Newsletters and recent news articles of interest to academic professionals
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AAP AdvocateAssociation of Academic ProfessionalsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Affiliate, Illinois Education Association (IEA/NEA) 217/337-5174, aap@shout.net, www.prairienet.org/aap/ Volume 3, Number 1, January 2000 |
Stukel's strategic plan speeds toward implementationBy Jamie HutchinsonA strategic plan hatched by University of Illinois central administration and outside consultants in 1998 will proceed toward implementation despite fierce criticism from the Urbana-Champaign Senate, as well as from the administration's own hand-picked advisory teams on the three campuses. In his "Presmail" e-mail message to faculty and staff on October 6, 1999, President Stukel announced that he has directed his vice presidents to complete the "Support Services Strategy" (or "S3") strategic plan by the end of 1999. S3 recommends ways of streamlining and modernizing university-wide administrative systems and procedures (though some of its recommendations may have the opposite effect). The plan is posted on the Web at http://s3.ua.uillinois.edu. Stukel's message misrepresents some basic points about the plan and reactions to it. Stukel writes that S3 enjoys "almost unanimous support for the overarching purpose of the project," citing respondents' commitment to "improved quality and efficiency in our administrative services." True, it is difficult to disagree with vague slogans about quality and efficiency (and S3 is full of such slogans); however, the campus advisory teams who reviewed the report were troubled by its fundamental assumption that a university should run like a corporation, as well as specific recommendations that ignore such basic realities as the Civil Service system. The Urbana-Champaign Senate, a legislative body of students and faculty that monitors university policy, passed a critical but constructive resolution about S3 in February 1999. The resolution calls for a more inclusive process for reviewing and implementing S3 so that its "attacks" on the values of "shared governance, unit autonomy and decentralization" can be addressed. The resolution also expresses concern that "the project has been developed without the participation of the academic community, with virtually no faculty and absolutely no student participation in the teams that developed the report." On the one hand, Stukel claims that he has asked his advisory teams to "expand the process" for finalizing the plan and that the "teams have broadened their contacts with faculty, staff, and students." On the other hand, he makes clear that it is time to expedite the process, noting "we need to complete the plan by the end of the calendar year [1999]." History suggests that expediency, not expansion, is the true intent of Stukel's message. In December 1998 the U-C Senate's General University Policy Committee wrote that steps had already been taken to implement parts of S3. In one chapter, the plan calls for a top-down campaign of consensus manufacture to overcome opposition to the administration's proposals. Stukel's communication, with its false claim of "nearly unanimous support" for S3, is best understood as a move within this campaign. S3 could have a big effect on the working lives of academic professionals. The report criticizes the university's "burdensome termination processes" for academic professionals. It also recognizes some very real problems--inequitable salary scales, poor evaluation procedures, and lack of career paths and child care--though it offers no final solutions. With an organized voice and an independent, legally recognized bargaining unit, academic professionals could share in the responsibility for shaping a strategic plan for the future of our institution. We have the power. But we must organize to exercise that power. Note: At press time, a "Consensus Report" summarizing the "most effective tactics and recommendations" of S3 was posted to the S3 Web site. In future issues, the AAP Advocate will address this and other developments regarding the strategic plan. |
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At noon on Friday, November 19, about 150 faculty, staff, students, and graduate students, along with infants and toddlers, gathered at Swanlund Administration Building for a "Baby-In," a rally sponsored by several campus labor groups, including the Union of Professional Employees, the Graduate Employees' Organization, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and AAP. We hoisted placards calling for "Child Care Now," chanted slogans, and sang a rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" that spelled out our complaints to the chancellor.
After speeches by members of the various associations, parents, babies, and strollers crowded into Swanlund and paid a visit to Provost Richard Herman's office to present a letter outlining four demands:
In response, Herman burped a baby and provided us with a letter proposing to double the enrollment at the Child Development Lab and provide an additional facility for infant care.
The plan is a step in the right direction, but many concerns still need to be addressed. The Child Development Lab currently serves 96 children in two programs: three half-day classes and two full-day classes. Anyone who has investigated the Child Development Lab for child care knows that the waiting list is quite long.
Will parents looking for flexible, part-time care be served?
Also, the Child Development Lab is quite expensive--$760/semester for the half-day program. Participants are currently selected to achieve a balance of gender, age, and ethnicity. Will the new child care facilities also have high tuition and a carefully selected population?
Note: At press time, the Board of Trustees had approved on January 13 the Provost's proposal to spend $4 million to expand the Child Development Lab, adding 96 places and including babies under 2 years of age. The Parents' Council, an advisory group of parents working on child care, met January 14 and created a task force to develop policy proposals and deal with the University. Rob Manaster and I are the AAP delegates on the Parents' Council.
If you would like to get involved in the issue of child care at UIUC, please contact me at mjreilly@uiuc.edu.
A recent study by an Urbana-Champaign Senate committee revealed that faculty salaries rank in the top half among salaries at Big Ten and other comparable universities. Benefits, however, were at the bottom--dead last.
The committee proposed a supplemental tax-deferred retirement savings matching plan to help alleviate the situation. The plan would commit the university to matching voluntary 403(b) retirement savings for all employee groups, including faculty, staff, and academic professionals. Several campus groups have officially endorsed the proposal.
If implemented, the plan would have differential effects on those at various salary levels. Federal law would limit the annual contribution of an employee paid $40,000 annually to about $4,200, or 10+% of income. Those paid less could legally contribute a somewhat larger percentage.
The amount of retirement savings that would be accumulated in such an account
over a 30-year career could be impressive. What remains is to convince the administration
and the legislature that the relatively small additional cost of the matching
is a much-needed improvement in the University's benefits package and will have
beneficial effects on recruiting and retaining talented employees.
UIUC Salary Snapshot: Information Technology1999 Average Salaries of UIUC IT Academic Professionals*
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Join nationally known leaders in a frank discussion of the purposes of higher education in Illinois. Come and lend your voice and ideas on the future of higher education in Illinois!
For information and registration materials, contact: Donna Mannering, IEA Higher Education Director, at 1-800/252-8076, ext. 261.
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UIUC AP Earns $145K RaiseBy Jamie McGowanRon Turner, the University of Illinois football coach, recently signed a five-year contract that boosts his annual salary from $430,000 to $575,000, a 33% raise. Regarding this contract, Turner was quoted in the January 8, 2000, News-Gazette saying "I want to take care of my family. I want to be compensated at what the going rate is. [The money is] not the driving force, but I'm not stupid." Athletic Director Ron Guenther indicated that the university, in addition to offering competitive salaries, is "... hopefully creating an environment for people where they like coming to work." Ron Turner's salary increase has relevance for all U of I employees (see sidebar). Unfortunately, the productivity and success of all employees cannot be measured through sporting event scores, game attendance, and donations. Furthermore, the university can ignore or fail to address appropriately widespread problems affecting employees, since we lack a collective voice. Academic professionals may have a diversity of jobs, but we share interests in job security, working conditions, and other matters. Rather than waiting for the university to recognize our contributions or resolve problem areas, let's work together to make our voices heard! Join the AAP. Together we can make a difference for ourselves and others. |
| The Association of Academic Professionals
is a group of academic professional employees at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign that is attempting to organize for the purpose of collective
bargaining. The AAP is affiliated with the Illinois Education Association
and the National Education Association. We are part of a national movement
of academic professionals who seek collective bargaining rights.
In order to maintain and improve on the benefits of working at this great university, we believe that we need to organize so that our voice commands attention when administrators make decisions that affect our jobs. The AAP seeks to ensure certain rights such as:
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AAP Advocate STEERING COMMITTEE: IEA STAFF: Peter Miller |
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