If you are rightly consumed by mid-semester responsibilities and not following the latest on the budget reduction process, let me get you quickly up to speed. And, importantly, if you are looking for ways you can continue an effort to have your voice and concerns heard, keep reading.
The Academic Program Committee wrapped up their hearings with affected units on October 10 and public letter submissions closed on October 13. The committee is scheduled to deliver their recommendations to Chancellor Bennett on Friday, October 24. At some point soon after, it is my understanding that they intend to make their recommendations public. The final date on the timeline is the Board of Regents meeting on Friday, December 5 in Varner Hall where a vote on cuts is scheduled to occur. It is not clear if Chancellor Bennett’s recommendations to the Board will be public, but if they are, we might expect them sometime next month.
Our AAUP chapter has been busy fighting back. Big thanks to those who joined to voice their concerns at the October Board of Regents meeting and show their support for the departments targeted for elimination at the demonstrations we held during the APC hearings earlier this month. Additionally, we are grateful to the community members who hosted a Town Hall this week. Our efforts have been covered by many local and state press outlets, including Nebraska Public Media, Flatwater Free Press, KETV, Channel 8 News, and the Lincoln Journal Star.
While the entire campus community waits to learn about recommendations, here are 7 actions you can take right now. If you are concerned about the future of our University, I implore you to plug into the news and our work.
- Attend our “Stop the Cuts” Rally this Saturday, October 25th from 9-11am at the Nebraska Union Plaza before the Northwestern football game.
- Circulate our public petition asking the Board of Regents to vote no on the proposed cuts. You can sign and send to five friends, neighbors, alumni, or students many times faster than you can drive around the construction in town!
- Order your own “One Faculty One Nebraska” t-shirt from Raygun and wear it on campus. Maybe even buy one for a friend!
- Make plans to attend the lecture our chapter is hosting on Thursday, November 6th from 5:00-7:30pm in the Ubuntu Room of Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center: “Faculty Organizing & the Crisis of Higher Ed: Lessons from Puerto Rico” by Dr. María Del Mar Rosa Rodríguez, a Professor of Spanish at the University of Puerto Rico-Cayey and the President of Asociación Puertorriqueña de Profesores Universitarios.
- Save the date to attend the December 5th Board of Regents meeting at 9am in Varner Hall.
- Join our group for our monthly meetings. Send an email to katiemarya13@gmail.com if you are interested.
- Keep reading and share what you learn with your colleagues. Here are some articles that taught me new ideas and strengthened my understanding of our University’s sense of shared-governance and future vision:
- Flatwater Free Press, “University of Nebraska now spends more on administrators and support staff than faculty”
- Flatwater Free Press, “New NU Era: The University of Nebraska long banked on state funding. That support is crumbling”
- Nebraska Examiner, “What’s at stake for Nebraska’s university: extraordinary vision or ordinary cuts”–an excellent commentary by EDAD and EAS faculty
