Standing room only at the Board of Trustees meeting today! A room packed full of FAM-supportive faculty and librarians clapped loudly to celebrate colleagues’ promotions and even louder and longer for the speeches telling the Board that it’s time to Work With Us, Not Against Us.
Professor and former Mayor of Oxford Kate Rousmaniere explained why wise decision-making should incorporate faculty from the ground up.
Professor John Schaefer reminded the Board that FAM is a force to be reckoned with — FAM was the largest higher ed union formed last year in AAUP-AFT,” the largest higher ed union organization in the country, and so far, efforts to block us have just made us stronger.
Professor Kazue Harada asked the board not to abandon Miami’s commitments to diversity and protested the unnecessary and unwise suspension of the All-Faculty Committee for the Evaluation of Administrators.
Principal Librarian Jenny Presnell explained that librarians teach as a core part of their jobs, that librarian research is essential to Miami’s mission, and that librarians deserve reasonable work-life balance so that they can serve students well.
Finally, Student and FAM supporter Dylan Halpin offered a tribute to hard-working faculty, saying “our professors hold a special place in our hearts” and deserve to be heard by management.
We hope the Board of Trustees listened to these speeches with attention. Our newly promoted colleagues deserve a better Miami — the kind that will come with a good union contract.
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