Present: Hadi Esfahai, Richard Laugesen, Walter McMahon, David O’Brien, Robert Parker, Bruce Rosenstock, Leslie Struble, H. F. Williamson.
The meeting began at about 12:30 p.m. with Parker presiding.
- Introductions. Introductions were not needed.
- Review of the Minutes for October 6, 2022 Meeting of Policy Committee. The minutes were approved. Parker thanked Williamson for his work on the minutes and other documents.
- President’s Report. Parker noted that he had a relatively brief report today. He is particularly concerned about the attacks on academic freedom that are occurring in Florida. He continues to stress the need to grow the chapter and the Chapter leadership. Williamson reported that the Department Head in Economics had indicated willingness to have a member speak to a department meeting about the AAUP.
- Schedule for Fall Policy Committee Meetings: Parker noted that the final meeting for the fall semester will start at 12:30 p.m. on:
- Thursday, December 8 (2nd Thursday); Reading Day is also December 9
- We assume that it will be held electronically
- Approval of Proposed Spring, 2023 schedule of regular Policy Committee meetings. The following schedule was proposed for the spring semester based on the assumption that we continue to meet at 12?30 p.m. on Thursdays. It was approved without objection.
- January 19 (third Thursday; instruction begins Jan. 17; King Holiday is Jan. 16)
- February 16 (third Thursday)
- March 9 (second Thursday)
- Spring Vacation starts March 11 and ends March 19
- April 6 (first Thursday)
- May 4 (first Thursday, this is Reading Day)
- NOTE: May 9 is the Tuesday of final examination week, the day chosen for recent
Annual Meetings.
- Social Media. Parker noted that Tilley had suggested using social media such as Twitter to help grow the Chapter and interest in the Chapter and had indicated that she would be willing to help expand that presence. Given the current uncertainty about the future of Twitter and similar platforms, he and Tilley have decided to wait until the situation is clearer before pursuing social media further.
- Promotion and Tenure Workshop. Parker reported that the at least two individuals have agreed to be on the panel, and he is optimistic about the remaining two. He is optimistic that he will be able to announce the entire panel at the December meeting.
- Meeting with Administrators. Parker asked for suggestions as to whom we might invite for the spring semester. Laugesen suggested we invite the Chancellor since he hasn’t joined us recently and he might address the question of campus policies regarding departmental statements. As background, Rosenstock provided a summary of the current status of the discussion by the Senate Committees that are preparing a policy statement on this issue. O’Brien by proposed that we should invite the Chancellor in the spring if only to stay in touch and to have our voice recognized. We will probably follow past procedures of inviting him to meet around 11:30 a.m. on a date that the Policy Committee is meeting.
- Meeting with a Journalist. Parker noted that it might be valuable to have an individual meet with the Policy Committee who is an expert on Illinois politics They could discuss the position of the University in state politics when so many public Universities are under attack from their state leadership. O’Brien suggested that we meet ahead of time to block out the topics that we would like covered as we have done in our meetings with the Chancellor or the President. McMahon noted that he had just completed a relevant podcast on Privatization of Higher Education focused on Universities such as ours. It was planned to circulate the link to the Chapter membership. It was also suggested that we consider inviting Ralph Martire, Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability to speak on state budget issues. There was also a discussion of the possibility of inviting Michael Bérubé to speak to a bigger Chapterevent.
- NOTE: McMahon Podcast site: HigherGood_WalterMcMahon_Podcast.mp3 (dropbox.com)
- Developing Programs for New Chapter Leaders and Members. There was a continuation of the discussion of the possibility of having speakers appear at Department meetings in general and the Department of Economics in particular.
- Campus COVID Policies. Parker led a brief discussion of the experience of the teaching faculty regarding whether students and colleagues are continuing to wear masks.
- Addressing the Current Crisis in Attacks on Universities. Parker noted that this topic will be covered in more detail at the December meeting of the Policy Committee.
- Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at about 1:15 p.m. As noted above, the final meeting of the fall semester will be 12:30 p.m. on December 8, 2022