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NYS AAUP Meeting - Fall 2003 |
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Conference’s Fall 2003 Business Meeting at Niagara UniversityTo quote the Conference¹s
Executive Director, Jeanine Plottel: Higman said that the edited version of the report by the AAUP team which investigated the dismissals of Professors Therese Warden and Uhuru Watson by Medaille College two years ago would be appearing in the January-February 2004 issue of national Academe. The report, which only a few New Yorkers had been authorized to see, was, he said, deliberate, but strong. Several of those present wondered whether it would be possible for the AAUP to devise a method for censuring institutions between its Annual Meetings. Higman also told the participants
at the Niagara meeting that the national AAUP Council would interview
three finalists for the position of General Secretary of the AAUP
at its November meeting. Mary Burgan, the present General Secretary,
will step down after June 30, 2004. There followed a brief
discussion of some current concerns of Conference Committee A on
Academic Freedom and Tenure, most notably the dismissals at Medaille
College, the perennial problems of the relationship between Conference
Committee A and national Committee A, and the few copmplaints submitted
to Conference Committee A. Government RelationsJeffrey Kraus (Wagner College) reported that New Yorkers' participation in Capitol Hill Day in Washington in June had been very successful. They had appointments with the offices of all New York senators and representatives, and saw a number of the latter in person. He added that 2004 will see the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which provides the foundation for many programs supporting higher education; and therefore that next year would be an important time for lobbying Washington legislators. He proposed that AAUP members contact and visit the district offices of their representatives to keep them updated on the issues and positions in higher education. And he asked that a workshop on government relations be held at the next (Spring 2004) Conference meeting. There was also a general discussion of the role that faculty members can play in contacting State legislators regarding funding for education. Diehl proposed an "AAUP Day in Albany" early next year during which the Conference, alone or with representatives from other higher education groups, could as in the past lobby New York State legislators. It was suggested that legislators are interested rather exclusively in the views of their own constituents. Leonard Nissim (Fordham University) submitted a written report for the Committee on Governance. He wrote that there had been progress at Vassar College in the case involving interdisciplinary programs, specifically the status of the Africana Studies Program: the faculty as a whole would consider the matter. He also reported that the 2002-03 governance survey of institutions in New York state had been criticized as too long, complex, bulky, and expensive to mail; it generated few responses. The next survey will be shorter. Collective Bargaining NewsEstelle Gellman (Hofstra University), on behalf of the Conference's Collective Bargaining Council, brought news about faculty collective bargaining across the country: On October 29 there was to be a rally of AAUP members from all over at Emerson College in Boston similar to the one a few years ago at Bennington College; except that this one would support the right of contingent faculty members to unionize, not capricious firings. The collective bargaining unit at the University of Cincinnati has approved a change in its Constitution to allow it to affiliate with the AFT (American Federation of Teachers). The Collective Bargaining Council will recommend at the upcoming Collective Bargaining Congress that the New York State Conference now renew its organizing agreement with NYSE (the New York State United Teachers). She pointed out that the agreement had only been entered into tentatively by both sides, and that it had failed to produce the successful joint ventures hoped for. Even so, the agreement might be worth continuing were it not for the reported increasingly aggressive attitude of the AFT nationally towards the AAUP. There have been inquiries from several private colleges about organizing. At present, organizing appears to be a long shot, in the light of "Yeshiva." (In the NLRB v. Yeshiva University decision in 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court held, in a 5-4 decision, that because the faculty at Yeshiva University participated in cooperative relationships with administration through the mechanism of shared governance, they were managerial employees and therefore excluded from coverage. "Yeshiva" does not apply to public institutions.) Other Items of NoteExecutive Director Jeanine Plottel (Hunter College and GSUC/CUNY) said that correspondence by email was efficient, but that updated addresses were needed. The Executive Director, in her second year in office, was complimented on her fine work. Editor Diehl was supported in his proposal that the names of Conference committees be the same as those of the corresponding national AAUP committees, some of which were recently renamed. Professional librarian Bentley reminded those present that at a New York caucus at the 2003 AAUP Annual Meeting, it had been agreed to set up a new Conference Committee on Professionals, to recognize the importance of professional non-faculty members to the Association's work. Done. A discussion of the Conference's Legal Services Plan led to the sense that the Plan, which had few subscribers and brought in little money to the Conference, was not worth continuing. It was agreed that a questionnaire would be sent to chapter presidents requesting their evaluation of the plan. A report will be given at the spring 2004 meeting. The Spring 2004 Conference Meeting will be held April 2-3 somewhere in the New York City area. President Higman will appoint a Nominations Committee to present candidates at that Meeting for election as Conference President, Vice President, and (two) Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee. |
"How was the Fall Meeting?" you
ask. I reply, "How many meetings have you attended that combined
an inspirational setting with pleasurable company and informative
discussions?" Niagara Falls in almost full fall foliage, crisp
sunny weather, an orderly and harmonious campus, dinner in an old
Victorian inn, interesting presentations in a modern, state-of-the-art
classroom in a landmark building, not to mention a congenial group
whose deliberations were guided by Frank Higman -- such were the
elements defining our meeting.
The budget submitted for the upcoming year
by Treasurer Patrick Cihon (Syracuse University) was approved.
Cihon mentioned that the expenses for the Spring Meeting in New York
City had been very high and urged frugality on the Conference. Possible
ways of getting more ads for New York Academe were discussed.