Monday, September 24, 3:30-4:30, Tribble A108.
Next meeting: Thursday, October 25, 3:30-4:30. This year, we are alternating Monday and Thursday meeting times to allow maximum participation.
$10 annual dues were collected; will pay costs associated with building the website.
REMINDER to join the national AAUP if you are able. Over the past three decades, the national office has provided WFU AAUP with untold hours of free advice, including, most recently, expert guidance on how to identify appropriate peer groups for making salary comparisons.
1) Introduction of Officers: President, Steve Boyd, Study of Religions; VP, Jane Albrecht. Spanish and Italian (Spanish); Secretary, Doug Beets, Business (Accountancy); Treasurer, Terry Baker, Business (Accountancy)
2) Brief Updates and Discussion of Courses of Action on:
WFU AAUP Website
The website is being completed, building on the work begun by Meredith Farmer, John Oksanish and Barry Trachtenberg. Many thanks to them for getting this project off the ground!
Conflict of Interest / Koch Foundation Agreement
A motion to make public the WFU-Koch Foundation Agreement was passed by the Faculty Senate on Sept. 19, 2018; no further action is required at the moment.
Faculty Salaries
WFU AAUP will work with the Senate ExComm to communicate with the Provost about actions that are being taken to increase faculty salaries (following up on the motions passed by the Faculty Senate and College Faculty in March and April), and on the administration’s initiative to identify a new peer group for purposes of faculty salary comparisons. WFU AAUP has contacted the national AAUP office and received excellent advice on how to build a comparison group and will call on the Senate ExComm to seek funding from the Provost’s Office to bring an expert to campus to consult on best practices.
2) Discussion of Faculty Governance and the WFU AAUP Committee. WFU AAUP will contact the Dean of the College to discuss cooperating on outreach efforts to enhance faculty governance via the following: meetings with department chairs, visits to individual departments, brief presentations (<five minutes) at college and other schools’ faculty meetings; volunteers to share information on faculty rights and responsibilities in their departments (7 people present already volunteered to take on this role in ENG, WGS, POL, LIB, BIO, SPIT, ANT).
3) Discussion of Issue of Greatest Concern to Membership: Status of Teaching Professionals. In 2018-19 WFU AAUP will focus on this issue including, at least within the College, the desirability of development of a standing committee on faculty compensation / faculty development. Further discussion to follow in next meeting.