Minutes of the AAUP Executive Committee Meeting of December 12, 2007
Present: D. Burns (Chapter President), M. Crichton, J. Lee (Michigan Conference Executive Director), J. Lehman (SACUA Liaison), R. Lomax, P. Shaw (AAUP Associate Secretary), C. Smith.
D. Burns called the meeting to order at 12:25 p.m.
Agenda. The proposed agenda was adopted after minor revision.
Announcements: There were no announcements.
Minutes. The minutes of the November 28, 2007 meeting were adopted by unanimous consent.
Treasurer's Report. M. Crichton reported that the Chapter neither received nor spent funds since the last Executive Committee meeting and that the balance in the Chapter's checking account remains $1,487.64. The Treasurer's Report was adopted by unanimous consent.
Fall Chapter Meeting. D. Burns introduced Patrick B. Shaw, Associate Secretary in the national AAUP's Department of Organizing and Services, who will deliver the lecture at the Fall Chapter Meeting at 4 p.m. in the Forum Hall auditorium of the Palmer Commons. C. Smith noted that the Fall Meeting is being co-sponsored by the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA). P. Shaw discussed the recruitment and retention of AAUP members by advocacy chapters and offered to assist the Chapter in future recruitment initiatives.
Active Cases. C. Smith brought the Committee up-to-date on the case of the professor who had indicated a desire to file a grievance about another professor who had failed to carry out clinical responsibilities for which the two professors had joint responsibility. He noted that it still is not appropriate for the grievance to be handled by SACUA's Faculty Hearing Committee. D. Burns inquired about the case of the professor who, because of questions about competency, had been removed from his clinical duties, but not from his teaching duties. J. Lehman said that there was no new information about this case. Finally, the Committee discussed the status of the 5.09 proceeding that President M. S. Coleman has initiated against a faculty member but no one knew whether hearings had been scheduled.
Faculty Governance. J. Lehman reported that the response rate in the evaluation of University administrators has been slightly better than in past years with 27% of faculty on the Ann Arbor campus and 40% of faculty on the Dearborn campus participating to date. He added that processed data are not yet available. C. Smith said that the December meeting of the Senate Assembly would be held at 3:15 p.m. in the Forum Room of the Palmer Commons and that there would be a presentation by B. Frier and M. Thouless on the proposal to hire 100 new tenure-track assistant professors made by President Coleman in her November address to the University of Michigan Board of Regents. He added that the Committee for a Multicultural University would present a resolution which requests that diversity be considered in the hiring of the new faculty members.
The Committee discussed a proposal by College of Engineering Dean D. Munson to increase the number of entering freshmen this year because of the unusually large graduating class this year. C. Smith said that the University's Executive Officers had not approved the final wording of the document on shared governance. It was suggested that they were irritated because the Senate Assembly had voted at its November, 2008 meeting to request that the Regents reconsider plans to renovate the Michigan Stadium.
State Conference Developments. J. Lee announced that the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Michigan Conference will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2008, at the Eagle Crest Resort in Ypsilanti. The topic of the meeting will be the future of higher education in the State of Michigan. Speakers are currently being contacted. J. Lee also noted that a mailing has been sent out which solicits funds for the Professors Fund for Educational Initiatives. Several committee members said that they had not received the fund-raising letter.
National Headquarters Developments. In response to a question from D. Burns, P. Shaw indicated that the process of reorganization of the association by the National Council would begin soon and that details then would be worked out at the Annual Meeting in June, 2008. He said that AAUP President C. Nelson was planning to initiate an experimental change in dues rates. J. Lee said that he would look into arrangements on dues that could be made for the Ann Arbor Chapter. P. Shaw noted that the AAUP had three good candidates for the position of General Counsel and that a new search committee has been established to look for a new General Secretary.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
C. B. Smith
Chapter Secretary