Election Newsletter, 2 May 2022

Dear Colleagues, The Louisiana Conference of AAUP held its annual meeting April 23, 2022, at Southern University in Baton Rouge. Business was as follows: Election of officers. The Nominations Committee had prepared the following slate. President: Hugh Wilson (Grambling) Vice-President: Vipin Menon (McNeese) Secretary: Tom Miller (Southern-BR) Treasurer: Kevin Cope (LSU-BR) At-Large: Steve Rushing (Southeastern) From the floor, Tom Miller was nominated for the Presidency, and won the vote unanimously. With the Secretary’s position vacant, Steve Rushing was nominated for it and won that vote, also unanimously. With the At-Large position now vacant, Phil Auter (UL Lafayette) was nominated, and won that vote unanimously. The Nominating Committee’s candidates for Vice-President and for Treasurer were also elected unanimously. The new offers are therefore:  President: Tom Miller (Southern-BR) Vice-President: Vipin Menon (McNeese) Secretary: Steve Rushing (Southeastern) Treasurer: Kevin Cope (LSU-BR) At-Large: Phil Auter (UL Lafayette) Senate Concurrent Resolution 6, on the creation of a task force on tenure in public postsecondary education. (The bill has since been amended to include representatives from each of the four university systems). The Association of Louisiana Faculty Senates has crafted a resolution opposing the plan, that AAUPLA has signed onto, but AAUPLA will also craft its…

Quarterly Meeting, January 29, 2022

Dear Colleagues, About fifteen of us were at the January 29 meeting. Business decisions were: 1/ A constitutional amendment, allowing the Treasurer to serve as many as four rather than two terms. This, as you know, is in response to changes in banking rules in Louisiana, that make changing signatories on accounts a cumbersome process. Other Board members are still limited to two terms. The revised language has been added to the Constitution (available on this site), Article IV, Section 2. 2/ A nominations committee for April elections is in formation, chaired by Sudhir Trivedi (SU-BR). Ravi Rau (LSU-BR) is a member, and we are seeking a third member. Feelers are out but interested people should also contact Sudhir. The committee will prepare a slate, and if you are interested in a position, you should contact them. Nominations and self-nominations from the floor can also be made at the meeting. We need at least two new board members, due to term limits and retirements. The main, very engaging presentation was: Matthew Neale Boedy, President of the Georgia Conference of AAUP and Associate Professor of English at the University of North Georgia. Boedy discussed the multiple changes made in the University…

Message from the President: Executive Board Meeting, October 23, 2021

Dear Colleagues, Below are my notes on the AAUPLA Board Meeting October 23, 2021. Present in addition to myself were Sudhir Trivedi, Tom Miller, Ravi Rau, and Vipin Menon. Two written reports from Kevin Cope were discussed. David Reid and Judith Miranti had conflicts. Of interest to chapters may be the AAUP’s proposal of and support for student debt clinics, as organizing events. Please see the closing portion of this post for information. Our January meeting of the general membership will be by Zoom; at it, a nominations committee will be formed for April elections. This is important; please consider running for office and/or help to identify interested and competent people from your chapters and campuses. Other business was as follows: I. Report on AAUP Region 2 Meeting (on COVID regionwide but also tenure in Georgia and elsewhere): Sudhir Trivedi. Sudhir, our Vice-President, and also Member-At-Large David Reid represented us at this meeting, which focused on serious issues re COVID and tenure in Georgia that may soon arise here. Action: 1. Sudhir is drafting a proposed statement on COVID and teaching, for review and discussion at the January 29/April 23 meetings. 2. We will begin a study of faculty handbooks…

President’s Fall Newsletter and Summer Meeting Minutes

FROM THE PRESIDENT September 17, 2021 Dear Colleagues, The Louisiana Conference of AAUP has a post office box now, and will soon have paper letterhead. Our address is: Louisiana Conference AAUP POB 4732 Baton Rouge, LA  70821 The Executive Board and Committee A have, in the past year, written a number of advocacy letters on behalf of individuals and in support of policies, and we need a return address. Letters to some entities, including legislators, have to be sent by paper mail, so we are setting ourselves up for a more professional look. There are 191 of us in Louisiana now, meaning that over the past three years we have replaced all who moved or retired, and added another 25 members. This is a positive development and I encourage each of you to promote AAUP membership to at least two of your colleagues this semester, as there is strength in numbers. Brochures and stickers are available from the national AAUP, and we should use them. If you did not receive a version of this newsletter and these minutes by e-mail to your individual address, your membership may have lapsed, and/or the e-mail address you have on file with the AAUP…