The Association's Ninety-fifth Annual Meeting was held June 11–14, 2009, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. In attendance were 175 active members and guests, including chapter and conference delegates, non-delegate members, field staff, and visitors.
The theme of the meeting was “Hard Times on Campus.” President Cary Nelson and General Secretary Gary Rhoades delivered “Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: Higher Education in Hard Times” at Friday’s plenary luncheon. Reporter Gadi Dechter was honored at Saturday’s luncheon with this year’s Iris Molotsky Award for Excellence in Coverage of Higher Education; his winning entry, “Addressing the Divide,” was published in the Baltimore Sun on January 6, 2008. Fifty-year members of the Association were also recognized at the luncheon.
Andrew Delbanco, author of The Universities in Trouble and director of American Studies at Columbia University, provided his analysis at the Saturday evening banquet of the future and viability of the American model of higher education.
In conjunction with the Annual Meeting, the association hosted its first international conference on June 11-13. Over 140 presenters at the Conference on Globalization, Shared Governance, and Academic Freedom discussed challenging issues of educational standards, accountability, faculty life, shared decision-making, academic freedom, and a host of other topics—all complicated by the juggernaut of globalization. The conference and annual meeting received extensive coverage by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and other news media.
Plenary Session
President Cary Nelson called the Ninety-fifth Annual Meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, 2009, with Kerry Grant serving as parliamentarian. Nelson welcomed delegates, members, and guests.
Gerry Turkel, chair of the Credentials Committee, presented the report of registered members and delegates entitled to vote. A motion adopting the report was approved.
Estelle Gellman, chair of the Agenda Committee, introduced the other members of the Committee, Flo Hatcher (Southern Connecticut State University) and Patricia Simpson (Loyola University, Chicago). Gellman reviewed the Standing Rules Governing the Annual Meeting and recommended that item VIII on the agenda, “Report of the Committee on Membership,” be amended with the addition of Subsection A, “Presentation of Proposal to Study Dues Reform.” The motion passed.
Remarks by the President
Nelson opened his remarks by noting the success of the academic freedom conference, made possible by efforts of the national staff and the Association’s access to faculty worldwide. He expects that the conference will be larger next year; the national office received twice the number of papers that it was able to accept, all of a very high quality.
He praised new general secretary Gary Rhoades, who has moved the Association forward on a number of practical changes, including electronic voting, which enabled a savings of $58,000. Nelson’s remark that the Association is on track to have its projected $70,000-surplus was greeted with applause. He noted that this financial success is due in large part to the work of the staff, which has been watching expenses and thinking critically and creatively about how to best manage the Association’s money. He noted that the membership and finance offices are facilitating better and faster communication with members.
Nelson discussed the previous weekend’s Committee A meeting, which produced an important addition to the Association’s Recommended Institutional Regulations 14, which endeavors to secure better due process rights and employment regulations for graduate students, among the most vulnerable faculty. The revised document will be e-mailed to members this summer. He noted that a vast collection of resources regarding financial exigency is posted on the Association’s Web site. Nelson closed his remarks by encouraging those present to recruit new members.
Report of the Secretary Treasurer
Secretary Treasurer Howard Bunsis discussed a recent meeting with Calibre, LLC, the Association’s audit firm. They issued an unqualified “clean” audit for 2008, and made only minor recommendations regarding improvement of financial procedures.
Although the Association’s financial statement shows a net loss of $882,000 for 2008 (14.8% of total revenue), most this was caused by an unrealized loss in the Association’s investment portfolio. The recent membership campaign and improved procedures in the Association’s finance office led to an increase in membership revenue in 2008.
Bunsis indicated that the Investments Committee is investigating putting the Association’s investments in a more conservative investment vehicle. Bunsis believes that this year the Association will have a positive cash flow and a positive change in the value of the Association’s assets.
Through the first three months of the year, revenues exceeded expenses by $50,000. Bunsis forecasted a $103,000 surplus for 2009.
Recommendations from Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure
Ernst Benjamin, consultant to Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, presented the committee's recommendations regarding the imposition and removal of censure.
Imposition of Censure
The Annual Meeting concurred in the committee's recommendation that censure be imposed on the administrations of Cedarville University (OH), Nicholls State University (LA), North Idaho College, and Stillman College (AL).
Removal of Censure
Benjamin presented statements from Committee A recommending that the administrations of University of New Haven be removed from the list and that authority be delegated to Committee A to act similarly with respect to the administration of Tulane University once final language on the stated basis for censure removal has been approved. The Annual Meeting concurred in the committee's recommendations.
No Recommendation on Censure
Benjamin shared Committee A’s statement on Olivet Nazarene University; the case concerned a faculty member who was removed from his teaching duties for a course in general biology and whose book on faith and scientific evolution was banned from use in campus courses.
Since the publication of the investigating committee’s report this past February, the president of the university has rescinded his directives against the faculty member and his book, thereby implementing the recommendation of a faculty committee that had considered that case and resolving the Association’s primary concerns.
Gratified by this development, Committee A made no recommendation to the Ninety-fifth Annual Meeting in regard to Olivet Nazarene University.
Proposed Constitutional Amendments Providing for “At-Large” Election of Council Members
The Council, at its November 2008 meeting, passed a motion recommending to the 2009 Annual Meeting constitutional amendments having the effect that approximately one-third of the elected Council membership would, as soon as practicable, be elected “at large,” by the entire membership, with the other two-thirds continuing to be elected by and from their respective districts, with both types serving overlapping three-year terms. More precisely, the proposed amendments call for twenty Council members to be elected by and from districts (two from each of ten districts) and nine to be elected at large (three a year).
Hence there would be a change in the size of the Council, from thirty to twenty-nine elected members, and of the electorate voting for nine of those members. To avoid an imbalance in Council membership, no more than two of the at-large members could come from any one district. Aside from this, the proposed changes maintain the status quo regarding elected Council members in most particulars.
Amendments to articles IV and V of the current AAUP constitution and amendments to the same articles of the prospective (post-Restructuring) constitution were published in the March-April 2009 issue of Academe. The body passed the amendments by the necessary two-thirds majority; they will take effect with the 2010 election.
Reauthorization of Comprehensive Dues
Flo Hatcher, chair of the Assembly of State Conferences and ex-officio member of the Committee on Membership, presented the committee's recommendations regarding the reauthorization of comprehensive dues, in which the Council had concurred the previous day.
She indicated that six conferences were up for reauthorization. The body voted to ratify the reauthorization recommendations as follows: California and North Carolina Conferences to continue participation for three years at Tier I (highest level); the New York Conferences to continue participation for three years at Tier II (middle level); and Georgia and Ohio Conferences to continue participation for three years at Tier III (lowest dues level).Hatcher also noted that during its May 11 conference call, the committee voted that the Missouri Conference, also in Tier I, be provisionally reauthorized for participation for one year only, with renewal for the subsequent two years dependent on submission of additional information next year. The Annual Meeting concurred in the committee's recommendations. Following the lunch break, Hatcher indicated that additional information had been received from the Nebraska conference, and that a quorum of the Committee on Membership recommended that the Conference be reauthorized for continued participation for three years at Tier II. The body concurred in the recommendation.
Dues Rates for 2010
Hatcher asked the Annual Meeting to note the dues rates included in the report in attendees’ packets.
The 2010 dues increase is 2.9 percent. In states without mandatory dues, 2010 dues will be: (a) full time, $172; (b) associate, $129; (c) entrant, joint, and retiree, $86; and (d) part-time and graduate, $43.
Presentation of Konheim Travel Grant
The University of Missouri—Columbia was the 2009 recipient of the Konheim Travel Grant. The award was used to help pay the cost for two UM-C chapter members to attend the 2009 Annual Meeting, Professors Victoria Johnson and Rainer Glaser.
Presentation of Proposal to Study Dues Reform
Pursuant to the amended agenda, General Secretary Gary Rhoades shared the dues proposal adopted by Council the previous afternoon:
Dues Proposal Resolution - June 2009
It is proposed that a Committee of members and staff be formed to study dues simplifications with the goals of reducing dues for the new and lower-paid faculty who are the future of the Association and of ensuring a fair and progressive dues structure that positions us to maintain a dynamic organization. The Committee will report to Council at the November 2009 Council meeting so that Council may bring to the 2010 Annual Meeting a proposal for dues simplification that explores the following approaches, among others:
(1) for non-collective bargaining members, a progressive dues structure using salary bands;
(2) for collective bargaining members, a salary-based dues structure using either progressive salary bands, a set percentage of members’ salaries, or a per capita dues structure.
(3) The dues changes implemented by these mechanisms will be revenue-neutral at the national level and will be as revenue neutral as possible at the conference and chapter level; and
(4) an exploration of the possibility of simplifying the process of collecting and distributing conference dues so as to facilitate organizing on the state level and the formation of new state conferences.
Nelson noted that there would be more time to discuss the proposal during the question and answer session with Rhoades, which would occur after the conclusion of the business session.
Rhoades noted that since the Association currently represents only 4% of the faculty nationally, it therefore has a tremendous opportunity for growth. He noted that a revision of the dues structure would be part of attracting new members.
He outlined several changes that need to be made regarding membership: The Association needs to enhance its advocacy membership; to make more effective and efficient the way it collects dues from collective bargaining chapters; and to more efficiently collect and disperse the dues that come through the national office for state conferences.
He indicated that the committee will begin its work this summer, and he asked for the membership’s help to gather data from their campuses. Rhoades is fully confident that at the 2010 Annual Meeting, the committee will have formulated a successful proposal.
Report of the Annual Meeting Committee on Resolutions
President Nelson called on Jeffrey Butts, chair of the Annual Meeting Committee on Resolutions, to deliver the committee's report.
Butts acknowledged fellow committee members Lenore Beaky (LaGuardia Community College, CUNY) and Kevin Mattson (Ohio University). He then presented the following resolution proposed by the committee, which was adopted by the body without amendment:
Resolution Honoring Ernst Benjamin
WHEREAS Ernst Benjamin has served the Association in many capacities over the years, most notably for ten years as General Secretary and most recently for two years as Interim General Secretary; and
WHEREAS Ernst Benjamin has embodied in a powerful way the best of both the work of collective bargaining and the policy and academic freedom work of Committee A, on which he continues to serve as a consultant;
THEREFORE the Ninety-fifth Annual Meeting of the American Association of University Professors recognizes the absolutely essential and exceptional contributions that Ernst Benjamin has made to the Association, and on behalf of all members of the Association offers heartfelt thanks to him for his patient and skilled leadership through the years and in our most recent time of extreme duress.
Butts then presented a framed copy of the resolution to Benjamin.
New Business
Professor Jon I. Scheinman, M.D. (University of Kansas Medical Center) proposed a resolution in support of Senate bill 372 (Whistleblower Enhancement Act of 2009), about which hearings were held on Thursday. Following an amendment of the language, the body passed the resolution as follows: “Moved that the AAUP express its support for the inclusion, without exception, of the option for jury trial in the Whistleblower Enhancement Act of 2009.”
With no further business, the plenary session was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.