The Provost Wants You to Vote “Yes” (but Join Those Standing Up for the University in Voting “No”)

In case you haven’t already heard, the Provost is telling you how to vote in the dual tentative proposals that are before the AASUA membership.

In the University of Alberta’s official blog, Colloquy, he has written:  I, as the institution’s chief academic officer, urge all academic staff members to read the two agreements carefully and to vote in favour of them.

Sincerely,
Carl Amrhein
Provost and Vice-President (Academic)

The Provost, as the chief’s academic officer, initiated the proposals before us. He’s asking us, in short, to vote for his proposals — proposals that (amongst other things) treat the salaries of his colleagues as a problem for the University’s financial bottom-line. His post reiterates this  as if we were dealing with a fact — “It is no secret that the University of Alberta is facing continuing pressures relating to funding and academic compensation” — rather than a construction based on a conception that we need Austerity in this wealthy province. 

Open Letter from Robyn Braun, Assistant Professor (Sociology), to Members of AASUA Council

Dear Colleagues,
 
I am writing in regard to the current AASUA proposals that are before us for ratification and to ask you to forward this letter to your membership for their consideration. I have some profound concerns with the dual proposals and I wanted to share these concerns with you. 
 
I am particularly concerned with the Renaissance Committee proposed in the Joint Recommendations of the Negotiating Team. My concern is that the proposal gives to the Renaissance Committee control of what have heretofore been matters negotiated through AASUA. The proposed structure of the Renaissance Committee makes this problematic. Members of the Committee will not be elected but appointed; we will have no say in who sits on the committee that negotiates our salaries and contracts. Also, the Renaissance Committee can assign itself to work on and make decisions regarding any matter it sees fit. Should we ratify these proposals, this Committee will be established and set to work without further input from any of AASUA’s constituencies and a Committee that need not represent any of us will determine our future compensation packages and the structure of our contracts. 
 
I am not alone in these concerns. There have been on-going discussions of these matters and you can follow these discussions in a few different places: 

https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/aasua-afc/
http://whithertheuofa.blogspot.ca/
http://artssquared.wordpress.com/

I realize you’re all very busy. I appreciate your time and consideration of these matters.

Best regards,
Robyn

Venue Change for AASUA Town Hall #2

Please spread the word: the venue for the second of the AASUA’s Town Hall’s on the proposals coming before the membership for its ratification has been changed. The Town Hall will now take place in a room that can accommodate almost 300 members: Telus Building 1-50. (The previous room could hold fewer than 100.) Please urge colleagues to attend. Even if the room is filled to capacity, it will contain less than 7% of the membership.

Please weigh in on Academic Faculty Committee Meeting, AASUA Town Hall, & AASUA proposals

Yesterday, at 10 a.m., the Academic Faculty Committee hosted an ad hoc meeting of its constituency, faculty members, on the proposals proceeding to a ratification vote by the AASUA membership. Those who were able to attend that meeting or the subsequent Town Hall at noon are urged to share their views here about what occurred at one or both of the meetings.

The dual “inseparable” proposals are available at http://www.aasua.ualberta.ca/en/CompensationNegotiations.aspx.

Or, rather, two of the documents relating to the proposals are available there. The “Terms of Reference,” which are still changing, have not yet been made available. Many concerns were expressed at yesterday’s Town Hall about the new “Terms” which were being made public for the first time. 

Concerns about Changing “Terms of Reference”

AASUA Council had many concerns about the original “Terms of Reference” presented to them on 15 May 2012. The new “Terms of Reference” generate new concerns. One example will probably serve to sum up the general character of the new “Terms”: they claim that the Committee will not meet confidentially unless it chooses to hold in camera sessions. The “Terms” also now indicate that members of the Renaissance Committee, who will be chosen in the first insistence only if they are deemed “disinterested” parties, can be chucked off the Committee if at any time if they prove not to be sufficiently “collaborative.”

The Canadian Association of University Teachers Condemns Bill 78

MEDIA RELEASE FROM CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS

The Canadian Association of University Teachers is strongly condemning Quebec’s Bill 78, the law tabled in Quebec to end the 14-week student strike, for violating fundamental freedoms of association, assembly, and expression.

“This special law is a terrible act of mass repression,” said James L. Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers. “The Quebec government has opted to exert the heavy hand of the law as a weapon to suppress dissent.”

“Khan ready to captain Enterprise”

The Edmonton Journal highlights the importance of post-secondary education in Alberta with its headline about the new MLA appointed as the Minister of Advanced Education & Enterprise, Stephen Khan: “Rookie MLA Khan ready to captain Enterprise portfolio.” (Yes, that’s right: apparently, it feels no need to mention the “Advanced Education” part.)

Khan is an alumnus of the Faculty of Arts. He did his BA in Anthropology. We should invite him to come speak to us. And let’s hope that he, unlike the Journal, understands his full remit.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Rookie+Khan+ready+captain+Enterprise+portfolio/6651053/story.html