MINUTES, Truman Chapter of AAUP
October 13, 2005, 9:00 AM
University Club

Meetings are open to all university faculty members.

Faculty present: David Robinson (presiding), James Harmon, Tom Marshall, Steven Reschly, Jan Saffir

1.  Minutes of the September 23, 2005, meeting were approved.

2. Treasurer’s report (including membership dues).
            Quite a few people have already contributed toward the David F. Gruber Leadership Development Fund of the Missouri State Conference. On the occasion of David’s passing last August, the officers pledged $500, and $325 has already been received. Likely we will meet or surpass our pledge.
            Another matter is now finished: our drive to insert an “AAUP brick” into the re-constructed Magruder Hall. A large anonymous donation turned our $250 brick into a sizeable “slab” (more than $500). It will read "Truman AAUP Academic Freedom for a Free Society." We look forward to seeing it, and hope that it will be prominent as well as large.
            Problematic, as usual, is the determination of membership and dues. The AAUP national office is supposed to send the chapter contribution back to us, and it seems that this has not happened for several months. We know that a few have joined or renewed recently, but this information is incomplete at present.
            We decided that James, Marc, and David would work together, to contact all members (and friends) to remind them about the contribution drives (and thank them for their contributions heretofore); we will also remind them about dues (and that local dues can also be paid directly to treasurer, $10 per year).

3. Town Hall Meeting.
            We decided to go forward with plans, first by polling members to see whether Tues. or Thurs. (Nov. 8 or 10) would be best (5:30-7:30 in either case). We have a working title/theme for the meeting: “The Budget and FTE Ratios.” We want to invite members of the Faculty Senate Budget Committee to make a brief presentation and then open things to our usual open discussion. We will also extend courtesy invitations to administrators who might be interested in this discussion.
            The officers will publicize this event, calling on members to help circulate tp all faculty copies of “Footnotes” (the national newsletter) along with our own newsletter, as we invite them to participate in this discussion.
            (Since the meeting, the officers have agreed on this date for the Town Hall Meeting: Tuesday, November 8, 5:30-7:30, Violette Hall 1000.)

4. Joining Connect 4 Respect.
Our local AAUP chapter voted formally to join a new community coalition,
"Connect 4 Respect" (which first met as Citizens United Against Hate). (Motion by James; seconded by Jan; carried unanimously). We understand that AAUP rules require that we dissolve our formal association with this group, should it become involved in partisan political activities.
Their next event is a lecture and seminar, led by Maria Evans (A.T. Still University) and Anthony Weisstein (Truman, Science Division), entitled “Harry Laughlin, Eugenics, and Racism: Then and Now,” Wed., Oct. 26, First Christian Church (downstairs). Also planned is another seminar, led by Daniel Mandell (Truman, Social Science Division): "Encounters in America: The First Thanksgiving, 1621 and Today," Wed., Nov. 15, Wed., 7 pm, First Christian Church fellowship hall.

5.  University Mission Statement.
Stephen Pollard (Social Science) noticed that several changes had been made, without any discussion by authorized faculty groups, indeed without notice that such changes would be made. In our discussion we wondered if the President’s Steering Committee for the Master Plan would address the matter of the Mission Statement. We also noted that the Faculty Handbook has also recently been changed, apparently without faculty input into the changes. AAUP must assert, time and again, that shared governance is a serious matter: the health of the university depends on it.

6. Adjournment, ca. 10:00 AM