Executive Council Meeting Minutes
March 9, 2009
8:00-10:00 am
Members Present: Pat Barber, Linda Bucher (via phone), Leon
Campbell, Joan DelFattore, Prasad Dhurjati, Calvin Keeler, Sheldon
Pollack, David Smith, Gerry Turkel, Danilo Yanich (Excused), Rita
Girardi (Administrative Assistant)
The agenda was approved as submitted.
Minutes of 12/15/08 and 2/11/09 were approved as submitted.
Old Business:
Filling Vacancies:
In an effort to fill Steering Committee vacancies, Joan Del
Fattore, David Smith, Calvin Keeler and Prasad Dhurjati will approach
selected AAUP members for their willingness to have their name placed
on the ballot. Scott Jones (Accounting and MIS) has agreed to be put on
the ballot.
New Business:
Sabbatical Leave Policies and Deferments: The AAUP has the
exclusive right to bargain with respect to sabbatical leave. Sabbatical
leave is not automatic; it may, for instance, be denied if a proposal
is found to be academically inadequate. A sabbatical may be deferred
for academic or staffing reasons, but the deferral may not be extended
for an unreasonable period. A policy of blanket rejections or deferrals
as a budgetary measure would be inconsistent with the CBA.
Information and advice about sabbaticals will be discussed in
the next issue of VOICE, including but not limited to a
warning that even if a deferral has been arranged in advance, faculty
must apply for sabbatical in the year in which they are eligible in
order to avoid losing a year toward the next sabbatical.
Weighting for different kinds of teaching: AAUP members have
raised questions about the amount of the credit given for certain kinds
of teaching assignments, such as exceptionally large classes, classes
that fulfill the second writing requirement and discussion sections
associated with labs or large lecture courses. Currently, faculty
members must negotiate such assignments with their department chairs as
a workload matter. The AAUP Council plans to raise this issue in a
questionnaire next fall to ascertain the views of the membership.
Workload: As part of the workload, the Council discussed the
ways in which non-classroom teaching activities are factored into
faculty workloads. Among other things, the Council noted that some
activities of this kind, such as dissertations and theses, offering
one-on-one instruction, supervising individual undergraduate study
(XXX266, 366, etc.) and advising students in multiples 0f 30 must be
counted as part of the teaching workload in accord with the credit
hours stipulated in the CBA. Non-classroom teaching activities should
be factored into the percentage of a faculty member’s workload
assigned to teaching. In addition, the council discussed the necessity
of aligning faculty workloads with expectations for promotion.
Other: The Council noted that rates charged for health care
coverage may change in the course of a CBA, but this must be associated
with an open enrollment period in which faculty may change their health
care option if they wish and those rates will change if the insurer
and/or state changes rates for family coverage.
Gerry Turkel suggested that the AAUP invite Steering
Committee members to Dover for a reception for state legislators at an
appropriate time. In addition, he suggested the AAUP General Secretary
be invited to talk on-campus in the fall, jointly sponsored with the
Provost’s Office.
AAUP VOICE: The April/May issue will speak to merit
pay, treasurer’s report and sabbatical leave policy.
The meeting adjourned at 1:15 pm.
Next Meeting:
Monday, April 13, 2009 11:15am to 1:15pm
Respectfully submitted,
Pat Barber/rg
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