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12/8/22 Policy Committee Minutes

Present: Hadi Esfahai, Richard Laugesen, David O’Brien, Robert Parker, Dana Rabin, Daniel Steward, Leslie Struble, Carol Tilley, H. F. Williamson.

The meeting began at 12:30 p.m. with Parker presiding.

  1. Introductions. Introductions were not needed.
  2. Review of the Minutes for November 10, 2022 Meeting of Policy Committee. The minutes were approved.
  3. President’s Report. There was no formal discussion of this month’s report. Items of interest will be discussed during the meeting. Parker did emphasize that this was a good time for the members to start thinking about program ideas for the 2023 Annual Meeting so that we can begin discussing that at the January meeting of the Policy Committee.
  4. Schedule for Spring Policy Committee Meetings: There was nothing to add to the schedule that appeared in the agenda:
    • Regular Policy Committee Meeting: The meetings will start at 12:30 p.m. on the following dates. The format is likely to be Zoom at least for the first meetings.
      • 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.
  5. Future Meetings of the Policy Committee
    1. Chancellor. Parker has invited the Chancellor to meet with us next semester and is waiting for an answer. He plans to follow up soon.
    2. Members of the Board of Trustees. Parker suggested that we consider having members of the Committee (e.g., the Chapter’s officers) meeting again with one or two members of the Board. There was a discussion of the effectiveness of these meetings in the past. One topic could be a review of the concerning actions made by trustees at other Universities across the country. If such a meeting is arranged, it was suggested that we include individuals such as the Chair of the Senate Executive Committee in our planning. Laugesen noted that it is important that we let them know the purpose of this meeting including our goal of keeping channels open regarding protecting academic freedom and shared governance in the University of Illinois system. Tilley noted that we might consider covering some of the UIC union’s bargaining issues such as shared governance and progressive discipline. Parker noted the relevance of this suggestion given the major strikes that are occurring across the nation.
    3. Journalists. Parker has sent an invitation to one journalist to meet with us and, if that does not work will contact the second individual whom we considered at the November meeting.
  6. Promotion and Tenure Workshop. The four individuals who have agreed to serve on the panel are Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost William Bernhard; Associate Provost Amy Santos; Mariselle Melendez, Chair, Campus Committee on Promotion and Tenure; and Amanda Ciafone, Chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee. The tentative date is April 27, but this will not be confirmed until he has all their schedules.
  7. Other Workshops. Parker also noted that he will be working on organizing the panel for a meeting on “Attacks on Universities.” This is a possible program for the Annual Meeting.
  8. Departmental Programs. Parker and Laugesen will attend a faculty meeting at the Department of Economics on December 12 to talk about the AAUP. They will work with Rabin concerning attending a faculty meeting at the Department of History in the spring.
  9. Chapter Presence on Social Media. Parker and Tilley will continue to wait until the situation is clearer before pursuing this issue further.
  10. Policy on Departmental Statements. Parker described his exchanges with Senate leaders regarding their references to the AAUP in the documents on this issue. O’Brien summarized the actions taken by the Senate to approve the guidelines on this issue. It was agreed that the Chapter would not make a statement on the issue at this time.
  11. Chapter Web Site. Struble noted that there no problems with the site. Parker thanked her for all she has done to make the “public face” of the Chapter so effective.
  12. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at about 1:20 p.m. As noted above, the next meeting will be the first meeting of the spring semester at 12:30 p.m. on January 19, 2023.