Summary Report for the UIUC AAUP Policy Committee Meeting on October 10, 2006

Present: Geneva Belford, Lynn Belford, Vernon Burton, Connie Caveny, Clyde Forrest, Bettina Francis, Michael Grossman, Walter McMahon, Arthur Robinson, Robert Spitze, Donald Uchtmann, H. F. Williamson

(1) The Minutes for the September 11, 2006 Meeting were approved.

(2) Meeting with Jane Buck and Participation in Tribute to Cary Nelson. A meeting has been set up to talk with Jane Buck, past President of the AAUP, at 9 a.m. on October 27, 2006 just prior to the start of the conference entitled "Poetry, Politics, and the Profession: A Tribute to Cary Nelson" hosted by the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory and the Department of English.

(3) Impacts of a Restrictive University Policy on Faculty Re-hires. There was general agreement that the new (or return to old) policy seemed to be working in general. Francis noted that it is not clear that everyone implementing the policy at the department level is aware of what has occurred.

(4) Revision of Chapter By-Laws. There was a discussion of the draft of the revised by-laws presented by the Subcommittee including such issues as the election of officers and the selection of the Policy Committee. The next revision will reflect this discussion.

(5) Global Campus Initiative. There was a continuing, wide-ranging discussion of this issue with particular reference to the results of the town hall meeting held on the topic earlier in the day. There was general concern about the speed with which the proposal was being made and the lack of information available to those who are attempting to evaluate the initiative such as members of the Senate, the Senate Executive Committee (SEC), and the University Senates Conference (USC). Some of the items discussed were: the role of the Senate; the role of the USC; the role of the faculty; the role of any auxiliary faculty hired to teach in the program; ownership of the program and the courses established for it; the timing of the program; and what the exit strategy might be if necessary. The Policy Committee will continue to monitor developments related to the Global Campus Initiative, paying particular attention to the ways in which faculty are consulted regarding the initiative. Uchtmann asked Grossman and Burton to serve as additional members of a subcommittee along with those already named: Andersen, G. Belford, L. Belford, and Caveny.

(6) Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee. Robinson reported on a case involving promotion and whether proper procedures had been followed.