Summary Report for UIUC AAUP Policy Committee on December 10, 2007

Present: Kenneth Andersen, Bettina Francis, Walter McMahon, John Prussing, Arthur Robinson, Robert Spitze, Leslie Struble, Donald Uchtmann, H. F. Williamson

The meeting began at about 12:15 p.m. with Donald Uchtmann presiding.

President's Report

(1) Review of the Minutes and of the Summary Report for the Meeting of the Policy Committee on November 12, 2007. These two documents were approved with minor revisions.

(2) Invitation to Vice President Rao to meet with Policy Committee in Spring. Uchtmann reported that Vice President Rao will be able to join us on January 14, 2008.

(3) Other. Uchtmann summarized an email he had received from Nelson concerning a forthcoming membership drive by national which will include more than one dues level depending on income. He will send the email to the rest of the Committee for our information.

Action Items

(4) Academy on Capitalism and Limited Government Fund. Spitze reported that fund supporter apparently are continuing to circulate documents about the fund which repeat many of the statements which have been found, at a minimum, to be misleading or premature. There was a discussion of what role the administration and the review committees are playing in overseeing the Fund. Spitze will pass this document on to Tom Ulen in his role as chair of the review committee.

(5) Preparation of Chapter’s Standing Rules. Andersen passed out a draft of the proposed AAUP Standing Rules. He had organized them into three topics: Communications; Attendance and Participation in Meetings; and Notice and Agendas of Meetings. There was an extensive discussion which included corrections and requests for clarification There was a discussion of the importance of having email voting available and what the rules would be on implementing it. One method for carrying this out could parallel that used for the Policy Statement on the Fund this fall. The President circulates a copy of the statement for review by the relevant group (usually the Policy Committee). Once a final copy is prepared, it will be circulated for an email vote. The quorum could be defined as having been met when a majority of the group has responded voting for or against or abstaining. Andersen noted that the approval or change in the Standing Rules can be accomplished easily as established in Roberts Rules of Order. Spitze complimented Ken on having prepared a good working draft and looks forward to having these rules in place prior to the next academic year. He noted that it is critical to have established procedures in these areas.

(6) Planning for Next Promotion and Tenure Workshop. The first step will be find a date that the Provost is available. The Committee was asked for suggestions as to past members of the campus Promotion and Tenure Committee and Faculty Advisory Committee who could serve as panelists for the workshop.

Reports

(7) Academic Freedom and Tenure. Robinson reported there has not been much progress on the case he discussed at the last meeting.

(8) Government Relations. Andersen reported that there is still no good news. It appears that any solution to the Chicago area transportation crisis will not take place until January when fewer votes are required to pass it. There is an increasing delay in the time it takes the state to pay its bills. He is still concerned that next year will be much worse given all the unsolved problems left over from this year.

(9) Senate Actions. Andersen expressed concern about how the postponed resolution regarding Homecoming will be resolved when it returns to the Senate floor.