Dear Colleagues,

It’s the start of a new academic year and I hope that the first week has been largely free of trouble as people navigate the numerous changes to classroom settings due to the ongoing LARTS refurbishment. Hopefully, any issues that you have encountered thus far will be sorted and we can all settle into a new routine quickly.

Please find some updates on what will be happening with the Faculty Federation this semester.

Recent Successes

The Federation has been active over the summer. In addition to bargaining with the Administration for a new CBA, the Federation has brought a number of issues to Administration and has been able to resolve several of these to the benefit of members. One was a new faculty hire offered a starting salary below the contractual minimum, their salary has been increased by $10,000. Another was ensuring that emergency faculty hires follow the contractual language. Most recently, the Federation and the Department Chairs representative (Shari Evans from the English Department) expressed concerns regarding new “promotion dossier templates” being imposed by the Provost’s Office. After some efforts on our part, the Provost has agreed to make these new templates a pilot program and provide assistance to members.  In addition, the Federation continues to request information from the Administration about the campus’s fiscal situation and the impacts of the myriad of changes occurring in the higher education landscape because of actions by the Federal Administration.  While we have received very little from the campus Administration in responses to these requests, we continue to ask questions as well as seek other avenues to get this information.

Events

As we have been doing for the past few years, the Federation will be hosting the annual Fall Reception, as well as regular Coffee & Donuts/Cookies events for members. These are a great opportunity to talk with those people in leadership roles with the Federation who are involved with promoting and protecting your interests. It is also a chance to catch up with colleagues from outside of your department as well as to meet new people in a social space.  Calendar invitations will be sent shortly.

This semester’s events are:

Coffee & Donuts	Wednesday, September 10	9:30 – 10:30 am	Federation Conference Room, VIOLETTE 222
Coffee & Donuts	Friday, October 24	9:30 – 10:30 am	Federation Conference Room, VIOLETTE 222
Coffee & Cookies	Thursday, November 20	2:30 – 4:30 pm	Federation Conference Room, VIOLETTE 222
Fall Reception	Monday, October 6	2:00 – 4:00 pm	Library Grand Reading Room

Defending Higher Education

Our parent organizations, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), together with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) continue with their efforts to defend higher education. Together, the AFT and the AAUP are the largest and most powerful force for higher education workers in the United States.

This evening, September 8, at 5 pm there will be a virtual launch of the AAUP/AFT Campaign to Defend Higher Education.  AFT President Randi Weingarten and American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson will discuss how we are organizing to protect faculty work,  defend the future of higher education, and ensure that every student has the chance to thrive.  You can register here for this webinar presentation.

The AFT and AAUP have provided a collection of resources on academic freedom, supporting international communities, digital safety and other topics.  You can find these at resources for higher ed

In Solidarity!