AAUP Executive Council Minutes
September 24, 2007
Room 302 McDowell Hall, 12:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Linda Bucher (presiding), Leon Campbell, Gerald
Turkel, Danilo Yanich, Patricia Barber, Steve Dentel, and Kevin Kerrane
(secretary)
Approval of Minutes: Minutes of 5/30/07 and 8/27/07 were
approved with one correction: Jeremy Firestone is an Associate
Professor not an Assistant Professor.
Regular Meeting:
Office Update: L. Bucher announced that Rita
Girardi was given a full merit increase in salary of 4.25%, retroactive
to September 1. Her compensation is now is equivalently $19 per hour.
The maximum hourly rate for UD Level 6 employees is $19.62—L.
Bucher will explore the definition/responsibilities/salary range for
Level 7 and present at a future meeting.
Events: L. Bucher reminded members that
Administration/AAUP Forum is scheduled for Thursday, October 25, from
noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Trabant Multi-purpose Room. The guest speaker
will be David Breneman.
The AAUP reception for President Harker has been rescheduled
for Wednesday, November 28, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Collins Room
of the Perkins Student Center.
Fall Faculty Survey: Most of meeting was
dedicated to a discussion of the draft of the Pre-Bargaining Faculty
survey, starting with the question of whether the survey should be
distributed electronically or as a hard copy. G. Turkel noted that
mailing out hard copies might generate a higher response rate, and that
the survey could be accompanied by information for non-members about
joining AAUP. L. Bucher suggested that the electronic response rate
should be at least as high—especially if prefaced with an e-mail
explaining that completion time would be only about ten
minutes—and that membership information simply could be sent out
separately with flyers. S. Dentel noted that most faculty are
comfortable enough with e-mail and the web, and are most likely to
respond that way.
Discussion turned to the issue of voting privileges by
non-members of AAUP on approval of a new contract. L. Bucher suggested
omitting such a question from the survey and, at least for now, simply
adhering to what the by-laws say: that non-members have no such voting
privileges. S. Dentel commented that in affirming this position we are
giving non-members an incentive to join. He added that a separate
survey for non-members should (a) stress what the AAUP does on their
behalf, (b) ask them about any reasons they may have for not joining,
and (c) clarify their status as non-voters when the next contract is
submitted for faculty approval.
Question # 1 on the draft dealt with areas of concern for the
new contract such as Salary or Health Benefits or Retirement Benefits.
D. Yanich suggested that respondents should be asked to use numbers to
rank these concerns in order of importance.
Question # 2 on the draft dealt asked respondents to suggest
an appropriate percentage increase for salaries during the next
contract period. S. Dentel proposed that the question be reworded to:
“What percentage above cost-of-living should AAUP seek in the
next contract?
A proposed question might extend # 2 to ask what proportion
of salary increase should be across-the-board and what percentage
should be merit-based. G. Turkel commented that the question would not
help the bargaining team, and that it was not on the last
pre-negotiation survey of faculty. S. Dentel suggested that a question
might simply ask: “How should any salary increase above
cost-of-living be allocated?”—followed by a series of
across-the-board vs. merit ratios which respondents could choose from.
L. Campbell emphasized that Questions # 3 and # 4 should be
kept on the final version of the survey. These questions ask for an
opinion about the clarity, and the fairness, of merit-pay policy within
a faculty member’s own unit.
Additional questions were reviewed and L. Bucher indicated
that she would incorporate all suggestions and distribute the survey
one more time before the next Exec. Council meeting. Approval of final
version is targeted for October meeting so that distribution can occur
shortly thereafter. L. Bucher will register on SurveyMonkey in
preparation for electronic distribution.
Recruitment: L. Bucher and G. Turkel will
be visiting the Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate meeting today.
Respectfully submitted
Kevin Kerrane
Secretary
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