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President's Semester Report

Spring 2006

TO: Members, UIUC AAUP Chapter
FR: Geneva Belford, Chapter President
RE: Activities of the Policy Committee, Spring, 2006

This is my final report as the Chapter President to the members of the UIUC AAUP Chapter concerning our activities during the previous semester. I am stepping down this summer after five years in that position. I appreciate the support of the members of the Chapter and its Policy Committee during my Presidency. I am sure that this support will continue for our new Chapter President, Donald Uchtmann.

The principal Chapter activity this spring was the sponsorship of the Tenure Workshop on March 14. The speakers were Provost Richard Herman; Professor Janet D. Keller, a past chair of the campus Promotion and Tenure Committee; Billie Jean Theide, chair of the UIUC Faculty Advisory Committee, and Cary Nelson, a member of the Policy Committee and the recently-elected President of the National AAUP. We were pleased that the attendance exceeded our expectations. Many who attended thanked the members of the Policy Committee who were there for the AAUP’s sponsorship of this excellent program. More than fifty signed up to receive more information about the AAUP.

The Policy Committee also issued a public statement on February 17 regarding the controversy surrounding the dismissal of two student editors from the Daily Illini.  Excerpts were included in Jodi Heckel's story published on Saturday, February 18, in the News Gazette.  On February 21, the DI ran the entire statement on its Opinions page.  The Policy Committee’s statement included quotes from the Joint Statement on Rights and Responsibilities of Students  ( http://www.aaup.org/statements/Redbook/Studentrights.htm):
1.  “The student press should be free of censorship and advance approval of copy, and its editors and managers should be free to develop their own editorial policies and news coverage.”
2.  “Editors . . . of student publications should be protected from arbitrary suspension and removal because of student, faculty, administration, or public disapproval of editorial policy or content.”
3.  Student editorial freedom "entails corollary responsibilities to be governed by the canons of responsible journalism . . . ."
These principles remain valuable core principles for the academic community.


The Policy Committee met this spring on January 23, February 13, March 13, April 10, May 1, and June 12. The members who attended at least one of these six meetings were: Abbas Aminmansour, Ken Andersen, Geneva Belford, Linn Belford, Connie Caveny, Matt Finkin, Clyde Forrest, Bettina Francis, Michael Grossman, Harry Hilton, Richard Jerrard, Walter McMahon, Cary Nelson, John Prussing, Arthur Robinson, Robert Spitze, Leslie Struble, Donald Uchtmann, and H. F. Williamson. Our guests were Richard Herman and Margaret (Peg) Rawles. The rest of this report is a summary of the discussions at these meetings. If you would like to have a more active role in our Chapter’s activities, please let me or one of the other members of the Policy Committee know. We would be pleased to have all of our members more involved in the Chapter’s activities, possibly as members of the Policy Committee or of one of the other committees.

Activities of the Policy Committee

(1) Policy for Rehiring Retirees: The implementation of the policies for rehiring retirees put in place last summer by President White has caused problems of concern to many on campus.

(a) Meeting with Peg Rawles: Our first major discussion of this issue was at the January meeting when Peg Rawles, Associate Provost and Director, Academic Human Resources (AHR), accepted our invitation to join us to discuss the University and campus policies on this issue. She provided information and documents on the policy and discussed how the UIUC campus is implementing it. Members of the Policy Committee stressed the importance of providing clear guidelines for rehiring decisions. Of more concern was the lack of an effective process for appealing these decisions. Rawles agreed that our concerns were well-founded and was optimistic that the Board of Trustees and the President will establish a less intense working relationship on this issue.

(b) Report by Policy Committee: The discussion of this issue continued during the semester and culminated at our June meeting at which we prepared a statement on this issue based on a document prepared by Harry Hilton. [MORE TO COME]

(2) Meeting with Chancellor Herman: The Policy Committee regularly invites campus leaders to join us for a discussion of issues important to the faculty and the rest of the academic community. Chancellor Herman accepted our invitation to join us at our March meeting. His comments and the resulting discussion covered a wide range of topics including: (a) the current status of the Strategic Planning Initiative, what the next steps will be; and how financial support will be obtained; (b) the problems we face in maintaining the quality of our undergraduate education and of the students who apply and enroll; and (c) policies for carefully managing programs such as the global campus and continuing education. He concluded by describing some highlights of recent efforts to strengthen the campus and its image including the February concert of the U. of I. Wind Symphony at Carnegie Hall. More such events are being planned.

(3) Tenure Workshop: Harry Hilton, Chair of the Workshop Steering Committee, reported at the earlier meetings on the preparations for the event. He and the rest of the Committee did an excellent job in selecting the speakers, arranging the event itself, and publicizing it to the faculty. As noted above, there was an excellent turnout with many attending interested in being more involved in the AAUP. A follow-up campaign is being planned to contact them.

(4) Rights and Responsibilities of the Student Press: With much help from Matt Finkin, Abbas Aminmansour, and Don Uchtmann, among others, the Policy Committee issued a public statement on February 17 regarding the controversy surrounding the dismissal of two student editors from the Daily Illini. The statement is described earlier in this report.

(5) Chapter Web Site. Cary Nelson is directing the efforts to prepare this site. Support is being provided to the individual who will prepare and coordinate this site under Nelson’s supervision.

(6) Annual Chapter Meeting:

(a) Selection of New Officers: A nominating committee (Hilton, Spitze, and Williamson) was selected as a first step in preparing for the annual Chapter meeting which was held May 4. The Committee proposed that the following slate of officers which was approved at the meeting: Donald Uchtmann, President; Bettina Francis, Vice President; Connie Caveny, Secretary; and H. F. Williamson, Treasurer.

(b) Resolution of Appreciation for Geneva Belford: Donald Uchtmann prepared and presented a Resolution of Appreciation “to Geneva Belford for her enduring commitment to the ideals of academic freedom and shared university governance, for her outstanding service to the American Association of University Professors and this Chapter, and especially for her dedication and unselfish leadership as President of the UIUC Chapter of AAUP from June 2001 through May 2006.” The Resolution was adopted unanimously.

(c) Program: Kenneth Andersen made a presentation entitled “Comedy or Tragedy: The Relations among the Illinois Legislature, the IBHE, and SURS. He discussed the concerns he has about the state’s support for higher education and the pension system.

(7) Committee on Government Relations: Ken Andersen, Chair, and others discussed a number of items of interest and/or concern for the campus including: the budget deliberations and their impact on the support for higher education; how the tuition tax rebate proposed by the Governor might be funded; and the problems which could arise in future decisions about the funding of SURS. He reported his strong hope that the proposals contained in House and Senate Bills 750 have a chance of implementation. These would include increases in the personal income tax (3% to 5%); the corporate tax (to 8%); and reductions in property taxes. There would be some expansion in the services that are taxed.

(8) Faculty-Student Senate Activities: Policy Committee members who are active in the Senate discussed a number of issues facing the Senate during the semester including: (a) academic governance (two Policy Committee members were on the Senate panel for a presentation on this issue); (b) major items before the Senate Educational Policy Committee; (c) the actions taken by dissenting senators when items were on the agenda such as the TAM merger and the problems which arose during this year’s Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day; (d) the status of the Senate’s actions with regard to the role of the Chief; (e) the Senate’s reply to the Strategic Planning Initiative; (f) the Senate’s response to the proposed restructuring of the President’s office; and (g) what role the Senate would play in addressing the problems raised by the new policies for rehiring retirees.

(9) National AAUP: Cary Nelson reported on the issues he felt the Association needed to address from his perspective as a Vice President and candidate for the Presidency and, after the election, the new President of the Association for 2006-08. He is the fourth individual from the University of Illinois to serve as President. The others were William Britton (1954-56); Martha Friedman (1978-80); and Victor Stone (1982-84). He and Ken Andersen are the Chapter members who plan to attend the 2006 annual meeting.

(10) State AAUP Conference: Ken Andersen attended the annual meeting for the Conference in April. He reported that Cary Nelson made a strong presentation as guest speaker. Ken noted the importance of having a strong State AAUP Conference in the future.