Meeting of the Truman State University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
March 19, 2018, 3:35-4:30 PM, in BH100
Present: Marc Rice (president), Marc Becker (secretary), Kathryn Brammall (treasurer), Mark Hatala (vice-president)
- Concern with a move at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg to reorganize and in the process dismantle the college of arts, humanities and social sciences. Raises questions about faculty governance and the organization of a faculty senate. Faculty there are in the process of organizing an AAUP chapter to confront these problems. Is this emblematic of broader moves in Missouri, and what does it mean for us at Truman?
- Black Friday. March 9 email from VPAA regarding fees and cuts in temp lines. In SSCS none of the long-term full-time temps have been let go, but it varies by school. In others, long-term temps have been released. More temp positions may be cut next year, because one time cuts are not sufficient to meet goals. If the amount a school needs to cut exceeds the total operations budget, there is no way to reach that number without cutting staff lines. Unlikely that we will be able to hire more tenure lines, or that Republican legislature will reverse Greitens’s cuts to higher education. We will not get more funding until we elect legislators who support higher education. This is not a temporary problem, and the reality is that we will lose faculty. In order to raise faculty salaries, either some faculty have to go or more paying students need to enroll. Admissions is moving from an enrollment number to a revenue generating model. We need more state funding or different revenue model.
- State AAUP meeting Saturday, 28 April 2018, ca. 9:00-4:00, University of Missouri Kansas City. Afternoon program with Monica Owens, AAUP, Washington DC. Theme: Fighting Corporatization and Austerity in Higher Education Today. Monica Owens is a political organizer in the Department of Organizing and Services, AAUP. Based in Washington, DC, she travels widely developing campaigns and coalitions around issues that affect AAUP members and the academic profession. Owens has wide-ranging experience with political campaigns and advocacy for K-12 and higher education. Before joining the AAUP she served as campaign manager for two progressive Democratic congressional campaigns and as a regional organizing director for the Florida Democratic Party. RSVP by April 15 to both K. Scott Baker (MOAAUP treasurer and meeting host) bakerks@umkc.edu and David Robinson (past-president of MOAAUP) drobinso@truman.edu.