UFF-FAU

James Tracy — the former faculty union president — spoke to students about issues in higher education on Nov. 5 at a student media roundtable discussion. Photo by Ryan Murphy

University Press, November 13, 2012

Some FAU faculty changed their mind on President Mary Jane Saunders in the span of just one year.

Every year, FAU’s faculty union, a chapter of the United Faculty of Florida (UFF), doles out a survey — granting anonymity — for its faculty to leave comments on higher-ups at the university, including Saunders. Last year, 23 percent of those who participated gave Saunders an unfavorable mark.

This year? 46 percent.

“Really, this is the only way faculty can speak their mind without fear of retribution,” said James Tracy, a tenured FAU professor and former UFF-FAU president.

Chris Robé, a tenured film professor, is the current UFF chapter president, and says one of this year’s survey comments dealt with a disconnect between faculty and administration.

“Valuing faculty input has been the main, recurrent issue, faculty wanting more interaction with the administration,” Robé said. “They do need to do more for faculty, quite honestly.”

However, there was a bigger complaint among the comments left. According to Tracy, close to 200 people usually participate in the survey. Out of this year’s 189 commenting faculty, 144 left comments on Saunders, the highest number among FAU’s administration, with many of them expressing disapproval with Saunders’ and her administration’s actions. A sampling of the comments faculty left for her after being asked the question: The university would be better served if President Saunders would…

• Stop saying everything FAU does is FOR the students when she supports canceling classes that do not have full enrollment. The very idea of canceling a class with a cap of 24 that only has 20 or 21 enrolled is ridiculous. Why don’t we just tell our students to enroll at UCF or FIU in the first place? FAU cares about the students? Saying something doesn’t make it true….
• Raise academic admission standards–FAU students are not the best and the brightest.
• Already proving to be the worst president in FAU history. Sorry to be blunt, but the reality of her administration is that she fires people who disagree with her because she can, she surrounds herself by people who fail to give her good advice because she thinks she knows everything, and is so thin-skinned that she cannot make decisions that might make her appear weak, LIKE LISTENING TO THE FACULTY

Saunders was unable to comment for this story, according to FAU’s Assistant Director of Media Relations Chris Stotz. Because of this, FAU’s Vice President of Communications Scott Silversten wrote a statement to the UP about the faculty survey results:

“President Saunders values the extraordinary efforts and dedication of FAU’s distinguished faculty. She understands the concerns raised following a difficult year and is dedicated to working with the entire FAU community to meet all of the challenges faced by the Florida State University System.”

Although Saunders told the Sun Sentinel on Oct. 28, “We’re very sympathetic to the faculty. They’re being asked to do more, and we’re looking for ways to reward them. It’s a difficult financial time.”

In last year’s UFF survey, former Dean Manjunath Pendakur was hit with negative comments and resigned shortly before it was released. According to Tracy, former FAU President Frank Brogan often had negative comments in the UFF survey, never leading to any change in his job status. In fact, Brogan moved up and is now the chancellor of the Florida State University System.

When asked whether the 144 comments would impact Saunders, who’s the highest member of the university after the board of trustees, Tracy pondered.

“Well, change will happen if the administration wants to change,” he said. “And I think, in part, it has to do with the extent to which people are talking about this. But it seems this administration is impervious to any sort of criticism. It seems as if they are to a significant degree. They screwed up the summer completely and there was no sort of apology.”

Chris Robé had a film appreciation class in the summer that was cancelled after the university announced a $24.7 million budget cut. His class was cancelled when FAU approved a policy requiring at least 24 students register for undergraduate levels and 11 students for graduate level classes.

“The policy itself was problematic but the implementation was even worse,” Robé said.

Chris Robé, FAU’s faculty union president, rallied professors outside the Kenneth R. Williams Administration building on April 18 to protest the cuts made to summer classes. Photo by Christine Capozziello

The university then reopened his class a week before the semester started.

“Other faculty were going through that too,” Robé said. “I wasn’t the only one.” Susan Reilly, the former director for the School of Communication, also spoke out at the time, saying 14 of her students who registered had their class cut.

And although Robé credits the university for dealing with the budget cuts, he wonders why the university wasn’t as prepared for them as schools like FIU, who didn’t make class cuts as severe as FAU.

“That was really, a really traumatic experience for everybody — for students, for the faculty, for everybody,” he said. “That can’t happen again.”

“It’s passing the buck back and forth, back and forth. It’s worse than it’s ever been,” Tracy said. “I imagine a few years from now, unless there’s some changes that take place, unless the faculty really challenges the administration and asks for their removal, to seriously rethink their management, this place won’t be desirable.”

Tracy and Robé both led a charge of faculty protesting last spring, all looking for answers. Many had trouble finding them.

“In our faculty meetings, people were outraged. People have been outraged,” Tracy said. “I’ve been here since 2002 — I haven’t seen this degree of frustration in faculty meetings as I’ve seen here.”

Despite their frustration, FAU’s faculty — tenured or not, anonymous or not — expect more of the same.

“The way this administration is, I mean the top level administration, Saunders and so-forth — people who don’t play ball? They’re asked to leave,” Tracy said. “They want people who are compliant. You follow the rules and that’s it. If you ask questions, then you’re out. And I think the deans realize that, plus the deans get three times the salary as a faculty member would get, so they’re willing to just sit there and nod. And that’s essentially what they’re doing.”

The United Faculty of Florida survey this year also included faculty’s comments about higher-ups throughout FAU. What follows are excerpts of the anonymous comments left for three administrators:

Provost Brenda Claiborne. Photo courtesy of FAU

The university would be better served if Provost Brenda Claiborne would:

• Be fired
• Resign immediately
• Trust faculty to make decisions

The university would be better served if Interim Dean Heather Coltman, College of Arts and Letters would:

Dean Heather Coltman. Photo courtesy of Media Relations

• Continue to be the strong advocate for the College that she now appears to be
• Actually make decisions and stick by them
• Go back to the classroom

The university would be better served if Interim Dean Mohammad Llyas, College of Engineering would:

Dean Mohammad Llyas. Photo courtesy of Media Relations

• Become the permanent dean
• Be allowed to function more freely
• Continue as regular dean

September 8, 2012. President Saunders panned for “micromanaging” university, disrespect of faculty, lack of transparency and dubious approaches to budget crisis, Provost Claiborne faulted for poor communication with faculty, cutbacks in teaching, and “a swirling vortex of comically stupid [credentialing] decisions.”

Processing of the 2011-2012 UFF-FAU Faculty Survey on Administrator Performance is now complete. A total of 189 responses were received from faculty at all colleges and FAU campuses. An overall summary of faculty members’ written comments is provided below.

Word-for-word faculty responses on specific administrators have been published in a password-protected area of the website. Faculty will be provided with a password via email to access these.

Overview and summary of written comments.

President Mary J. Saunders received 144 comments, most of them critical of her actions. A strong critique involved the micromanaging of the university and a lack of respect for faculty. One faculty member comments: “She seems very distant from the faculty and speaks in generalities that are very difficult to decipher. She needs to make more of an effort connecting with and explaining herself to faculty, as well as listening more effectively.” Another routine critique was a lack of transparency regarding resources and the academic processes of the university. Faculty have also questioned the viability of the growth of university. As one faculty member writes, “The idea that we can grow our way out of the budget crisis is suspect. Adding students without investing in tenure-line faculty and infrastructure, as Dr. Saunders appears to be doing, degrades the quality of education for our students.” Even sympathetic comments still note she should “consider reducing the salaries and/or numbers of senior administrators on her team” since most faculty, as we will see in the other survey comments, have no idea of the purpose behind many of these new administrative lines.

Provost Brenda Claiborne received 121 comments. The problematic summer policy dominated many comments and led to a general negative opinion of the provost’s actions. As one faculty members observes, “I had formed no strong opinion until the summer fiasco. The one-size-fits-all plan is illogical and ineffective. This is the first time in my 35 years here that top-down plan has occurred. It makes no sense.” Similarly, another faculty member warns, “Do everything necessary to AVOID cutting classes in a university. It is as if a shoe shop stopped selling shoes.” This policy, according to many faculty, seems to stem from a lack of communication and interaction with faculty. One person notes, “The Provost seems like a very nice person. But she has done a terrible job of communicating with faculty and as a result, her decision-making seems arbitrary and heavy-handed. The debacle around course sizes is only the latest example.” Also, the handling of credentialing was another consistent critique. One person notes, “Having to explain to the provost the basics of a variety of disciplines and how they are run is embarrassing for both the one doing the explanation and the one having to receive it. The appearance of dictatorial actions and coercion has done nothing for the moral[e] of the University.” Another comment: “The accreditation process has already turned into a swirling vortex of comically stupid decisions.” Another comment: “I am also surprised at the level of rigidness in interpreting the SACs directives towards credentialing. When one pulls up the SACS description of credentialing, it is clear that the university is ignoring several paragraphs of discussion regarding appropriate credentials in order to enforce FAU’s mission, whatever that is.” Yet another: “Follow SACS guidelines in the manner that every SACS accredited institution does.” The comments continue. As you know, UFF-FAU has written a report on SACS and requested a meeting with the provost and those in charge of SACS. We are still pressing for a reply and meeting.

Associate Provost of Northern Campuses Eliah Watlington received around two dozen comments. In general, no one knows who he is and questions the relevancy of the position.

Associate Provost of Broward Campuses Anthony Abbate received nine comments mostly noting that he needs to be more assertive for faculty rights and “build a stronger sense of identity and community among Broward faculty and students.”

Interim Vice-President of Research Barry Rosson received 90 comments, all uniformly negative. Many people commented about the seemingly irrelevancy of the graduate college and the endless, meaningless paperwork it blossoms. One faculty member cautions: “Stop building a bureaucratic empire that does nothing but generate paperwork for those of us working in the graduate program.” Another faculty member suggests that Rosson “has made an unbelievable mess out of the Graduate College, screwing-up even the most basic tasks. The labyrinthine and Byzantine forms are an obvious example.” Another faculty encourages: “The Graduate College should be eliminated. It duplicates services. It is unfriendly to students and faculty.”

Interim Dean of Arts and Letters Heather Coltman received 84 mixed responses. The positive comments suggest that she is doing her best during a very bad financial crisis and a hostile state legislature. One faculty member writes, “She is doing a great job despite these ridiculous financial restrictions.” The negative comments suggest that Dean Coltman lacks the needed experience to function as a Dean and badly represents faculty interests. One faculty member writes, “Interim Dean Coltman is inexperienced, and during her time as dean has been entirely ineffective . . . She has poor judgment, does not understand the academic programs in the college, and has made a series of disastrous decisions.”

Dean of Undergraduate Studies Ed Pratt received 27 mixed comments. On the positive side faculty believe he “does the best he can in these unsettled times.” On the critical end, faculty believe he needs to show more initiative in “addressing the needs of effective undergraduate education.”

Dean of the College of Science Gary Perry received 16 comments. Many view him as one of FAU’s best deans. The main negative comments stated that he “should fight for the faculty and students” more.

Dean of Nursing Marlaine Smith received 8 comments. About half complimented her as an “outstanding, supportive, and generous” dean. Two comments suggested that Smith be more visible among faculty and better listen to them.

Dean Rosalyn Carter of the College for Design and Social Inquiry received 4 comments. They suggest that Carter act in a more professional manner and involve faculty more in decision-making processes.

Dean of Business Denis Coates received 7 comments. They generally suggest that Coates needs to work on better managing various departments and improving faculty governance. They also suggest that he needs to better his communication skills.

Interim Dean of Engineering Mohammad Ilyas received 6 largely positive comments. They suggest he is an excellent leader and would like to see him become permanent dean.

University Libraries Dean William Miller received 3 comments. They suggest that he needs to be more directly involved in decision-making processes.

Dean of Education Valerie Bristor received 23 comments. They generally suggest that she needs to better manage the departments and their chairs. Some comments suggest that she was better suited in the role of associate dean.

Principal Tammy Ferguson of the Henderson School received 7 comments. They were generally positive, but a few suggested that she better communicate with the faculty.

Dean Jeffrey Buller of the Honors College received 7 comments. They commented on his general absence on the Jupiter campus and the overall resulting demoralization of the college.

Quantitative Breakdown of Administrator Survey Data

June 11, 2012. Provost Brenda Claiborne announces significant changes to Promotion and Tenure policy without notifying UFF or faculty governance bodies

Dear Colleagues,

It has recently come to the union’s attention that the provost  released a May 31, 2012 memo regarding Promotion and Tenure (P&T). Particular notice should be given to section 9 where the external letters of recommendation have increased from 3 to 5. The union has recently contacted the provost stating that the Collective Bargaining Agreement specifically speaks to procedures that need to be followed in making changes to P&T criteria. Specifically, according to Article 14.2 (b) and Article 15.1 (c)(4) two things must occur first before modifying criteria:

1)  “The Board and the University may modify these criteria after notifying the UFF Chapter of the proposed changes and offering an opportunity to discuss them in consultation with the President or representative.” UFF has not been notified.

2)  “Any proposal to develop or modify promotion criteria shall be available for discussion by members of the affected departments/units  before adoption.” Faculty have not had any option to discuss this either. The union has never been made aware of such changes and needs to discuss them before any type of adoption takes place. Since the number of external letters was increased from two to three just two years ago after undergoing a comprehensive review by the University Committee, we need to understand the reasoning behind the increase of two additional letters in such a short amount of time.

In regards to the second issue review by members of the affected departments most faculty are not under contract right now so they are not obligated nor might not have adequate time to review the proposed changes. Either way, they were not given the opportunity. UFF suggests that administration should at least wait until the beginning of the fall semester to discuss these changes when faculty are under contract and present so they can discuss such issues as a group. Additionally, the administration needs time to allow the University Committee to meet to discuss any such changes.

If the administration fails to comply with the terms and conditions in the CBA, the union will then contact our legal counsel and proceed accordingly.

Furthermore, faculty should be aware that if any changes do take place, according to the CBA, Article 15.1 (4) states that such changes don’t become effective until a year after their adoption. Also, “an employee with at least three (3) years of tenure-earning credit as of the date on which the tenure criteria are adopted shall be evaluated for tenure under the criteria as they existed prior to modification” unless the employee chooses otherwise.

The CBA serves as a foundational document in such matters of P&T. This is yet another way in which the union protects the integrity of such processes. If you haven’t done so, join today. Download a membership form and send it to: Chris Robe’, CU 214, Boca Raton campus.

We are here when you aren’t making sure that protocols are followed. Join and become active in the union today.

Best,
Chris

UFF-FAU President

May 14, 2012. The faculty protest in late April was a last resort after the non-responsiveness of FAU administrators. What did we achieve?

First of all, I would thank all faculty and staff who participated in the summer teaching protest held on April 18. As you all know, the protest just didn’t concern itself with summer teaching, but more importantly the way in which faculty have been systematically excluded from most decision-making processes recently implemented by the upper administration. Only after the fact is faculty input solicited. We are hoping as a result of such negative publicity that the administration will start implementing policies where faculty have been an integral part from the inception. I will be meeting with the provost later this month to discuss this problem and see how we can move forward regarding this.

The union doesn’t take protesting lightly. We have attempted to use other more formal channels– consultation, meeting with the upper administration through more informal settings, asking questions during faculty assemblies and the senate, but felt that our concerns were not being taken seriously. As a result, we felt that we had no option other than focusing the public eye on the ways in which faculty, students, and staff feel how that the university has been mismanaged.  In this effort we were successful.  In addition to attracting at least seventy faculty, staff and students to our protest rally on the 18th, and helping students publicize their own earlier protest rally, we received good publicity in a variety of media.   See the links to local media in previous posts on the protests here at uff-fau.org.

The results were  productive:

1)      We finally received a belated memo from the administration on April  10 regarding the rationale for the implementation of summer policy.

2)      Administrators started to reinstitute courses more promptly.

3)      The administration publicly acknowledged that the implementation of the summer policy was misguided.

4)      After repeated calls by the union since Fall 2011 for a Town Hall Budget meeting, the upper administration finally held one. The result  was far from satisfactory. Although we would much rather have had the President and the Provost directly fielding questions, the meeting at  least provided a public forum where faculty could directly address some of their concerns and judge for themselves the adequacy of the responses.

But of course the proof is in the proverbial pudding. We’ll see how future administrative policies are made and implemented and if faculty governance and knowledge is respected. We understand that FAU has been placed in a difficult economic situation because of the hostility by many in the state legislature in regards toward public education.

This damage has been compounded by misguided policies on the local level that seem distinctly out of touch with faculty concerns and expertise and thus destructive of some core goals of the university, its discipline-specific teaching and research programs. But for now we look to the future by attempting to establish a more  functional and balanced relationship with the upper administration. As you know, the union provides a forum for the only independent collective voice of the faculty. But only faculty can make this voice be adequately heard not only by joining the union, but also by becoming more involved in it.

The union repeatedly and rigorously addresses issues that many faculty members articulate to one another but might be uncomfortable pronouncing on their own to the administration.  But the union gives you an independent, collective  voice across department, college and campus boundaries. Your involvement makes us a more effective, democratic, well-informed, and vigorous university. Please download a membership form by clicking here today. Send to Chris Robe’, FAU, CU 215, Boca Raton, FL 33431.

Have a good summer!

Chris

April 24, 2012. Targeted campuses “are not making any profit,” says FAU Vice President for Finance Dennis Crudele

By Scott Travis

(April 24, 2012)

The faculty at Florida Atlantic University are usually united in opposing most budget cuts — unless it involves closing down small campuses.

A proposal to close the downtown Fort Lauderdale tower and the Treasure Coast campus inPort St. Lucie is alarming to those at the campuses. But many faculty at other campuses see it as a good way to deal with a $10 million budget hole, according to a website FAU created to get ideas on ways to cut the budget. A final decision is expected in June, but most at FAU think the proposals are a done deal.

“We’re a minority and a very small faculty, and we can’t make a lot of noise,” said Stephanie Cunningham, a graphic design professor at the Fort Lauderdale campus. “And we’re in the last week of classes. We don’t really have the time to organize a protest, and in the summer, there will be so few students on campus.”

Read more at sunsentinel.com

April 11, 2012. Chorus grows stronger over MJ Saunders’ high-handed style and forced austerity

Responding to deep cuts in the summer course schedule at Florida Atlantic University, faculty and students are planning protests against what they call unfair and arbitrary reductions which will hurt students, faculty, and academic programs.

In response they are planning protest rallies on the west steps of the administration building on the Boca Raton campus.  The first, organized by students, will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 12.

The second, organized by the UFF-FAU and supported by students, will be held on Wednesday, April 18 at 12 noon.  In addition, everyone is invited to make protest signs in the lobby of the Culture and Society Building at 5 on Monday, April 16.

Administrators have cut almost a thousand courses from 2011, about a third of the total.

FAU was hit by the Florida Legislature last month with an unprecedented $30 million in budget cuts for the coming year.  In all, the eleven public universities have lost $730 million in state funding since 2008, and will lose another $300 million this year, half from appropriations and half from their own reserves.

This last legislative move prompted Moody’s Investors Service to take the unusual step of publicly criticizing the Legislature for damaging the universities’ credit.  Meanwhile, the Legislature and Governor gave corporations another $80 million in tax breaks in addition to the billions they’ve received in recent years, while cutting hospitals and nursing homes in addition to universities.  State colleges have endured similar cutbacks.

“It’s bad enough that the Legislature and Governor are undermining our state’s future by slashing higher education.  But the university is compounding the problem by using a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach to summer cuts,” said Chris Robe, president of the faculty union, the United Faculty of Florida – FAU.

Robe points out that cuts have been imposed unilaterally from the provost’s office with virtually no regard for students’ needs or faculty advice in particular programs.  The cuts are also insensitive to the needs of FAU students, many of whom are non-traditional students who have jobs and families, and cannot afford to delay graduation for a semester or a year because a required course is not offered in the summer, and who are thus more likely to drop out.

In her message to students and parents on the front page of FAU’s web site, President Mary Jane Saunders says that “the most important thing you need to know is that nothing has changed for you at FAU.  Students are still our first priority, and we remain committed to helping you progress steadily toward your degree.  As in the past, we will continue to offer all courses needed for graduation.” http://www.fau.edu/explore/homepage-stories/2012_03budgetcut.php.

However, a March 21 memorandum from Provost Brenda Claiborne instructs deans and chairs to cut all courses from the summer 2012 schedule which during summer 2011 did not enroll at least 24 students in undergraduate courses or 11 students in graduate courses.  While the provost leaves room open for exceptions, some programs have been hurt very badly, others not at all.

According to faculty and students in various departments, this edict ignores the need for small classes in lab and studio courses with prerequisites, many of which have simply been cancelled because they did not enroll 24 students last summer.  While some programs have accreditation requirements which protect their course sequences from arbitrary disruptions, some of these programs were cut anyway, while others were not.

Students in Education, Business, Science, the Visual Arts and elsewhere have had their progress toward graduation interrupted and their lives put on hold.  In other departments, students and faculty have had their class sizes arbitrarily increased, with little regard for academic quality, to accommodate the smaller course offerings, and the problems promise to compound themselves in the fall and spring terms because of delays to student graduation.

In a follow-up memorandum dated April 10, the provost appears finally to begin to listen to faculty and students and add some courses, but much unnecessary damage has already been done.  Many students have already opted to enroll elsewhere this summer, and faculty summer plans have been disrupted.  Faculty and student leaders remain determined to keep the pressure on until their voices are heard.

Monique Paramore, a graduate student in Education who is organizing the protest to be held April 12, also created a petition to FAU administrators at http://www.signon.org/sign/students-in-opposition/.  In addition to attracting over 700 signers so far, the petition contains comments from students in numerous programs describing the negative consequences of cancelled courses.  Ms. Paramore describes her protest in these terms:  “I and several other students are concerned with the university’s decision to cut certain courses necessary to our graduation.  On Tuesday the 27th, I created a petition concerning this matter. I currently have 723 signatures and comments. I/we understand the need for certain cuts but I feel that when this decision was made the university failed to take into consideration the differences among departments, the different class schedules, and the specific needs of each program.

I received my undergraduate degree from FAU and have continued to be a dedicated Owl. I am hurt and upset at the way the university has handled this matter. I created this petition to bring attention and awareness to this situation. Even after the petition gained several hundred signatures, the administration refused to answer our questions, listen to our suggestions or simply apologize. So I decided to continue my protest by leading my fellow students in a rally against the course cuts. All I/we want is the opportunity to get some questions answered and to figure out our options as it pertains to future class offerings and graduation. We simply want the chance to suggest other options and to have our voices as well as those of our department leaders heard!”

October 8, 2011.  July report by U of Texas faculty levels stern critique of Governor’s attempted higher ed “reforms”

Many UFF-FAU members are aware that Florida governor Rick Scott is proffering a plan modeled on one proposed by Texas governor Rick Perry to “reform” higher education statewide . A detailed report, Maintaining Excellence-and-Efficiency at The University of Texas at Austim, published in July by UT faculty critically assesses and condemns Perry’s varied and ill-informed “one size fits all” approaches.

August 26, 2011. Frank Brogan embraces Bush/Scott reform agenda

By LILLY ROCKWELL

THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, August 25, 2011…….Gov. Rick Scott may have one crucial ally in his nascent effort to overhaul higher education in Florida: State University System Chancellor Frank Brogan.

Brogan met with Scott earlier this year to discuss the controversial changes to higher education, which were first championed by Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry. The idea is to treat universities and colleges more like private businesses, with more scrutiny over professor and university performance.

“We had a great conversation,” Brogan said in an interview with the News Service of Florida. “He’d be the first to tell you he’s not wed to the Texas plan. What he is wed to is the notion that we need to look at those and other possibilities that might create a better system of higher education in the state of Florida.”

The Texas proposal supports the concept of tying state funding to performance, financially rewarding professors based on effectiveness, and using higher education tuition vouchers that can be used toward private schools. It takes many of the concepts being used in K-12 education policy, such as merit pay, and applies them to universities.

Increasingly, some Republican lawmakers and governors are seeing higher education as a system in need of reform, with escalating tuition and costs, much like health care. In Ohio, the Republican governor also pushed for tying state funding to degree production and the number of classes professors teach.

Brogan said he supports “accountability-based funding” for Florida’s state universities. “A greater emphasis on outcomes and incentives to those outcomes is important,” he said. “We should be looking at quality of programs.”

Read more at palmbeachpost.com

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June 21, 2011. FAU depends on instructors who lack job security to teach its undergrads, Almost a third are paid less than $40k annually

Dear colleague,

For the past month, the union and instructors have been meeting with the administration concerning instructors’ working conditions at the university. We raised three primary areas of concern: 1) low salaries, 2) lack of advancement, and 3) lack of stability. Instructors clearly stressed salaries as a main priority. Out of around 170 full-time non-tenure track instructors at FAU, 51 are being paid below $40,000. Some earn as low as $30,600. Such salaries lie far beneath the typically high cost of living in South Florida. The union recommends that all 51 instructors be raised to a minimum of $40,000. Administration, however, suggests that state budget cuts make such appropriations difficult—a familiar refrain for long-term FAU employees.

Overall, UFF-FAU continues to maintain that salaries have remained at best a secondary concern for far too long.  Administration’s first and only suggestion was that the union amends the Collective Bargaining Agreement to reduce summer pay for faculty, which could free up revenue for the equity raises. We reminded the administration that many of us depend upon summer teaching as a primary form of income to supplement our already low salaries. Further, we suggested that administration reduce the salaries of their highest paid employees and any unnecessary or redundant services that exist. Needless to say, our suggestion was not well-taken. We are presently requesting a more detailed, line-item 2011-2012 budget than the administration has currently provided (click for pdf of budget) in order to better assess the ways in which the university might reallocate funds for instructor equity raises. If anyone has any suggestions in how to do so before our next meeting with the administration on August 1, contact us at president(at)uff-fau.org.

In regards to the later two issues—advancement and stability—the administration seems agreeable to establishing a promotional structure for instructors. We are currently conceptualizing a three-tier structure that provides for longer multi-year contracts with an accompanying raise for each advancement. The union will be meeting later in July concerning this issue. Once we solidify a date, we would like to invite any faculty–especially instructors–to attend this meeting to help define the type of advancement structure they desire, as well as the general criteria for promotion.

We would also like testimonials from instructors regarding their experiences here at FAU. We want to make visible the often underappreciated work of instructors that allows the university to function. We want to learn about the type of quality of life employment at FAU makes possible. You can submit your pieces anonymously.  We will eventually compile these testimonials and distribute them to faculty. You can send your testimonials to: president(at)uff-fau.org. And remember to follow the union on Twitter at: UFFFAU. It’s where all the cool cats go.

Over and out.

Chris Robe’

Incoming UFF-FAU President