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Summer Institute Helps Develop Faculty Leaders
By Gail Gottlieb
The twenty-ninth AAUP Summer Institute was held July 24–27 at the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus. Cosponsored by the AAUP’s Assembly of State Conferences and Collective Bargaining Congress, the institute offered faculty leaders from around the country an opportunity to share experiences, gain valuable skills, and enjoy the camaraderie of others who are committed to preserving and maintaining the standards of the academy.
Sixty-three AAUP chapters, from Alaska to the Caribbean, sent representatives. According to Solomon Kabuka of the University of the Virgin Islands, “The Summer Institute opened my eyes to the wider world of university faculty issues, particularly shared governance, collective bargaining, and the principles of the AAUP. Similarly, I found interacting with the diverse faculty attending the institute professionally enriching. Bouncing my own experiences at my university off these participants was a source of much valuable enlightenment. In a nutshell, I am fired up and ready to march forward.”
The curriculum was presented by experts and geared to the needs of the attendees, whether they were from public or private institutions; were tenured, tenure-track, or contingent faculty; were seasoned or emerging leaders; or belonged to collective bargaining or advocacy chapters. The workshops provided in-depth training in areas such as preserving tenure, working with higher education data, writing or revising faculty handbooks, engaging in shared governance, conducting effective lobbying and communications campaigns, and organizing contingent faculty, as well as in subjects specifically related to collective bargaining, such as contracts, grievances, and arbitration cases.
This year, the Summer Institute also introduced a new course on conflict resolution. “Conflict resolution skills are important for any chapter, but because we’re an advocacy chapter, without collective bargaining, conflict resolution skills are crucial,” commented Rob Catlett of Emporia State University in Kansas. “We don’t have the resources to engage in extended battles over every issue, and yet there are many situations that involve important issues and which require us to stand together for the good of all members. The course offered strategies for identifying our strengths and getting the desired results.”
Summer Institute attendees also enjoyed excursions—a New England clambake feast and an outing to Newport that included a tour of the famous mansion-lined Belleview Avenue. The ASC and the CBC make scholarships available so that members from chapters with limited means can attend the Summer Institute and return to their campuses better equipped to serve and protect the profession. More than an informative and enjoyable opportunity to build skills and gain knowledge, the AAUP’s annual Summer Institute is a call to action.
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