Information on 2014 OCAAUP Elections

The OCAAUP nominating committee is pleased to announce the following candidates for the 2014 elections to the Board of Trustees:  President: John T. McNay (University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash)

Vice President: Martin Kich (Wright State University-Lake Campus)

Secretary: Ryan Shadle (Cincinnati State Technical and Community College)

Treasurer: Heather Howley (University of Akron-Wayne College)

At-Large Member – Private Institutions: Juan Santamarina (University of Dayton)

At-Large Member – Public or Private: Anita Waters (Denison University) 

Despite the fact that there are no contested positions, there will be an electronic ballot mailed to each member in good standing to vote in these elections. A third party, independent vendor called BallotBox Online will be conducting the elections.  The voting window will be March 1 through March 15. You will receive an e-mail from BallotBox with a personalized link to log-in.

Chapters with 100 members or more will be electing their own Conference Trustee at the chapter level. These chapters include: Akron, Bowling Green, Central State, Cincinnati, Cincinnati State, Cleveland State, Cuyahoga Community College, Kent State, Ohio State, Toledo, and Wright State.  

The first meeting of the newly-elected Board will be at the Annual Meeting, April 11-12 in Columbus. See below for more details about the Annual Meeting.

Plan to Attend the OCAAUP Annual Meeting – CBC Midwest Regional Meeting!

The 2014 Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Collective Bargaining Congress (CBC) Midwest Regional Meeting, Friday, April 11 through Saturday, April 12 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel.  

As in years previous, the Annual Meeting will begin with a reception and dinner on Fridayevening, and we will have a short business meeting on Saturday morning. Following the Conference’s business meeting, the CBC portion of the weekend will begin, which will include a short business meeting followed by a series of workshops.

There will be workshops of benefit to both collective bargaining and advocacy members.  

Please note that during the business portion of the Conference meeting, there will be a vote to dissolve the Conference’s 501(c)(3) tax entity. As we have reported in previous communications, the Conference initiated a new 501(c)(6) entity so that we are not limited in the advocacy work we engage in on behalf of our members.  An online registration has been set-up by National AAUP, which you can access by clicking here. Registration is only $25.  

A block of guest rooms has been reserved for that Friday and Saturday night at a special rate of $115/night. Reservations must be made by Friday, March 14 in order to receive the reduced rate. While you may still be able to reserve a room after March 14, it will be at the regular hotel rate, which is significantly higher.

To make your hotel reservation online, click here. 

You can also reserve your room by calling toll-free at (877) 901-6632 or locally at (614) 228-5050. You must mention that you are with the “Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting” to receive the special rate.  For additional details, including a preliminary agenda and scheduled speakers, visit our events page.

Rosenberger Releases Report from Higher Education Study Committee

As we reported to you in September, the Ohio House of Representatives had formed a “Higher Education Reform Study Committee” that traveled around the state seeking input on various aspects of higher education in Ohio.   

OCAAUP President John McNay testified at one of the hearings, setting the record straight about faculty workload and administrative bloat.     

Earlier this week, the Chair of the Committee, Rep. Cliff Rosenberger (R-Clarksville), held a press conference at which he unveiled a 59-page report that outlined findings and recommendations of the committee (although 21 pages of the report is summary of testimony given at the hearings).  Among other things, the report emphasizes reductions in remediation, the benefits of dual enrollment, more closely tying in workforce development, and addressing student debt and financial literacy.   Additionally, the report recommends “establish[ing] higher education benchmarks for operational efficiency,” as well as financially rewarding institutions that reduce expenditures.  

We can briefly rejoice that there was no mention of state mandates for faculty workload; although we will closely monitor how the legislature and universities might interpret the best ways for universities to cut down on spending.

Plain Dealer Publishes McNay’s Piece about Workplace Democracy

We wanted to share with you that OCAAUP President John McNay had an editorial published online by the Cleveland Plain Dealer that helped to dispel many of the misconceptions about unions, as well as the faulty promises of “right-to-work” laws.   

You can access the piece by clicking here.  

Perhaps purely by coincidence, 10 days after publishing McNay’s article, the Plain Dealereditorial board came out with its own anti-“right-to-work” editorial, saying that “right-to-work would be an unnecessary and divisive fight in Ohio.”

Plan to Attend the OCAAUP Annual Meeting – CBC Midwest Regional Meeting!

We are pleased to announce that the 2014 Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Collective Bargaining Congress (CBC) Midwest Regional Meeting, Friday, April 11 through Saturday, April 12 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel.  

As in years previous, the Annual Meeting will begin with a reception and dinner on Fridayevening, and we will have a short business meeting on Saturday morning. Following the Conference’s business meeting, the CBC portion of the weekend will begin, which will include a short business meeting followed by a series of workshops. There will be workshops of benefit to both collective bargaining and advocacy members.  

Please note that during the business portion of the Conference meeting, there will be a vote to dissolve the Conference’s 501(c)(3) tax entity. As we have reported in previous communications, the Conference initiated a new 501(c)(6) entity so that we are not limited in the advocacy work we engage in on behalf of our members.  An online registration has been set-up by National AAUP, which you can access by clicking here. Registration is only $25.  A block of guest rooms has been reserved for that Friday and Saturday night at a special rate of $115/night. Reservations must be made by Friday, March 14 in order to receive the reduced rate. While you may still be able to reserve a room after March 14, it will be at the regular hotel rate, which is significantly higher.

To make your hotel reservation online, click here. 
You can also reserve your room by calling toll-free at (877) 901-6632 or locally at (614) 228-5050. 

You must mention that you are with the “Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting” to receive the special rate.  For additional details, including a preliminary agenda and scheduled speakers, visit our events page.

We are pleased to announce that the 2014 Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Collective Bargaining Congress (CBC) Midwest Regional Meeting, Friday, April 11 through Saturday, April 12 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel.  

As in years previous, the Annual Meeting will begin with a reception and dinner on Fridayevening, and we will have a short business meeting on Saturday morning. Following the Conference’s business meeting, the CBC portion of the weekend will begin, which will include a short business meeting followed by a series of workshops. There will be workshops of benefit to both collective bargaining and advocacy members.  

Please note that during the business portion of the Conference meeting, there will be a vote to dissolve the Conference’s 501(c)(3) tax entity. As we have reported in previous communications, the Conference initiated a new 501(c)(6) entity so that we are not limited in the advocacy work we engage in on behalf of our members.  An online registration has been set-up by National AAUP, which you can access by clicking here. Registration is only $25.  A block of guest rooms has been reserved for that Friday and Saturday night at a special rate of $115/night. Reservations must be made by Friday, March 14 in order to receive the reduced rate. While you may still be able to reserve a room after March 14, it will be at the regular hotel rate, which is significantly higher.

To make your hotel reservation online, click here. 
You can also reserve your room by calling toll-free at (877) 901-6632 or locally at (614) 228-5050. You must mention that you are with the “Ohio Conference AAUP Annual Meeting” to receive the special rate.  For additional details, including a preliminary agenda and scheduled speakers, visit our events page.

To our members in the Ohio Conference AAUP:  We are now seeking nominations for the 2014 Ohio Conference elections.  In accordance with our governing documents, you must have been a member for two years and current on your dues to be eligible for a Trustee position.

Nominations should be sent to Executive Director Sara Kilpatrick at sara@ocaaup.org and must be received by January 30, 2014.  

As you may recall from previous communications, OCAAUP has been undergoing a change in tax status from a 501(c)(3) organization to a 501(c)(6) organization, so that we can engage in public and government advocacy efforts without the limitations imposed by 501(c)(3) rules.  As a result, our 2014 elections will usher in an entirely new Executive Board of Trustees for our 501(c)(6) entity. In order to keep terms staggered, though, some Trustees will serve full two-year terms, while others will serve just one year. All future elections will be for full two-years terms.

Below is the list of positions that will be elected directly through the Conference elections next year: 

–President(two-year term)

–Vice President(one-year term)

–Secretary(two-year term)
–Treasurer(one-year term)

–At-Large Member – Private Institutions(two-year term)

–At-Large Member – Public or Private(one-year term; nominees may be members of chapters at private institutions or of chapters at public institutions with fewer than 100 members)  

Chapters with 100 members or more will be electing their own Conference Trustee at the chapter level. These chapters include: Akron, Bowling Green, Central State, Cincinnati, Cincinnati State, Cleveland State, Cuyahoga Community College, Kent State, Toledo, and Wright State.  

Another big change with the 2014 Conference elections is that they will no longer be run with National AAUP’s ballot. We will conduct elections via an electronic ballot that will be handled by a third party vendor.  Serving on the OCAAUP Board of Trustees is a rewarding way to engage in statewide AAUP issues and state government advocacy.

If you have any questions, contact Sara Kilpatrick at sara@ocaaup.org.

Campus Equity Week

This week is Campus Equity Week (CEW), a week of education and activism that draws attention to three of the biggest problems in today’s higher education system:  

1) Massive Student Debt.  National student debt has reached more than $1.4 trillion. Ohio is one of the worst states in the country for student debt, with graduates owing, on average, $28,000 in loans.  Student loans cannot be discharged by bankruptcy.  The prohibitive cost of higher education is leading to lower enrollment at Ohio’s colleges and universities, as well as lower graduation rates.

2) Decreasing State Support for Higher Education.  State support for higher education in Ohio has been on the decline since the 1980s.  If the Ohio Legislature continues to chip away at its support for higher ed at the current rate, there will be no state support at all by 2039.  Instead of choosing to fund necessary public goods and services like public higher education, state government leaders have pursued irresponsible tax cuts, which disproportionately favor the wealthiest Ohioans and provide little relief for middle class and poor Ohioans. Decreasing state subsidies coupled with “administrative bloat” have caused tuition to skyrocket.    

  3) The Exploitation of Campus Labor.  Approximately 75 percent of higher education faculty are working under contingent contracts. Whereas part-time faculty used to teach very few courses, today adjuncts teach over 40 percent of undergraduate classes, yet are paid far less than their full-time counterparts and receive little to no institutional support. In Ohio, adjunct faculty are not recognized as public employees and therefore do not have the same rights and protections that are afforded to full-time faculty under Ohio’s collective bargaining law. Even though a college or university is not obligated under law to bargain with part-time faculty, it is perfectly legal for part-timers to organize and have a collective voice, which the AAUP encourages them to do. This Wednesday, October 30, people all over the country will be wearing red to show their solidarity with and support of part-time faculty. Wear red on Wednesday!There are other small things that you can do to help make a big difference in bringing attention to these issues.  For instance, consider changing your social media profile pictures/avatars to the CEW logo below (right-click and save it to your computer).  You can also post some of the aforementioned statistics and use the hashtag: #campusequity. 

 Finally, you can read more about CEW and its history on the AAUP’s Academe Blog: http://academeblog.org/.