Day: March 24, 2023

On behalf of the University of Connecticut Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, we are pleased to invite you to the presentation of the 2023 UConn-AAUP Excellence Awards. These awards promote the faculty’s continued commitment to teaching and scholarship.  The 2023 recipients are:

TEACHING EXCELLENCE:  EARLY CAREER

• CRAIG CALVERT, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN RESIDENCE/DIRECTOR  – OPERATIONS & INFORMATION MANGEMENT
• CATHERINE MATASSA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – MARINE SCIENCES
• SUDHA SRINIVASAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – KINESIOLOGY

TEACHING EXCELLENCE:  CAREER

• XINNIAN CHEN, PROFESSOR IN RESIDENCE – PHYSIOLOGY & NEUROBIOLOGY
• LAURA K. M. DONORFIO, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR – HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & FAMILY SCIENCES

TEACHING INNOVATION:                                            

• LISA HOLLE, CLINICAL PROFESSOR – PHARMACY PRACTICE
• KRISTINE NOWAK, PROFESSOR – COMMUNICATION

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH & CREATIVITY:  EARLY CAREER

• LINNAEA OSTROFF,  ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – PHYSIOLOGY & NEUROBIOLOGY
• YI ZHANG, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
• JUNBO ZHAO, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH & CREATIVITY:  CAREER

• AKIKO NISHIYAMA, DEPARTMENT HEAD & PROFESSOR – PHYSIOLOGY & NEUROBIOLOGY
• REBECCA PUHL, PROFESSOR – HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & FAMILY SCIENCES

SERVICE EXCELLENCE:

• JOHN CHANDY, DEPARTMENT HEAD & PROFESSOR – ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING
• STEVEN ZINN, PROFESSOR – ANIMAL SCIENCE

This year, as in the past, the UConn-AAUP Excellence Awards Committee was faced with a set of choices which were excellent in so many ways.  The award recipients are extended sincere congratulations and deep appreciation from their colleagues and students for such outstanding work.

A virtual ZOOM ceremony is planned on Monday, April 24th, at 12 noon.  Any and all who wish to attend are welcome.  Please RSVP to BarbaraK@uconnaaup.org to receive the ZOOM link.

The recognition of faculty teaching, research, and service excellence through UConn-AAUP awards began in 1997.  The intention of the awards is to showcase academic excellence at UConn.

 

Best Regards,

Jeffrey Ogbar, President
Michael Bailey, Executive Director

 

UConn-AAUP Update: March 24, 2023

Save the Date
Chapter Membership Meeting (Members Only)
April 26, 2023, 12:00 Noon, Student Union Rm 330

UConn-AAUP Excellence Awards Ceremony – Virtual – April 24, 2023,
12 noon, via ZOOM

In this Issue:

• Legislative Update
• SB 1153 – Amendment to the FIOA act

Legislative Update

Meetings with Legislative Leaders: UConn-AAUP’s elected leaders and members have been meeting with Co-Chairs and Ranking Members of the Appropriations Committee during the month of March. The meetings have centered around introducing legislators to the type of research and teaching that members in their districts are engaged in as a potential resource. UConn-AAUP will continue to set up meetings with other legislative leaders and reach out to faculty in their districts to participate in these meetings. If called upon, we encourage your participation in these very important meetings.

Appropriations Committee Testimony: On February 15, 2023, President Jeffrey Ogbar, Treasurer Oskar Harmon, and Vice President of Organizing Louise Simmons

SB 1153 An Act Establishing an Exception for Certain Records Pertaining to Research or Teaching Under the Freedom of Information Act  

UConn-AAUP supports open records laws that encourage government transparency and allow for the general public to access copies of administrative records. When those open records requests are abused and used as a weapon to harass and interfere with faculty research, teaching, and scholarship, or used to threaten or chill faculty from their right to academic freedom and unfettered reporting of research, we must rely on open records laws to protect faculty. SB 1153 provides the tools necessary for the UConn administration to deny the release of public documents that are only intended to harass and interfere with faculty research and the dissemination of that research.

On March 6, 2023, several faculty from the Storrs and Law School campuses testified before the Government Administration and Election Committee (GAE) on SB 1153.  One of those faculty members was Alexis Dudden, History, who has had to respond to information requests intended only to harass and intimidate her and requiring the University to post police outside her classroom on the UConn campus. During four out of the past five years, Professor Dudden has had to take time out of her teaching and scholarship to respond to the same FOIA requests for information, even after her research and scholarship have been published and vetted for accuracy.

SB 1153 will provide the University with the tools necessary to deny the requests for information and allow Professor Duddin, and other faculty subjected to this kind of harassment, to continue their teaching and research without unnecessary interference. In speaking to legislators, please advocate for passage of Bill 1153.

 

In Solidarity,

Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar
UConn-AAUP President

Michael Bailey
UConn-AAUP Executive Director

Tel 860.487.0450

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