Summary Report for UIUC AAUP Policy Committee on December 11, 2006

Present: Ken Andersen, Geneva Belford, Lynn Belford, Connie Caveny, Bettina Francis, Harry Hilton, Walter McMahon, John Prussing, Robert Spitze, Leslie Struble, Donald Uchtmann, H. F. Williamson
(1) The minutes for November 13, 2006 were approved.

(2) Invitation to Provost Katehi to meet with the Policy Committee. Francis reported on the meeting which she and Uchtmann had with the Provost. To help the Provost understand the role of the AAUP, they provided her with copies of (a) the Chapter President’s report for spring, 2006; (b) our resolution that semester regarding freedom of the press for student newspapers; and (c) our correspondence with the Board of Trustees regarding the policy on rehiring of retirees. The role of AAUP’s academic freedom and tenure committee, and its occasional involvement in tenure cases was also mentioned in the context of the UIUC Chapter's primary role as a champion of the principles of academic freedom and tenure on this campus. The Provost expressed an interest in our organization and will meet with the Committee February 12, 2007.

(3) Invitation to President White to meet with Policy Committee. Uchtmann circulated copies of his email to President White noting that (a) he hoped the President could meet with the Policy Committee or a delegation from it before the GCI goes to the Board of Trustees; (b) whether or not this could occur, he urged the President “to fully consider the ideas thoughtfully expressed in the Task Force Report and to make every effort to address the concerns identified and the recommendations offered;” and (c) if it was not possible to meet now, we hope that he could meet with us during the spring semester. President White replied cordially and has asked his staff to work on arranging a meeting.

(4) Global Campus Initiative (GCI). There was a wide-ranging discussion reflecting in particular on what occurred at the December Senate meeting, the subsequent workshop on the GCI and Chet Gardner’s meeting with the Graduate College Executive Committee. The topics covered included: (a) President White’s emphasis in his talk with the Senate on the revenue-generating role for the GCI given his concerns about our financial situation; (b) the role of the summit meeting in early January; (c) the fact that President White indicated that the GCI would be an action item at the March meeting of the Board of Trustees when many had thought that this step would be taken at the January meeting; (d) the roles of President White as both a leader of Illinois higher education in general and as a major fund raiser for the University of Illinois; (e) our strong support of the report by the Senate Task Force and Uchtmann’s relaying this fact to President White (see item (3) above); (f) the importance of the resolution brought to the Senate by the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee which emphasized that “the principles and practices of academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance be applied to the proposed Global Campus initiative.” (g) the importance of having Uchtmann should send a note to our members concerning the views of the Policy Committee and providing the links for the Task Force Report and the AFT resolution; (h) L. Belford’s summary of the Graduate College Executive Committee meeting; and (i) the role of the AAUP chapters at UIC and UIS.

(5) Government Relations: Andersen commented on the post-election session of the state legislature. He noted that they addressed none of the issues that we would have hoped would be considered.

(6) University Policy on Faculty Re-hires. Hilton noted that the Provost’s office has been concerned about the “permanency” of the titles chosen for faculty retirees who have been rehired.