The University of Connecticut Chapter of the American Association of University Professors
A group of committed faculty are organizing resistance to the deep cuts to the UCONN libraries for FY 15 and 16. The cuts to the library will stifle one of the University’s core functions – research.
Faculty are encouraged to add their signature to the letter expressing their concerns.
Today in the Storrs Student Unit Professor Emeritus Ellen Schrecker spoke on “Hired Education: Corporatization, Academic Freedom, and the Role of Faculty Unions” at a gathering of students and faculty.
Her entire lecture can be viewed at Schrecker Lecture
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is the leading organization protecting academic freedom, tenure, academic standards in higher education. Many faculty assume that they are members because the University deducts a portion of their paycheck for AAUP dues. However, one must opt in if they wish to become a bona fide member of the Chapter and of National AAUP.
As a member you are entitled to attend all UConn-AAUP social functions, vote for Chapter officers, run for Chapter office, and vote on the Chapter Bylaws. In addition National AAUP offers numerous benefits including a subscription to AAUP’s Academe magazine, and exclusive access to faculty webinars, toolkits, and publications. At the National level membership includes standing for a national office position, participating in committee work, and voting and participating in national meetings (for a full list of benefits see below). There is no additional fee for joining as the amount deducted in dues is the same whether you or a member or not.
Especially during these upcoming contract negotiations in the Fall of 2015 we hope you choose to have a say in how your dues are spent and take an active role in our Chapter.
National AAUP Membership Benefits
Journal of Academic Freedom 2016 Call for Papers
Gary Shteyngart didn’t need a crystal ball when he sketched the near-future of his novel Super Sad True Love Story in which Columbia University is Columbia-Tsinghua and Reed College is ReedFudan. NYU-Abu Dhabi, Duke-Kunshan, Yale-Singapore: these campuses (and others) exist already. The AAUP’s Journal of Academic Freedom seeks scholarly articles that assess the impact on academic freedom—both as a concept and an experience—of American universities’ partnerships with, and branch campuses and programs in, authoritarian countries. How do these relationships require us to reconsider the philosophical and/or political foundations of the concept? And how is academic freedom experienced (or not) by faculty and administrators involved in these largely uncharted waters? We seek thorough and nuanced articulations of the ramifications for traditional notions of academic freedom when universities pursue collaborations with institutions situated in non-democratic countries. We also encourage treatments of the “global university” more generally.
Potential questions to explore include:
To what extent is “academic freedom” a concept dependent upon the emergence of the nation state and the existence of a liberal consensus? What challenges has the concept faced under the neoliberal and transnational conditions of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries? How did the “end” of the Cold War affect the concept? How is the apparent resurrection of the Cold War affecting it now?
While the potential consequences for academic freedom in collaborations with authoritarian governments may seem obvious (if in need of thorough articulation and exploration), how might the increasingly “global” aspirations of the university impact academic freedom even when the countries involved are all, at least nominally, democratic?
How has the pursuit of international students affected university governance, with what reverberations for the academic freedom of faculty? How has the teaching of international students raised issues related to academic freedom?
How is the already vexed notion of “civility” further complicated by intercultural and international contexts and with what potential consequences for freedom of inquiry and expression?
In addition to the issues raised by globalization, we are interested in articles that address other major challenges to traditional notions of academic freedom: how does the existence of a new faculty majority lacking access to tenure and, thus, arguably to academic freedom put pressure on the concept itself? How are we to define intramural and extramural speech in the age of social media? How do the rise of online and self-support programs with their often non-existent governance structures erode academic freedom? What are the emerging conflicts of interest generated by the increased economic pressure on our public universities?
We will consider any essay that helps us develop a better understanding of academic freedom in today’s circumstances, whether it touches on the issues raised by this CFP or not.
Electronic submissions should go to jaf@aaup.org by January 30, 2016 and must include an abstract of about 150 words. The journal uses the sixteenth edition of the Chicago Manual of Style and authors should anticipate that, if an article is accepted for publication, it will need to be put into Chicago style. For more information about the journal, visit www.aaup.org/JAF.
Jennifer Ruth
Editor, Journal of Academic Freedom
The mission of the AAUP is to advance academic freedom and shared governance; to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education; to promote the economic security of faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education; to help the higher education community organize to make our goals a reality; and to ensure higher education’s contribution to the common good. Visit the AAUP website and Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
On Wednesday 9/30 Risa Lieberwitz, Esq. National AAUP General Counsel and Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell lectured on “Civility and Academic Freedom”. The lecture was archived and can be watched here: https://mediasite.dl.uconn.edu/Mediasite/Play/325f07735a0d427991a2293de280f1c21d
The day before she lectured at the Stamford campus with a talk titled ” The 360 Degree Effects of the Corporatization of the University: The Impact on Faculty and Student Rights to Academic Freedom, Free Speech, Tenure, and Access to Education”.
Stamford
Storrs
For all updates on the collective bargaining process between the UCONN-AAUP and the administration, check out the Chief Negotiator’s Blog at Contract Negotiation Blog
Statement of the University of Connecticut-American Association of University Professors Executive Committee (UConn-AAUP) on the Implementation of the Common Schedule for Regional Campuses.
9-10-15
National AAUP President and Professor Emeritus (Economics) Rudy Fichtebaum addressed the Executive Committee and the membership to jump start contract negotiations set to begin on Friday 9-11-15. The talk focused on the neoliberal attack on higher education and AAUP’s role in responding to the crisis. The talk was livestreamed but can now be watched on demand at https://mediasite.dl.uconn.edu/Mediasite/Play/9578a26cb60d4cc0aa3a716420c83b321d.
Whether you get a chance to watch it or not, think about taking a “selfie” like the faculty members below did at the lecture. We hope to get them on this website and Facebook to show that the faculty are supportive of the UCONN-AAUP’s efforts to get a better contract to protect faculty rights.
UCONN-AAUP September 2015 Newsletter.
Update (7/30/15)
If you were an employee of the State of Connecticut as of November 17, 2002 and were a member of a bargaining unit designated as an exclusive bargaining representative pursuant to the State Employee Collective Bargaining Act, you could get a payment from a proposed class action settlement. Please read the Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement by clicking on the link below:
You may obtain a copy of the Settlement Agreement and any other documents relating to the proposed settlement by writing or calling Class Counsel at the contact information provided in Response 19 of the attached notice or by visiting the Class Counsel’s websit ewww.sgtlaw.com/class-action-sebac-v-john-g-rowland<http://www.sgtlaw.com/class-action-sebac-v-john-g-rowland><http://www.sgtlaw.com/class-action-sebac-v-john-g-rowland> or your state bargaining unit’s website.
http://dailydigest.uconn.edu/publicEmailSingleStoryView.php?id=40513&cid=24&iid=1443
On Tuesday, April 28, 2015 the Plaintiffs in the Lawsuit of SEBAC v. Rowland announced a settlement agreement after nearly 12 years of litigation. The following is information why the settlement is the best choice for both sides, what it means, and how it will be finalized.
SEBAC v. Rowland Settlement-Press Release 4-28-15
SEBAC v. Rowland Settlement Q & A
If you were a UConn AAUP member and working at the University and were laid off or directly impacted by former Gov. Rowland’s actions in 2002 and 2003 please contact the AAUP office and ask to speak with David Amdur. Our records seem to indicate that none of our members were directly impacted, but we can speak with you if you think you were