The UConn-AAUP entered negotiations in good faith on September 11, 2015 and presented proposals to strengthen the overall educational environment. The Administration has put forward proposals that seek to profoundly undermine the structures of shared governance that helped launch UCONN to become one of the nation’s top universities. The Administration’s proposals effectively redefine the University as the Board of Trustees, the President, the Provosts, and the Deans, and disempowered, in deeds if not in words, students and faculty.
UConn-AAUP’s proposals seek to protect public higher education and the bedrock values of the university including academic freedom, an atmosphere free of discrimination, competitive compensation to recruit and retain world-class faculty, and the strong voice of educators in setting and advancing the academic priorities of the University.
We believe in the strong and robust voice of educators in the academic operations of the University and maintain that collective bargaining is the most effective means to protect and enhance faculty governance. Moreover, collective bargaining in good faith gives the faculty an effective voice in the decisions that vitally affect the professional well-being of faculty and the academic and personal well-being of their students.
We the undersigned support UConn-AAUP’s proposals to protect and strengthen the core values of higher education. We call upon the Board of Trustees to support a contract improving faculty working conditions and supporting the faculty voice in academic decision-making. The UConn-AAUP is committed to fostering a strong academic environment that builds on our shared success.