Dear Colleagues,
We hope you are all doing the best you can in these unconventional times.
As we started writing this update, it occurred to us that by the time it is drafted, edited, and approved, whatever we had to say about the current state of affairs would be almost surely overtaken by an announcement from the Provost or the Governor, and we’d be sending stale news with advice about inoperative circumstances.
Instead, we’ll remind you that UA can be your resource for raising issues and concerns you’d like to have addressed by the administration. The leaders and staff of UA are in daily contact with admin, and we’ve been able to discuss with them concerns faculty have expressed to us. In most cases, the administration has already been considering the problems and crafting solutions. We have been able to both shape the solutions and respond to individual faculty members with the information they need.
UA President Chris Sinclair has joined the daily academic continuity meetings, and UA leadership is meeting with senior admin tomorrow (Friday) morning. Please let us know if there is anything you would like us to raise with them or advocate for.
Over the last few days, we have discussed with them the concerns our librarians have over keeping the libraries open and/or working remotely for those who can. We have discussed how we keep our research labs open and how our research service centers can stay viable. We proposed giving faculty the option of delaying their tenure clocks by a year. Most importantly, we have encouraged the administration to figure out ways to keep all of our faculty fully employed for the duration. They have been either very open to all of these ideas or out ahead of us. Of course, as soon as any of us think we’re ahead of this evolving situation, something drastically changes.
You can always share your thoughts or concerns at [email protected] – that email goes to our staff and leadership.
In Solidarity,
Executive Council of United Academics