Update Regarding AAUP Vote on Possible Sanction
As a follow-up to our last communication, the National Council of AAUP met today to vote on whether to sanction any of the eight universities, including the University of Akron (UA), who were under investigation for violations of shared governance. The Council took no action to add UA to the Association’s list of institutions sanctioned “for substantial non-compliance with standards of academic government” but instead referred the case back to the Committee on College and University Governance for further consideration. You can read the Committee’s statement here.
The Akron-AAUP stands by all of its past statements and decisions, and we believe both our Collective Bargaining Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding with the Administration regarding shared governance provides the foundation on which we will build UA’s future.
New Chief Negotiator
Please join us in welcoming Ed Evans (Chemical, Biomolecular, and Corrosion Engineering) as our new Chief Negotiator. Ed was a member of our most recent Negotiating Team and has served admirably on both Faculty Senate and University Council. We consider ourselves fortunate to have somebody so qualified and experienced in this position. Although we are between contract negotiations, the Chief Negotiator is still active and engaged, serving on the Executive Committee and the Labor Management Policy Committee.
Even as we welcome Ed, we are sad to see Rich Londraville (Biology) step down from the role. Rich led the team, and the chapter, through a challenging and sometimes fraught negotiation to ultimately win us a solid, six-year contract, which gives the faculty and The University of Akron a period of much needed stability. In large part, the success of this contract is due to Rich’s skill, leadership, and perseverance.
When Rich agreed to serve as Chief Negotiator, he committed to the position for a year so that he could see us through this negotiation. He now plans to re-focus on his research, and we congratulate Rich on his National Science Foundation grant to research zebrafish leptin. Please join us in thanking Rich for his service to the faculty during such a challenging time.