Present: Kenneth Andersen, Geneva Belford, Lynn Belford, Bettina Francis, John Prussing, Arthur Robinson, Robert Spitze, Leslie Struble, Donald Uchtmann, H. F. Williamson
- The Minutes for the June 12, 2006 Meeting were approved.
- The Minutes for the Officers’ Meeting on July 27, 2006 were reviewed.
- Impacts of a Restrictive University Policy on Faculty Re-hires. Uchtmann provided copies of a statement he prepared for the Chapter web site reviewing our actions on this matter during the summer. These included (a) the meeting with Associate Provost Rawles; (b) the Policy Committee discussion and actions culminating in the adoption of our June 12, 2006 resolution; (c) the actions of our members leading up the July meeting of the Board of Trustees (BOT) including a June 20, 2006 meeting with President White; and (c) the BOT actions and the AAUP follow-up. The last included an excerpt from Uchtmann’s letter to Trustees Eppley and Sodemann thanking them and the rest of the BOT for considering our views while they worked on this issue.
- Chapter Web Site: There was a report that good progress has been made on the web site.
- Composition of Policy Committee for 2006-2007. Uchtmann reported that he was pleased that almost all members had replied favorably to his letter during the summer inviting them to continue as members.
- Composition of Chapter Committee for 2006-2007. Four committees were proposed. Based upon responses from the Committee, the members are: (i) Government Relations: Andersen (Chair), McMahon; (ii) Academic Freedom: Robinson (Chairi), Spitze, Struble; (iii) Programs: Hilton (Chair); and (iv) Membership: G. Belford (Chair).
- Revision of Chapter By-Laws. Uchtmann noted that the officers agreed that a review and revision of the By-Laws was overdue. A committee [Francis (chair), Andersen, and Williamson] was established to undertake this task.
- Invitation to Campus Administrators to meet with Policy Committee: Uchtmann has sent a note to Provost Katehi inviting her to meet with the Policy Committee. We also discussed other individuals we might invite.
- Global Campus Initiative: There was a wide-ranging discussion of our concerns which included: (a) the speed with which the proposal was being made; (b) uncertainty about how the funds to start the proposal would be raised; (c) the need to have careful controls on how the funds are used; and (d) the role of faculty in the development and management of the program. Uchtmann noted a number of steps that we could take including attending the various meetings covering it and maintaining contact with leaders in the Senate and our AAUP counterparts at the UIC and UIS campuses. Uchtmann suggested that Andersen, G. Belford, L. Belford, and Caveny be an informal subcommittee to monitor these activities and keep us aware of what is taking place.
- Government Relations Committee Report: Andersen reported that there are funding difficulties in some student aid areas given that the planned sale of the student loan fund did not occur. He is not optimistic that there will be override actions to address the state’s fiscal problems.