THE DAVID R. KELLER CHAPTER OF THE AAUP / AFT AT UVU

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/56360467-82/carrier-tenure-abbott-scott.html.csp

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/56309054-82/tenure-carrier-scott-university.html.csp

http://www.thestory.org/stories/2013-04/david-kellers-ethics-class

http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2013/januaryfebruary/feature/looking-truth-in-utah

Colleagues, At the request of various people I have looked at the draft of Policy 601 that is being considered by the Faculty Senate and wrote the following.  I will appreciate your comments. Proposed Policy 601 .  Colleagues,  As it stands, the draft of Policy 601 creates an unwieldy structure to meet good, ethical ends that also violates academic freedom.  As a result, the policy should be rejected and thoroughly re-conceived before continuing forward.   The valuable ends of this policy include establishing expectations of professional conduct and of recognizing the legitimacy of some pedagogical ends, such as course accommodations based on disability and religion.  Nevertheless how it does so makes of those ends a problem such that in many cases it puts excessive detail as a proxy which then either does not meet the requirement or changes the nature of the classroom in ways that remove the freedom of the professor to make appropriat...

Professors blast UVU re-application as ‘purging policy’ Higher ed • Administrators defend requiring adjuncts to re-apply for their posts each spring. By Brian Maffly The Salt Lake Tribune Published: May 14, 2012 09:14AM Updated: May 13, 2012 11:41PM Utah Valley University adjunct professors are pushing back against a requirement that they re-apply for their posts each spring, saying it disrespects the part-timers who do most of the teaching at the Orem campus. UVU officials have billed the requirement as a housekeeping measure that has little bearing on actual hiring decisions, which remain with department heads. But some professors — tenured and adjunct alike — are making no secret of their displeasure of what they call a “purging policy,” devised without faculty input. “Instead of recognizing our essential contribution, the university not only discriminates against us, it humiliates us,” wrote adjunct Edwin Firmage in a recent opinion piece published by UVU’s student newspaper. ...

An interesting article about the use of contingent faculty: http://www.salon.com/2012/04/04/the_disposable_professor_crisis/