Connecticut AAUP Delegation Lobbies Congress

In June, I had the pleasure of representing Western’s chapter of the AAUP at the Annual Meeting of the AAUP in Washington, D.C.  One of the activities included a day for us to lobby our legislators.  Several AAUP members, staff, and I met with the Connecticut U.S. Congressional delegation and their staff to discuss issues related to Higher Education. 

Both Representative Rosa DeLauro and Representative Nancy Johnson took time out of their busy schedules to sit down with us for about half an hour.  We met with each of the legislative staff members who deal with education issues for Representatives John Larson, Jim Maloney, and Rob Simmons.  In every instance, we had a substantial and interesting discussion.

A primary focus was student issues.  We discussed the need for student aid to keep pace with inflation.  We advocated increasing Pell Grants (from $3,750 to $4,350), and the need for more merit-based (rather than need-based) funding.  Also of concern is the high amount of debt students acquire before graduation.  We discussed loan forgiveness programs in return for public service or agreement to enter certain fields (like education or nursing.)

Our meetings also focused on the work of the faculty.  We pushed for funding of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and full funding of research (specifically for the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation) especially in areas where immediate pay-offs are not always clear.  We also advocated clarification of laws on copyright, intellectual property and “fair use” with regard to electronic communication (especially the Internet).  We also talked about the need to develop legislation that governs distance learning, so that educational quality is not compromised by the use of technology-based instruction.

Our visit coincided with the fallout from Senator Jim Jeffords’ departure from the Republican Party.  Due to the reshuffling of Senate committee assignments, we were unable to meet with either Senator Christopher Dodd or Senator Joseph Lieberman, but we anticipate seeing them when we return to lobby next June. --Katy Wiss v
 

What is the AAUP?

For those of you who are new (and others who may have forgotten), we are both:

1. The collective bargaining agent that negotiates the working conditions of part-time and full-time teaching faculty, librarians, counselors, coaches and athletic trainers.

2. A professional organization that works to maintain the standards of higher education.

AAUP stands for American Association of University Professors. v

Welcome New Faculty

We extend a warm welcome to our new colleagues:

Albert Aliciene, Nursing
Carina Bandhauer, Social Sciences
Richard Bassett, Management Information Systems
David Burns, Math & Computer Sciences
Raymond Chester, Management
John Coleman, Management
Karen Daley, Nursing
Gancho Ganchev, Math & Computer Sciences
Vassilios Gargalas, Finance
K.R. Constantine Gutzman, History
Carol Haberman, Math & Computer Sciences
Cheryl Hannigan, Accounting
Patricia Houser, Social Sciences
Christopher Kukk, Social Sciences
Khalda Logan, Communication & Theatre Arts
Fred Maidment, Management
Meg Moughan, Haas Library
Shane Murphy, Psychology
Ronald Noel, Psychology
Ellen Holmes Pearson, History
Elizabeth Popiel, Communication & Theatre Arts
Juel Reid, Counseling
Charles Rocca, Jr., Math & Computer Sciences
Virginia Verhoff, Health Science
Angela Vicenzi, Nursing
Abbey Zink, English  v 
 

Contract Extension Now Online

The one-year Contract Extension Agreement, negotiated between CSU-AAUP and the Board of Trustees, is now available on our web site (as is the Contract): www.wcsu.edu/aaup.

All newly hired faculty, librarians, counselors, coaches and athletic trainers are entitled to receive a hard copy of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (“The Contract”) from Human Resources. v
 

AAUP Executive Committee

If you have questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact us.  We are your colleagues, and we commit our time and skills to represent you. v