All hands on deck! Join Akron-AAUP for a rally and press conference before the University of Akron Board of Trustees meeting. Our event is: 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 15th at 12 NOON. 

We’ll meet at the Buchtel Hall steps for the press conference, which will feature Pam Schulze, President of Akron-AAUP. Additional speakers are TBA.

UA is facing significant job cuts of NTT and tenured faculty. These proposed cuts will hurt the university, the Northeast Ohio region, and the immediate Akron community. Instead of making major reductions to other areas such as the athletics budget, the UA administration has chosen to declare force majeure on the Akron-AAUP contract and eliminate faculty.

Please come out and stand with faculty to face the board as they meet tomorrow.

Bring signs in support of the academic mission of UA.

In light of the health risks to gathering in large groups, please maintain a safe distance from each other of at least six feet and wear masks. Please also note that the Student Union is not accessible for use — you will not e permitted to enter the building for any reason. 

Bring a friend, feel free to share on social media, and thank you in advance for spreading the word to your colleagues!

Please also sign the petition in support of Akron faculty here.

State Share of Instruction (SSI) — the main funding stream of state subsidy to public colleges and universities — has been cut 4.38% from its original budget allocation for this fiscal year (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021). This is on top of the 3.8% cut that was made from original budget allocations for the previous fiscal year.

These are across-the-board reductions, and we must keep in mind that the SSI funding formula, which is based primarily on course completions and graduations, impacts colleges and universities in varying ways aside from these cuts.

In other words, based on your institution’s “performance” in those areas, your college or university may be dealing with even less SSI, or may have greater SSI that will help offset these losses. You can see the first half SSI projections for Fiscal Year 2021 here on the ODHE website.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that the 4.38% reduction will be the only cut to SSI this fiscal year. If Ohio continues to struggle with unemployment and insufficient tax receipts, additional cuts may be considered.

Despite SSI cuts, the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG), which is a need-based grant program available to students who attend public or private colleges and universities in the state, will remain unscathed.

Most institutions had been bracing for upwards of a 20% SSI reduction. This is precisely why we have advocated that institutions should not be making drastic decisions with insufficient information. We appreciate that Chancellor Randy Gardner and his team at ODHE fought to maintain as much SSI funding as possible.

However, cuts are cuts, and these are coming at a time when higher education cannot afford additional hits. To our knowledge, no other cuts to the FY 2021 budget have been announced. Higher education, it seems, is only a priority when it comes to disinvestment.

The Ohio Conference AAUP is working with allied organizations to lobby the state and federal governments for resources that will restore lost funding and help put our institutions back on better financial footing. State government must look at using the “Rainy Day Fund” and revenue options, and we desperately need a second federal stimulus/relief bill with direct support for higher education.

National AAUP has a letter campaign to federal lawmakers urging more aid. It only takes a minute to fill in your name and address and send the pre-filled message. Please take action and help circulate.

Throughout these financial crises, the Ohio Conference and National AAUP have been providing as much support as possible to chapters and individual members. We know that these are deeply unsettling times, but we are doing our best to help protect the interests of faculty and the academic missions of our institutions.

We also want to recognize the leadership and activists at our chapters who have been working tirelessly to defend their contracts and faculty handbooks. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. Keep fighting!

On Thursday, July 9, Gov. DeWine announced reopening guidelines for institutions of higher education. The document outlines “Minimum Operating Standards” as well as “Recommended Best Practices.” Generally, the state is requiring that institutions comply with CDC and state guidelines, but leave the bulk of decisions to individual institutions.

Additionally, the governor announced that all public and private two- and four- year institutions of higher education would be receiving a combined $200 million in funding (from the CARES Act) to assist with the implementation of COVID safety measures. The funds must be approved by the State Controlling Board, which is expected to happen next week.

A group of Midwest AAUP chapters and state conferences (including a number of Ohio chapters and the Ohio Conference) have collaborated in response to the prospect of college and university campuses reopening amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coalition issued the following statement: “Protecting Lives, Promoting Education: Principles for Reopening Campuses,” which outlines the principles that should be considered in discussions of campus reopenings.

The group held a virtual press conference on July 2 to promote the statement to media throughout the region, which helped the statement get coverage in several Ohio newspapers and Statehouse news sources.

Ten years ago, Joel O’Dorisio was campaigning for a faculty union at Bowling Green State University. Ten years later, he has been campaigning to be the next State Senator for Ohio’s 2nd District.

Some political candidates “talk the talk” of support for public education and labor, but BGSU Art Professor Joel O’Dorisio walks the walk.

Not only did Prof. O’Dorisio help the BGSU Faculty Association win their union a decade ago, but he has been a chapter officer and negotiating team member. He has fought for paid parental leave, LGBTQ protections, increased job security for non-tenured faculty, access to promotion for full-time faculty, and generally the conditions necessary for great teaching and research at his university.

Even though O’Dorisio was outspent heavily in his primary race, he believes his strong pro-worker and pro-public education messages — propelled by an active volunteer base and energetic campaigning — put him over the top.

“In speaking to voters throughout the 2nd District, it was obvious that they are hungry for representatives in Columbus that will work unabashedly for the people, who understand the hardships of everyday workers, and who want to ensure quality education is a right and not just a luxury of the few,” he said.

While Ohio’s 2nd State Senate District (seen below, comprising Wood, Erie, Ottawa, as well as portions of Lucas and Fulton counties) traditionally has been a Republican stronghold, O’Dorisio and political pundits believe the district can be flipped.

His opponent in November, State Senator Theresa Gavarone, was appointed to her seat, so also is running district-wide for the first time. While Gavarone and the Senate Republican Caucus will have a significant fundraising advantage, O’Dorisio believes that small donations from individuals and continuing to outwork his opposition will give him the boost he needs to be successful.

“We must begin to bring back balance to the Ohio Senate with qualified, compassionate leadership,” O’Dorisio said. The Ohio Senate currently has a 24-9 Republican to Democrat split.

To learn more about AAUP member Joel O’Dorisio and his candidacy, visit his campaign website.

If you’d like to make a secure online contribution to his campaign, you can do so here.