Minutes for August 9 Meeting – AAUP Louisiana Conference

Meeting: LA State Conference

August 8, 2020

Present:
Elected Board

Leslie Bary (President)
Sudhir Trivedi (Vice President)
Thomas Miller (Secretary)

Kevin Cope (Treasurer)
Dave Reid (At-Large)
General Membership
Constance Balides, Amy Chafee, Wande Coleman, Brooks Elwood, Charles Figley, D. Gauthier, Michelle Glaros, Elizabeth Gross, Ilko Iliev, Authur Lustig, Michelle Massé, Vipin Menon, Judith Miranti, Stephen Rushing, Peter Siska, Christof Stumpf, Cheryl Taylor, Mathew Ware, Hugh Wilson

Meeting begins: 10:00 am

AGENDA:

Item I: Protecting Lives, Promoting Education: Principles for Reopening Campuses – Statement from coalition of Midwest AAUP Chapters presented to the general membership of the Louisiana State Conference (SC) for consideration and possible endorsement. The statement prioritizes shared governance, faculty and staff economic security and protecting the rights of the most vulnerable within the academic community. The statement was previously endorsed by the SC at its meeting of June 29^th, 2020.

Result – After some deliberation, and with the understanding that endorsement did not imply complete agreement with every portion of the document, the General Membership elected to endorse the statement from the Midwest Conferences with:

Yeas: 15/23; Nays: 2/23; Abstentions: 0/23.

It was observed that endorsement of the Midwest statement should not be viewed as an end in and of itself. Local chapters are encouraged to use this document to leverage necessary changes to existing policies.

Item II: New Deal for Higher Education – Letter from the National Office of the AAUP presented to the general membership for consideration and endorsement. Given the current circumstances of viral pandemic and economic crisis the letter urges government officials to not allow the erosion of support and funding for Higher Education. To the contrary, the letter sets forth a well reasoned argument that this is a moment for reinvestment along the lines of a New Deal for Higher Education.

Result – The General membership endorsed the letter with:

Yeas: 19/22; Nays: 0/22; Abstentions: 0/22.

Item III: Asking the Governor’s support to allow faculty representation on Higher Education boards – Resolution prepared by the ad hoc committee appointed during the SCEC meeting of June 29^th, 2020.

Committee members: Kevin Cope, Michelle Massé, Judith Miranti, Christof Stumpf.

Result – The resolution was adopted by the general membership with:

Yeas: 18/22; Nays: 0/22; Abstentions: 1/22.

Item IV: Formalization and process for dues subsidies – At its meeting of June 29^ththe SCEC approved a measure whereby the State Conference would subsidize membership dues for up to ten individuals for a period of 3 years. The purpose of the subsidy would be to attract new members, particularly those in financial need and those who already demonstrate engagement in advocating for faculty. The subsidy would be in full for faculty whose annual dues are $100 or less and at 50% for those faculty whose dues exceed $100 per year.

Committee members: Leslie Bary + EC

Result – Members present recommended that potential candidates either self-nominate or be nominated by others. At the request of the membership the EC will develop criteria used to assess the merit of individual applications. Please indicate interest to secretary Thomas Miller, Thomas_Miller@subr.edu.

Item V: Report on Media Consultant and Outreach – Elizabeth Gross has agreed to serve on the Committee on Outreach and Media Strategy.

NEXT MEETING – October 10, 2020 via video conference.

Meeting concludes: 11:51 am.

Respectfully submitted,
THOMAS MILLER
Secretary