UFF-UF

Campus Event: How Can We Rehumanize the University, Here and Now?

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Public universities are under increasing financial pressure and political scrutiny. There is a sense that they are disconnected from the needs of the public and from the needs of students. Additional funding would improve their capacity to respond to these needs, but more is needed than just money. Many instructional practices need to change, as does the way that faculty and students relate to each other. Prof. Brighouse will outline some institutional reforms that would work to rehumanize the university. His lecture will also outline some changed practices that could be implemented by individual departments or faculty even in the absence of institutional reform.

FL, Higher Ed, UFF-UF

More STEM Majors Won’t Solve Higher Education’s Problems

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[T]here’s no reason to think this would help Florida economically. If the state wants to align higher education with the needs of business, it should take a look at surveys of employers, who indicate, year after year, that what they most want from college grads is “the ability to effectively communicate” and “critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills”—classic hallmarks of a liberal arts education. And studies like “Academically Adrift” show that it’s the humanities and social sciences, as well as the natural sciences, that lead to measurable improvements in critical thinking.

Higher Ed, UFF-UF

3 to 1: That’s the Best Ratio of Tenure-Track Faculty to Administrators, a Study Concludes

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“The balance between people who are actually in the trenches and those who are overseeing that work has gotten grossly out of line,” says Robert E. Martin, Emeritus Boles Professor of Economics at Centre College and an author of the study. “That imbalance is one of the primary reasons for why costs grew so out of control over the last three decades.”

UFF-UF

Update on FEO

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On 10 September 2012, Provost Joe Glover announced another round of Faculty Enhancement Opportunity (FEO) Award applications. In this call, he states that it is “limited to faculty members who are not in the faculty bargaining unit.” This is a clear violation of the current contract (Article 21 Faculty Award Programs), and UFF intends to file a chapter grievance concerning it.

Higher Ed, Research in Higher Ed

Academic Capitalism

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‘Academic capitalism’ is defined by Slaughter & Rhoades (2004), professors of higher education at the University of Georgia and University of Arizona, as “the involvement of colleges and faculty in market-like behaviors”. As public investment in public higher education decreases, academic researchers are called upon to generate revenue through commodifying their own research products. This certainly includes patentable discoveries, as well as online courses, research methods, and other copyrighted materials.

UFF-UF

Memorandum of Understanding: Vote Required

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The United Faculty of Florida-University of Florida (UFF-UF) and the University of Florida Board of Trustees (UFBOT) have agreed to the following Memorandum of Understanding on paying out this year’s Salary Plan for Professors (SPP) and administrative discretionary funds.

UFF-UF

Welcome Back

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As we begin the new academic year, I would like to extend to you a warm welcome on behalf of our chapter of the United Faculty of Florida. On our website you will find a number of things I think will be of interest to you. UFF’s state-wide president, Tom Auxter, shares a new report on the effect the dramatic reduction in state support combined with increasing tuition is having

UFF-UF

Bargaining Update, August 2012

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UFF-UF’s bargaining team has been meeting regularly with the BOT negotiators towards agreement on a successor contract to the one expiring in 2013. We believe that we are making good progress towards agreement on a strong contract that protects faculty rights and provides improved benefits, and the shared hope of the two parties is to complete negotiations by as early as the end of this year.

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