20 Nov UIC Town Hall Tonight 6pm and Member Meeting Recap
- UIC Town Hall: UIC Student Government has invited faculty to join their Town Hall from 6-7:30pm TONIGHT with Chancellor Amaridis, Provost Poser, VCAS Coronado, and VCSA Tolliver.
- Admin Confirms No Changes to Spring Calendar: UICUF and the University Senate inquired as to possible calendar changes being considered by Admin, and have received confirmation that the calendar will remain unchanged for spring semester.
- Member Meeting Recap: Yesterday, we held our Fall Membership Meeting. See the recap on how our members supported one another through this difficult year, and where we stand in bargaining going into the holiday season and beyond.
Dear UICUF Members,
We have several timely issues and events to discuss today, including a Town Hall Meeting organized by UIC’s Student Government, the spring semester calendar, and a recap from our member meeting!
UIC Town Hall
The UIC Undergraduate Student Government has arranged a Town Hall for Student Concerns TONIGHT from 6-7:30pm with the Chancellor, Provost, and several key administrators in charge of pandemic planning. USG has invited UICUF members to attend the town hall as well. The USG has been working hard to introduce policies they feel most likely to promote student success and wellness during the pandemic. Issues currently under discussion include grading during remote learning, availability of mental and emotional health services for students, availability of financial and technology support services, and racial justice demands. Faculty, staff, and students must unite and support each other as we advocate for a university that serves us all. Stay informed and demonstrate your solidarity by attending tonight’s Town Hall, and listening to our students as they advocate for their needs.
Join the Town Hall here: https://uic.zoom.us/j/89718597775?pwd=V3QwaFJBRDJHRElVZUZoNHJyRUNoZz09
Confirmed: Spring Calendar Will NOT Change
There has been some talk recently of altering the spring semester calendar in light of the continued COVID pandemic. Though no decisions had been made, or proposals officially submitted to UICUF or the University Senate, we felt it was important to stay ahead of things and had planned our own calendar survey to ensure faculty voices were heard.
As of today, our understanding is that the academic calendar for spring semester will not change, and that any changes would require Senate approval at a minimum. We appreciate those who weighed in by email and at the member meeting yesterday.
Member Meeting Recap
At our member meeting yesterday, we started by celebrating all the ways our members have supported each other and our community. This year has been challenging to say the least, and replete with seismic shifts in how we live, work, and relate to each other. We believe UICUF and our members have risen to those challenges admirably. When some of our colleagues lost their jobs, we raised over $16,000 to help with emergency expenses. We supported and continue to support our students seeking racial justice at UIC and beyond. And we honored our members in the Tutorium in Intensive English with our John Shuler Award for Shared Governance, for working together to fend off third-party outsourcing of their program in response to the pandemic. Needless to say, we are tremendously proud of our members, and all that they are doing to make UIC an even better, even safer place to work and learn!
We also heard from our Bargaining Team, who have continued throughout the pandemic to represent our members in negotiations with Admin. This has definitely not been an easy task, and it hasn’t always yielded results we would have preferred, but we feel confident saying that our membership is in a far better position for having made the effort, and having fought for a seat at the table. Impact bargaining is still ongoing, and we are, after almost 8 months of continuous meeting, finally working on written proposals with our Admin counterparts, though we are far from any breakthroughs. We also expect to soon be having hearings with the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board on some of the administration’s Unfair Labor Practices, which we called out over the summer.
As we all prepare to take a well deserved break, if even for only a brief moment during the Thanksgiving holiday, we want to express our sincerest thanks for you, all of our members. You’ve not only taken it upon yourselves to strive for excellence in your work under daunting circumstances, but you’ve taken on the responsibility of looking out for your colleagues and your community. We are honored to work with each and every one of you!
Solidarity,
UIC United Faculty
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