contract Article 10, section 5. His departmental faculty have publicly voiced their support of him since his dismissal, and have vowed to conduct the review anyway, for the sake of the record. Akron-AAUP finds it unacceptable that a chair be dismissed without any input from the faculty who have the most direct and intimate knowledge of his job performance, especially when they were just preparing to conduct their review.

On April 28, the North Central Accreditation team will be visiting the University of Akron to check on the status of “governance” at this institution, since the faculty and Administration were embroiled in heated contract negotiations last time they were here. As the NCA team talks to faculty and administrators, including chairs, this development is bound to come up.  In our view, the upper administration needs to clearly distance itself from any suggestion that it endorses aberrant academic practice like this, and assure all chairs – and the NCA - to this effect.  If this new perception of UA is not corrected, what talented candidate for chair, whether external or internal, would be attracted to the position?   This is not the image and practice to be cultivated at the preeminent research university of Northeast Ohio.

Other Campuses Making the News:
KSU to Offer Full Benefits for Domestic Partners - From the Akron-Beacon Journal, 4/3/08(read the story at ohio.com - http://www.ohio.com/news/17253054.html)'Kent State University administrators have offered to provide full benefits for gay and lesbian partners in a one-year extension of the faculty contract. Associate provost Gayle Ormiston sent a proposal to the American Association of University Professors last week that, if approved, would short-circuit the contentious contract talks that lasted a year in the last go-round.  KSU faculty have sought domestic-partner benefits for at least 10 years, said Deb Smith, grievance chair for the Kent State chapter of the American Association of University Professors and an associate professor of philosophy. ''At least four other universities (in Ohio) offer partner benefits,'' KSU spokesman Ron Kirksey said. ''We already do and have for a while covered domestic partners in our sick-leave policy. So what we're doing is extending what we offer.'' '

AAUP-KSU Files First Unfair Labor Practice in 30 years - Again from the ABJ 4/3/08 (read the story at http://www.ohio.com/news/17253049.html)  " The chapter says administrators ran afoul of the AAUP contract when they hired a faculty member who is not a full professor at his current university into a tenured position in the Shannon Rogers and Jerry Silverman School of Fashion Design and Merchandising. AAUP grievance chairwoman Deborah Smith said the union is ''outraged'' the university awarded tenure — in essence, lifetime employment — to Vince Quevedo, an associate professor at Oklahoma State University.  ''Part of what makes us so angry is that they've sent us the message that they can pick and choose what parts of the contract to follow,'' said Smith, an associate professor of philosophy at Kent.

Faculty at Baylor University in Texas Outraged Over Twelve Tenure Denials - From Inside Higher Education (read the story at http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/01/baylor) "Twelve of the candidates were denied tenure this year, and while some are always denied, two statistics are raising particular concern at the university:  Nine of the 12 rejected candidates had the support of both their departments and the universitywide faculty committee that reviews candidates after the departmental evaluation. In the past at Baylor, it has been rare for the president to overturn recommendations that had solid backing at all the levels of faculty review.  The rejection rate was particularly high for women. Of the nine women up for review, six were rejected."  
Collective bargaining laws in Texas do not extend to college and university professors.

The AAUP Chapter at Portland State University Protest Protracted Contract Negotiations:  Deadlocked contract negotiations prompted our colleagues at PSU Oregon to stage a protest rally outside a university sponsored fundraising event this week.  PSU-AAUP Chapter President, and our friend, Gary Brodowicz notes that the faculty have been working under a contract that had expired over a year ago, pushing contract negotiations into the second year. Read the story at The Oregonian.
and from the PSU Student Paper
For the union's position on the matter, and a picture of the fearless protestors, visit the PSU-AAUP website at http://www.psuaaup.net.

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Plans for AAUP Summer Institute 2008:

Last year the chapter funded three chapter members to Reno, Nevada for three days of intensive training and focused workshops. We'd like to do so again this summer. For any chapter member interested in moving into leadership roles in the local chapter, this is an excellent opportunity to appreciate all that AAUP does for you and the profession. This year the Summer Institute is scheduled for July 24-27 at the University of Rhode Island.

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"Faculty interests are Akron-AAUP interests, so Ask Us Anything"

Akron-AAUP
Communications Committee

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See the new and improved National AAUP website at http://www.aaup.org.
 

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