BY RAEGAN NEUFELD
Shared governance has been one of the main focuses for the Student Government Association this year. This theme continued at last night’s meeting with the guest speaker, President of the Fort Hays chapter of the American Association of University Professors, Janett Naylor-Tincknell.
Senators heard about what the AAUP does, who they protect and member benefits. According to Naylor-Tincknell, there are 357 faculty members and program specialists covered by the AAUP’s negotiation of their contract with the administration, which focuses on working conditions.
“That contract outlines things like how many classes we can teach per semester, how many office hours we have, how much service and research we need to do and pretty much anything to do with work,” Naylor-Tincknell said.
Other aspects of the AAUP’s work include academic freedom, tenure and salary. These aspects are outlined in the Memorandum of Agreement. The AAUP is also able to seek legal ramifications should they feel the need to.
To help further explain what the group does, Naylor-Tincknell referenced the recent firing of faculty and program cuts at Emporia State University.
“We have very clear guidelines for how faculty are dismissed,” she said. “We have very clear guidelines for claiming financial exigency – issues related to our budget. We also have very, very clear issues when it comes to downsizing programs, so they can’t do that here.”
Out of the 357 covered university employees, approximately 80 are dues-paying members of the FHSU AAUP. As Naylor-Tincknell explained, these members are able to vote on the contract and vote on actions the group takes.
Naylor-Tincknell ended her speech by informing the SGA about how the two groups can work together.
“If there are any issues you see moving forward that impact faculty workload, we can join with you,” she said. “If there are things you feel are going to be negatively impacting your education or taking away from your faculty member’s ability to give you what you need, reach out to us.”
Later on in the meeting, SGA Vice President Austin Ruff announced the senator seat allocations based on enrollment in each college. The breakdown is as follows.
- College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – four seats – Full
- College of Science, Technology and Mathematics – seven seats – four open
- College of Business and Entrepreneurship – five seats – two open
- College of Health and Behavioral Sciences – eight seats – seven open
- College of Education – one seat – one open
- Freshmen/KAMS – six seats – Full
There are also currently four senators in senator-at-large positions. SGA voted for the passing of a bill to ratify Alyxius Torres as another senator-at-large, and next week SGA will vote on a bill to ratify Star Parham as a senator for the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences.
“If you know someone who would be good to be a senator, reach out to them,” Ruff said.
Upcoming SGA events:
- Open Forum – 7:00 p.m. on October 18, Black and Gold Room
- Trunk or Treat – Halftime of the football game on October 22
- Free Legal Counseling – October 25
The next SGA meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. on October 20 in the Memorial Union Black and Gold Room.