Union News

View this newsletter online

Vol 7 Issue 3 | November 2016

CSU-AAUPBOR Contract

Negotiations Resume

The CSU-AAUP negotiations team met with the BORrsquos team Oct 24 at CCSU Agreement was reached on various elements in Appendix F which will be renamed ldquoDiscrimination Affirmative Action and Sexual Misconduct Complaint Procedure Elementsrdquo Some progress was made on a few other minor issues The BOR team also agreed to provide members for two small groups to negotiate on two matters 1) Article 8 on Library Faculty and 2) Article 1015 and Appendix E which deal with distance learning and intellectual property respectively The small groups will meet at different times outside and in addition to the normal full table negotiation sessions Anything agreed to in small groups will later be brought to the full table Itrsquos of note that CSU-AAUP had requested to have small groups last spring but it took the BOR team until November to find ldquoinformedrdquo participants The full team negotiated again on Nov 28 I hope to schedule more negotiation dates

We are still discussing non-economic issues but do bear in mind that by the nature of our work in higher education our collective bargaining agreement includes articles on peer evaluation shared governance academic freedom curriculum and working conditions which are essentially teaching and learning conditions Thus there is plenty to negotiate that is non-economic and still of great importance in a university collective bargaining agreement

We will still be negotiating in the spring 2017 semester and at that time we will know more about an economic package The members of our negotiating team MaryAnn Mahony Kevin Kean (CCSU) Patty OrsquoNeill Jay Brower (WCSU) John Kavanagh Aaron Clark Sue Clerc (SCSU) and Luis Cordoacuten (ECSU) are not receiving any released time to serve on the negotiating team They continue to drive long distances and to devote much thought and consideration to proposals and counterproposals on your behalf I do hope yoursquoll let them know that you appreciate their diligence

May the force be with us Elena Tapia

CSU-AAUP President and Chief Negotiator

Call for presentations

student activist art

The AAUP invites proposals for presentations for their 2017 Annual Conference on June 14ndash18 in Washington DC Topics of interest to a diverse multidisciplinary higher education audience that raise questions engage conference participants in discussion and foster dialogue are welcome Proposals accepted through December 13 2016 For complete submission details click here

Have student activists on your campus created posters puppets or other compelling protest art Please send a description or photos along with contact information to gbradleyaauporg

CSU-AAUP members have been making headlines recently And for all the right reasons Two CSU-AAUP members have had letters to the editor published in the Hartford Courant Click here to read CCSUrsquos Modern Languages Professor Gustavo Mejiarsquos letter on the true value of higher education Click here to read SCSUrsquos Tony Rosso on the dangers trigger warnings can pose to academic freedom

Another member SCSUrsquos Dr Vincent Breslin had his research on microbeads featured on WNPR Click here to listen to WNPRrsquos interview on the water with Dr Breslin

CSU-AAUP continues work to support ongoing contract negotiations by promoting a wide variety of faculty re-search endeavors publications innovative courses and community projects via our CSU CONNects blog and Facebook page

Our most recent campaign in the Hartford Courantrsquos Guide to Education is ongoing Featuring content from CSUConnects our stories can be found now through January 31 2017

Click here to see CSU-AAUP in the Hartford Courantrsquos Guide to Education

As part of the same campaign ads such as the one at right will appear throughout the Hartford Courantrsquos website as pop-up ads and are linked to our blog CSUConnects

Congratulations to WCSUrsquos Patricia OrsquoNeill who was elected as CSU-AAUP Vice President in a special election Polls were open from Monday Nov 7 at 6 am and closed at noon on Nov 21

Pursuant to the CSU-AAUP Constitution on June 1 Elena Tapia EnglishLinguistics ECSU former CSU-AAUP vice president assumed the office of president after the resignation of Vijay Nair on May 31 2016 This left a vacancy in the office of vice president President Tapia appointed Patricia OrsquoNeill Psychology WCSU as interim vice president However since the length of the unexpired term of vice president was more than six months the CSU-AAUP Constitution required a special election be held CSU-AAUP members were notified and had until Oct 17 2016to nominate themselves or any other member for vice president

CSU-AAUP Special

Election Results

CSU-AAUP in the News

Above an advertisement that appears on the

Hartford Courantrsquos website promoting the work of

CSU-AAUP members

SAVE THE DATE

Public Higher Education

Day of Action

January 26 2017

Facing a potential 10 percent across-the-board funding cut in 2017 students and faculty in Connecticut are caught between the long-term national trend of education defunding and a short-term political assault of irresponsible and unjust spending cuts Thatrsquos why CSU-AAUP has joined forces with the 4Cs and UConn-AAUP for a Day of Action Please plan your syllabus with this day in mind and join us Jan 26 2017 as we take to the Capitol to defend public higher education Free buses will take you and your students to Hartford The event is from 830 am to 5 pm but you are welcome to come and go as you are able Events are planned throughout the day including a special screening of Starving the Beast This is a new documentary that examines the systematic defunding of public higher education happening across our country The filmrsquos director Steve Mims will give a talk after the screening and participate in a panel discussion on public higher education Click here to see a trailer of Starving the Beast by Steve Mims

The Faculty Advisory Committee to the Board of Regents for Higher Education invites proposals and welcomes participation at the Third Annual Conference on Student Success and Shared Governance Building a Better Connecticut in an Era of Fiscal Uncertainty at Central Connecticut State University April 7 2017

This conference celebrates student success as the realization of our mission All submissions relevant to the theme are welcome but of particular interest are programs or strategies that promote student engagement improve pedagogy and curriculum foster shared governance and document research regarding student success

To present at the conference complete the 2017 FAC conference submission form The deadline for submissions is noon on Thursday January 26 2017 An announcement opening registration for the conference will be sent early in the spring semester For more information contact Conference Program Chair Meg Leake leakeccsuedu Chair of Faculty Advisory Committee Stephen Adair adairsccsuedu or Vice-Chair of the FAC Barbara Richards brichardshcccommnetedu

FAC Conference

on Student Success and

Shared Governance

Call for Papers

Contact CSU-AAUP at (860) 832-3790 or email us at newbergeccsuedu

By conference attendee Brendan M Cunningham Assistant Professor of Economics at ECSU Faculty and staff from institutions across the state including the four Connecticut State Universities joined together at the Connecticut Students for a Dream Educators Conference on Nov 4 The conference aimed to show how educators can better support and advocate for undocumented students and was held at Wesleyan University CSU-AAUP covered the cost of attendance for 9 of its members The conference started with informative interactive and impassioned presentations from current and former undocumented college students A theme of this session was inaccessibility Children in undocumented families often do not learn of their status until late in their high school careers at which point they are confronted with significant barriers to pursuing a college education These barriers include government policies by some states that charge them higher tuition than their peers These events along with the regular fear of deportation for themselves or family members creates a backdrop of anxiety which can challenge mental health Lack of access to medical care can prevent adequate treatment Breakout sessions included insight from immigration attorneys describing the lack of options for achieving a more formal immigration status

Finally we gathered with other CSU stakeholders to discuss actions our institutions could take to create a safe and productive educational environment for undocumented students Connecticut Students for a Dream is a youth-led statewide network fighting for the rights of undocumented youth and their families For more information visit wwwct4adreamorg

Report on Dreamers

Conference

Above Connecticut Students For A Dream rally on the North Steps of the Capitol in Hartford