AAUP MINUTES
October 4, 2007
Members Present:
I. Agenda and II. Minutes from previous meeting were approved.
III. Old Business—Committee Reports:
A. Membership—Kharif—we currently have 58 members. 44 are enrolled via payroll deduction. There are 8 graduate students/adjuncts, and 6 others who are paying directly. It’s important to note that our chapter only receives $5 from each membership. We are just barely breaking even when paying our quarterly dues. We need to keep an eye on this.
B. Treasurer’s Report—Jonakin—[arrived
later with report and also emailed update 10-5-07]—At the meeting he speculated
that we had approximately $176.00 remaining after third quarter dues are
paid. In his update the following day he
wrote “As of today, October 5, we have $2,154.60 in our account. Subtracting the upper bound estimate of our
next quarterly dues statement--$1,800—this means we have $354. . . at a minimum.”
C. Committee A—Not Present—No Report
D. Committee R—Not Present—No Report
E. Committee W—Not Present—No Report
F. President Bell’s Annual Visit to AAUP Set for November 1—Smith—Please submit any questions for President Bell by Friday, October 19.
We need a volunteer to serve as secretary at that November 1 meeting since our current secretary will be out of town at a conference. [Smith and Baker volunteered to work together taking notes and recording the meeting.]
Kharif—We should probably have an Assistant Secretary so that when this happens we have someone in line already.
G. Campus Equity Week—Baker—Last month we discussed the possibility of initiating a teaching award for non-tenure-track instructors. He has a draft of that proposal. He has spoken to Provost Armistead and Assistant Dean Eisen. Baker suggested that AAUP support such an award. There are two options:
[The following is
from the draft proposal Baker circulated at the meeting]
“Outstanding
instruction deserves recognition and support, yet no non-tenure-track
instructors at TTU are eligible for the university’s Outstanding Faculty Award
in Teaching. In an effort to support and
recognize outstanding instruction from instructors in non-tenurable positions,
AAUP proposes that TTU initiate a new award for teaching excellence:
Either
A) Award for
outstanding teaching in a general-education course by a non-tenure-track
instructor.
--or—
B) Award for
outstanding teaching by a non-tenure-track instructor.
Eligibility:
1) A nominee shall
have completed at least one (?) academic year of teaching at TTU prior
to nomination.
2) Eligible nominees
include only non-tenure-track instructors of any rank, full-time or
part-time. Grad assistants?
3) A nominee who has
previously won the award is ineligible for the same award for a period of three
(?) years.
4) Tenure-track
faculty, tenured faculty, faculty emeriti, and graduate assistants? are
ineligible for this award.”
There are two options: one is more specific the other is university-wide. There are some procedures we’ll have to go through. The General Educ. option would be easier but it does leave some non-tenure-track folks out.
Baker also suggested that there should be a monetary award for winners.
Eisen—One year appointments will have an advantage. It might be better to make this an award for part-time instructors.
Smith—Maybe one-year appointments could be included in other awards?
Christen—Or maybe we could give two awards: one for one-year appointments and the other for part-time appointments.
Smith—Or perhaps three: adding one for graduate assistants.
Baker—We can draft a list of those excluded from existing awards and allow the Gen. Ed. Committee, Faculty Award Committee, Academic Council, or others to decide. We could just outline some suggestions.
Baker—made a motion: He will redraft his proposal using suggestions [above] and then circulate it for approval some time next month. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
H. Faculty Handbook—Lacy—She is still organizing the committee. It appears that this task will be bigger than originally thought. Her goal is to finish the revisions by July 2008 so that it will be available for new faculty next year.
Smith—We still need two more faculty members to work on this. We especially need someone who is not in the early stages of his/her career.
[
I. Fall Forum—Smith—The
Fall Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, November 13. The committee has met. The theme will be freedom of expression at
TTU. The speakers:
Jonakin—Worst case scenario, we have only $176.00 [later amended, see page one of minutes].
Christen—volunteered to put something about the forum on the website if possible.
J. Memphis Meeting
of the State Conference—Smith—
Baker—motion—moved that $100 be given to them in order to cover expenses.
[After general discussion….]
Baker—restated motion—increased the amount to a minimum of $100 with a cap of $200 (depending upon the amount of money in the treasury after dues are paid).
Motion seconded, and passed [unanimously].
Smith—The state conference has been taken hostage by the conference president, Blasi. Blasi released private information regarding a tenure case in the Fall Newsletter. He also denounced Smith’s (though not by name) concerns regarding part-time and non-tenure-track appointments. Further, Blasi abolished the Committee on Part-Time and Non-Tenure-Track Employees when Smith raised objections about the report. [Smith was chair of this committee.] Blasi issued this report containing proposals and recommendations with AAUP’s name on it. That is impracticable, untenable, unrealistic and essentially violates the spirit of AAUP policy—faculty members deserve job security, decent pay, etc. The critical objection is that there is language in the report that suggests that anyone teaching at the university level must have a terminal degree.
Eisen—The content of the report does have problems, but we should focus on the process of how this came to be, that it was a one-sided autocratic decree rather than a consensus document. This document has been presented to government officials as an AAUP position. Many people have been out of the loop on this.
Smith—We are asking:
--to restore the process that we don’t issue executive decrees without the consent of the organization.
--that the report in question be removed from the website.
--that the Committee on Part-Time and Non-Tenure Track Employees be reinstated.
Blasi argued that when Smith became a tenure-track employee at TTU he no longer had a stake in the issue/work of the committee. Our lobbyist that was hired and has a stipend has refused to be paid because he is unable to do the work he was hired to do due to the internal strife. Smith has heard similar complaints from others.
Eisen—Are you contemplating a no confidence vote at the meeting?
Smith—We are hoping to be able to get our concerns added to the agenda and that we can have a discussion about the issues.
[Smith requested a statement of support from the TTU chapter.]
There are three items:
1. The State Conference should not publish executive orders or executive reports without the consent of the organization.
2. The report in question should be removed from the website.
3. The Committee on Part-Time and Non-Tenure Track Employees should be reinstated.
Baker—made motion that we support those three items.
Eisen—Suggested that the first of the three items be removed from the list. TTU representatives at the meeting should speak only specifically to the report.
Baker—friendly amendment to motion—that we support # 2 and #3.
Motion seconded and passed [unanimously].
IV. New Business:
A. Fall Social—Smith—There probably will not be a Fall Social. Osburn doesn’t have a free weekend until January 2008. Smith suggested we reschedule it for some time in the spring, unless someone else can host it in his/her home.
B. Fall Newsletter—Smith—Joy and Smith will work on this prior to the next AAUP meeting. It will include promotion of Fall Forum. They will consider the suggestion to publish it on the web rather than as a hard copy.
V. Such other matters: None.
Meeting adjourned at 11:57 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
TTU AAUP Secretary