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

RESPECT The  sine qua non  of Shared Governance                   Two years ago, while acting as Chair of the Department of Integrated Studies, I received an email from Human Resources addressed to all “People Managers.” “I’m not a people manager,” I responded, “I’m a department chair at a university. My colleagues are not employees but are members of the university faculty. To redefine those roles in corporate terms is to fundamentally misconstrue the nature of a university.”    There have been achievements in shared governance at UVU over the last few years, including the joint work between Faculty Senate committees and administrators on important new and revised policies. The administration’s record on recent tenure and promotion decisions, however, has been characterized by a distinct lack of respect for faculty judgment.  UVU Policy #635   on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities ...

Mike Shively training on the San Marcos River for the 2019 Texas Water Safari (courtesy of the Shively family) Our colleague, Professor Michael Shively, passed away on the evening of August 19, 2019. Mike joined the UVU faculty in 1992 with advanced degrees in anatomy and veterinary science. He served as President of the Faculty Senate and as Department Chair. He was the Faculty Athletic Representative, a role he relished as he played his trumpet at many athletic events. Over the course of his teaching career he taught thousands of students in his anatomy and physiology classes and was honored with numerous teaching awards. Students found his demanding classes key components for admission into medical, dental, and nursing schools.  Although “Rate My Professors” is an imperfect source, it is informative to see what students posted there about Mike’s anatomy class. Five recent, representative examples:  AWSOME, 5 out of 5 rating Anatomy is the hardest class you ...

Speech given to the UVU Faculty Senate 2 September 2014 (after a speech given by IS Chair Wayne Hanewicz and preceding a speech given by AAUP President David Knowlton) Thanks to David Connelly and the executive committee for agreeing to let us bring this to the Senate. This is an awkward position for us. As a Department we have always worked well with the administration of the university. Over the years we have been well respected and well supported. This is awkward in another way as well. When I was President of the UVU Chapter of the AAUP, Ian Wilson and I spoke each year about questions of academic freedom and due process and concerns of the faculty. Kat Brown invited my feedback on new policy related to academic freedom. Current chapter president David Knowlton has worked skillfully to maintain that relationship even as he has represented members of our faculty in problematic cases of academic freedom and due process. Given that history, and given the importa...