Summary Report for UIUC AAUP Policy Committee on June 9, 2008

Present: Ken Andersen, Connie Caveny, Bettina Francis, Walter McMahon, John Prussing, Arthur Robinson, Robert Spitze, Donald Uchtmann, H. F. Williamson

The meeting began at about 12:10 p.m. with Donald Uchtmann presiding. He noted that he would turn the meeting over to John Prussing when he needed to leave around 12:45 p.m.

President's Report

(1) Review of (a) the Minutes for Meeting April 28, 2008; (b) the Summary Report for Meeting April 28, 2008; (c) the Minutes for Annual Meeting on May 6, 2008, and (d) first draft of the President’s Report for Spring Semester. The first three were approved subject to minor editorial changes if necessary. A final revision of the fourth will be prepared and circulated for approval.

(2) Schedule of Meetings for Fall. The schedule of meetings for the fall was noted: September 8 in 211 Illini Union; October 6 in 211 IUB (first Monday of month); November 10 in the General Lounge; and December 8 in 211 IUB.

(3) Other. The discussion of proposals to permit concealed weapons on campus will occur when Hilton is present. We continued our discussion of administrators whom we could invite to meet with us next year.

Action Items

(4) Report on Chapter’s Annual Meeting on May 6. The meeting went well. The concern was on how we might increase attendance at such meetings in the future. Andersen noted that in the past we had held other meetings during the year to make the AAUP’s presence better known. Cary Nelson will be the speaker at a Know Your University forum in the fall. Possible topics for chapter-sponsored forums (e.g., “Can Research Be Bought?”) were discussed. Uchtmann planned to consider establishing a “Public Events” ad hoc committee to consider this further.

(5) National Meeting. Andersen discussed the schedule of the meeting. He feels we should support the proposed three-way restructuring of the Association. There are many advantages to making this change though it will be interesting to see how the Associations resources are allocated within the new setup. He doesn’t think that issues of concern to us (e.g., the Fund and faculty governance) will be considered. Given the schedule of speakers, the principal focus will be on the treatment of foreign scholars by the U.S. government.

Reports

(6) Academy on Capitalism and Limited Government Fund. The committee discussed at length the memo prepared by Tom Ulen for his oversight committee. We shared Ulen’s concern about how the donors feel the administration of the fund should occur and their failure to recognize the importance of faculty governance in this situation. Prussing will be sure that this issue is addressed at the next meeting of the Senate Executive Committee.

(7) Global Campus. There was a discussion of the actions by the Board of Trustees to support the Global Campus and the problems involved with establishing programs in such areas as nursing. We will continue to monitor how the administration of this program is handled.

(8) Chapter Web Site. Uchtmann announced that he had just learned that the ASC Awards Committee selected our Website for the ASC Outstanding Chapter Website Award along with the site at the University of Akron. We will receive a certificate and $100 at the national meeting.

(9) Academic Freedom and Tenure. Robinson discussed how he will be handling cases in the fall given that he now has space in the Engineering Library.

(10) Government Relations. Andersen reported on the budget that had “passed” last week and the fact that it would not fully fund the pension system. The capital bill did not pass and appears dead at least until after the November election. He did note that staff members in the IBHE feel that the support for higher education is stronger among legislators. They are better recognizing the role of higher education in the economic strength of the state. Recent polls have shown that there is support for an increase in the income tax for he general revenue fund but no to support the capital program.

(11) Senate Actions. Prussing noted that the Multi-Year Contract Option for Eligible Academic Staff was approved by the Senate this spring after a “multi-year” process of preparing it.