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Creating a Faculty Senate: First Principles and First Steps
By Kevin L. Cope, AAUP-LA Treasurer, April 30, 2021 Anyone who serves for long as an AAUP Chapter, Section, or Conference officer will experience the synonymy of the individual with the universal. Problems are about the only things that are not in short supply in contemporary higher education. Many colleagues seek help with what they regard as unique troubles, not knowing that many others have faced those same challenges and that the AAUP has plenty of pertinent, collected and collective wisdom to share. One of the most common difficulties facing governance-minded academic professionals is that of irregular (or, worse, non-existent) “faculty” or “shared” governance institutions. Some institutions regard the faculty as little more than hired labor without a voice in campus affairs; others create hybrid or chimerical governance bodies such as “university senates” that seem to include everyone but that end up, in their piebald character, representing no one. It is easy to understand why a clear-thinking faculty member working in such an institution might propose the creation of a faculty governance entity while simultaneously being daunted by the difficulty of that task. Uncertainties concerning best standards and practices for faculty representation in college and university management make the challenge…
President’s Newsletter, April 27, 2021
Dear Colleagues, Our annual meeting was held by Zoom April 24, with 18 people present including all members of the executive board except Secretary Tom Miller, whose Internet connection had been knocked out by the evening’s storm. Following are my notes. Solidary greetings from LESLIE. New work arrangement: the executive committee/committee chairs will henceforth look at feasibility of projects proposed and taken on in these meetings, before we commit too hastily to large projects without personnel (as has happened in moments of Zoom enthusiasm in the past year). The first such project now underway: we need a post office box and letterhead/official envelopes. There are great benefits to increasing our visibility and enhancing our professional profile. We would like a post office box near the Capitol, in the 70802 zip code also used by lawyers and lobbyists. AAUP Redbook: Every chapter and every institution should have one. They cost $35 from JHUP with the AAUP member’s discount, and the state conference will reimburse chapters who buy them (it is suggested they be placed on reserve at the library). Membership: Leslie will resend the most recent roster to chapter leaders, so they can make sure all their members are on it….
President’s Newsletter – Winter 2021
Dear Colleagues, The minutes of the January 30 meeting are up in this site under Minutes (tab to the left), and will be mailed out over the listserv. Our April 24 meeting will be virtual due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. News of our resolution on higher education boards, and our letter to the University of Kansas administration is forthcoming, and we have committees working on COVID-19 as well as media/outreach strategies. Committee A has a case on the language of faculty handbooks, that will affect us all. In Louisiana we have 249 members at this time, and a new chapter has formed at the University of Holy Cross. I am hoping we can increase membership this quarter, replacing anyone who retires or moves, and pushing beyond that 250 mark. I wish you the best this semester, and hope to see you in the spring. In solidarity, LESLIE Leslie Bary 2020-2022 President Louisiana Conference AAUP
Minutes, General Meeting January 30, 2021
Meeting: LA State Conference, AAUP January 30, 2021 Present: Elected Board Leslie Bary (President) (UL Lafayette) Sudhir Trivedi (Vice President) (SU-BR) Thomas Miller (Secretary) (SU-BR) Kevin Cope (Treasurer) (LSU-BR) David Reid (At-large) (UL Lafayette) Ravi Rau (Past President) (LSU-BR) General Membership: Hugh Wilson (Grambling), Laura Adderly (Tulane), Matthew Ware (Grambling), Brooks Elwood (LSU-BR), Christof Stumpf (LSU-A), Felicia Fulk (Xavier), Ilko Iliev (SUSLA), Jana Giles (ULM), Jennifer Creery (Southeastern), Judith Miranti (Xavier), Michelle Glaros (Centenary), Ravi Rau (LSU-BR), Sudhir Trivedi (SUBR), Vipin Menon (McNeese), NG Gwee (SUBR), Peter Siska (LSU-S), Son Mai (McNeese), A. Augustin-Billy (Centenary). Meeting begins: 10:00 am Committee Reports: Letter on Garrett Felber – The text of the letter from the Conference and the LSU-BR Chapter to the Chancellor of UM on the dismissal of Professor Garrett Felber is attached as an appendix at the end of these Minutes. Felber’s dismissal has occasioned national and international outcry and we felt a statement from a neighboring state would be helpful. Treasurer’s Report – Expenses this quarter were just over $1,000, including the five partial dues subsidies approved in the fall and $500 from Committee A to support a complaint on working conditions at LSUS. Income included the annual dues…