AAUP LA State Conference Newsletter – September 10, 2018

Louisiana members in national leadership Brooks Ellwood, Robey Clark Professor in Geology at LSU-Baton Rouge and incoming Chair of the Department of Geology and Geophysics, has been elected First Vice-President of AAUP at the national level. Linda Carroll, Professor Emerita of Italian at Tulane University, has elected to an at-large seat on National Council. Leslie Bary, Assistant Professor of Spanish at UL Lafayette, continues as District V Representative on National Council. Her article on organizing for AAUP is in the September/October issue of Academe.

Louisiana chapters and membership Congratulations are extended to the AAUP members at Southern University in Baton Rouge, who organized as a chapter this spring. Statewide membership in AAUP at about 160. There are active chapters at LSU-BR, UL Lafayette, SU-BR, and SU-Shreveport, and reorganizing chapters at Tulane and Loyola-NO. We seek members at every institution, whether or not it has a chapter of its own, and we invite participation at the state conference level from everyone. LSU-Alexandria members plan to organize as a chapter in Spring, 2019.

State conference leadership Elections for the 2018-2020 term were held at the April, 2018 meeting in Alexandria, and committee chairs were chosen. The current Executive Committee of the Conference is:

Leslie Bary, President (UL Lafayette), lbary@louisiana.edu
Hugh F. Wilson, Vice President (Grambling), wilsonh@gram.edu
Sudhir Trivedi, Secretary and Chair, Committee A (Southern), sudhir_trivedi@subr.edu
Michael Homan, Treasurer (Xavier), mhoman@xula.edu
Kevin Cope, At-Large (LSU-BR), encope@lsu.edu
Ravi Rau, Past President (LSU-BR), arau@physics.lsu.edu
Brian Salvatore, Chapter Services (LSU-S), brian.salvatore@lsus.edu
Dayne Sherman, Chair, Outreach and Communication (SELU), daynesherman@yahoo.com

State conference activities In February Howard Bunsis, Professor of Accounting at Eastern Michigan University, and a member of AAUP national leadership, visited LSU and UL Lafayette and presented analyses of our financial situations. A visit to Southern University in Baton Rouge is projected. Bunsis’ analyses are rich and multifaceted, and we have yet to fully process their implications. Chapters are encouraged to take this up, as the independent analysis of finances is a tool for organizing.

At the April meeting we decided to move into a clearer and more collaborative relationship with the ALFS (Association of Louisiana Faculty Senates) network, again for purposes of organizing. There are now AAUP presentations at every ALFS meeting, the first having been a roundtable on AAUP history and the benefits of membership at the September 8, 2018 ALFS meeting with Brooks Ellwood, Brian Salvatore and Leslie Bary. Also in spring generous donation was made to the Conference by Baton Rouge supporters. We decided to fund a series of speakers over the next two years. This is to draw attention to national issues, energize our chapters and attract new members.

In the summer Brian Salvatore attended the national AAUP Institute at the University of New Hampshire, funded by the national organization and the state conference. This event provides training in AAUP issues as well as organizing and networking. We hope to receive national funding for a representative next year; the state conference will cover transportation costs for that representative and may be able to do so for an additional delegate. Brooks Ellwood attended the retreat of the national Executive Committee, and Leslie Bary attended the National Council meeting and the AAUP annual conference. Everyone is encouraged to participate in this conference, which has high quality panels on research and professional issues.

Organizing activities and issues Members of the state Executive Committee and State Conference met August 27, 2018 in Lafayette and September 8, 2018 in Alexandria to discuss planning for this year. We aim to increase membership in all chapters as well as at institutions without formal chapters, and LSU-Alexandria members plan to organize as a chapter.

Upcoming activities Professor Christopher Newfield (University of California, Santa Barbara) will visit Louisiana in October. His recent book The Great Mistake (Johns Hopkins) makes the case for public reinvestment in higher education. He will be at UL Lafayette and LSU-Baton Rouge campuses October 25 and 26, and the general public is invited to his presentations. There will also be an informal meeting and social event in Acadiana October 27 to which all state conference members and friends are invited. Contact people are Leslie Bary (UL Lafayette) and Olivier Moreteau (LSU).We will be in touch soon with details.

Leslie Bary
2018-2020 President
Louisiana Conference AAUP

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