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Live-blog from Senate: Let’s call this the “Wizard of Oz” meeting

12/4/2014 update: Paid UO PR flack Jennifer Winters has now posted the admin spin for Wednesday’s Senate meeting on “Around the 0”, if you care enough to google it.

Short version: Coltrane got raked over the coals again for his administration’s secretive “Academic Continuity Plan”. He added to the fire by threatening, not very subtlely, to discipline faculty who did not submit grades by Dec 19. The Senate began the process of restoring trust and confidence in UO’s academic integrity by taking responsibility for this away from VP’s Blandy and Altmann.

The Senate approved new courses, and agreed to set up former provost Jim Bean with a $250K sinecure running a new “Sports Product Design” MS degree program, which now goes to the HECC for consideration. We also approved a permanent Committee on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, and worked through and approved the last of the revisions to the Student Conduct code that VP Robin Holmes had neglected for years. All in all a very productive meeting.

12/3/2014 update: Official Senate Agenda for the 3PM Wed meeting is here. Coltrane will speak and get asked questions about the strike, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Senate also took further action on the strike. It will be an interesting and important meeting. I’ll try and live-blog a little:

Senate Meeting Agenda – December 3, 2014: Watch Live | Senate Agenda 

115 Lawrence, 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Trust breaks down, Coltrane says no hardship fund language in the CBA, GTFF strikes

Update: The Register Guard can’t make sense of Coltrane’s actions either. Story here:

The GTFs went into a last-ditch mediation session with UO officials today with a sense of optimism, [UO biology grad student and bargaining team member Steve McAllister] said.

The dispute had winnowed down to a single issue — the union’s demand for two weeks paid medical and parental leave. University bargainers proposed a way out in the form of creating a $150,000 graduate student hardship fund that students could tap for $1,000 or $1,500 in the case of illness or the birth of a child.

The rub: The university refused to write the specifics of how the hardship fund would operate, including details about eligibility, into the proposed two-year contract, union leaders said. …

The university did not clarify why it doesn’t support detailing the hardship fund operations in the contract for the GTFs, and then administer the fund for those graduate students without fellowships in an identical manner.

The graduate student federation is adamant that the terms belong in a legally enforceable contract, McAllister said.

“What we basically have today is they’ve said, ‘Hey, we’ll do this great program for you’ and we’ve said, ‘Great. Do you promise?’ And they’ve said, ‘Well, no. We don’t.’

Meanwhile, the breakdown in trust in the UO administration has driven another spike in UO Matters readership:

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This is not a healthy situation. The UO administration should be a credible voice on important matters like this. People shouldn’t have to rely on an opinionated blogger like me, who has to pay for UO public records with occasional raids on my scotch budget.

Unfortunately, the millions of dollars that Johnson Hall has poured into PR flacks and “Around the 0”, coupled with the disingenuous and confused email messages on this strike from Scott Coltrane, Frances Bronet, Barbara Altmann and Doug Blandy, and Dave Hubin’s willingness to abuse Oregon’s public records law to hide information, have, in Scott Coltrane’s passive words, meant that “Trust has broken down”. Presumably Coltrane will present a plan for fixing that at Wednesday’s Senate meeting. But will anyone trust him?

12/1/2014 update: Coltrane won’t sign, GTFF will strike, and “Trust has broken down”.

Yeah, maybe your $300-an-hour zoning lawyer can tell you how that happened. Although I think it will be hard to top the explanation your $14,000 a year English composition instructors gave you, now in the Emerald, here.

From: President’s Office Date: Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 4:52 PM
Subject: Mediation concluded, strike expected

Dear colleagues and students,

It pains me to send this update about the negotiations with the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation. Mediation has failed and regrettably we are expecting the GTFF to strike beginning tomorrow.

I care deeply about each student and employee here. I have been hopeful every day that this could be avoided. Unfortunately, the bargaining teams met today and could not reach an agreement.

We have been negotiating for a year. The university has moved toward the union proposals at almost every negotiation and mediation. Most labor negotiations include give and take. Today’s offer included a hardship fund that would provide financial support for graduate students in need. Nevertheless the GTFF authorized a strike vote months ago in the spring, and have reiterated that position repeatedly. Trust has broken down and rebuilding that trust will be a priority when this is over.

Tomorrow will be a significant day on campus. It is dead week and academic life will go on even if many of our GTFs strike. We respect each person’s right to choose for him- or herself about whether to participate. It is one of the great things about our country. Please be respectful of one another.

For our students, we have a job to do and serving students is our focus. Final exams will be held and graded, and student grades will be entered. And we will all look forward toward winter term.

Sincerely,

Scott Coltrane
Interim President

11/29/2014 1:11 PM update: GTFF to Bronet: Put sick leave in the CBA, and it’s a deal

The GTFF’s response to the latest proposal from the administration is here. The only remaining sticking point? They want the details in the CBA. I’m no $300-an-hour zoning-easement lawyer, but in economics we teach that this is just the sort of thing that contracts like the CBA are for. Here’s hoping Provost Bronet gives Jeff Matthews appropriate instructions soon:

The GTFF’s executive council voted that they could be willing to accept the fund as an alternative to paid leave. However, to do so, critical language about the fund must be in our collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The GTFF proposed language to do so and was willing to discuss alterations that would work for the Administration. However, the Administration still refused to accept any CBA language to guarantee the rules of how the fund might operate.

Question: Why does it need to be in the CBA?

Creating a CBA is the reason we hold negotiations. It is an enforceable, legally binding agreement between employer (UO) and employees (GTFs). Having a legally binding contract is essential in any agreement, so it can be used for future references and there is something in place in case of anything going wrong between two parties. More information on these types of agreements can be found here. The language that is written into the CBA must be followed by both sides. If either side violates the CBA, formal procedures exist to correct that, including a third-party arbitrator to correct any violations. Working out a deal, without any guarantee of follow through, undermines the intent of the collective bargaining process. Writing new policy for graduate students does not guarantee the needs of its graduate employees are being addressed.

The Administration is unwilling to include any CBA language for the fund other than (1) it exists, (2) there is at least $150,000 in the fund, and (3) GTFs, because they are grad students, can access the fund. So, the only legally binding portion of the fund would be its existence, size, and the fact that GTFs can access it. The rules of the fund, all details about how the fund operates and how grad students can access the fund, are left up to the Administration. That is not good enough.

11/28/2014 1:40 update: Provost Bronet to faculty, students: Shelter in Place until Monday

CAS Dean Andrew Marcus asks undergrads to rat out striking grad students

12/1/2014 update: Our administrators are burning a lot of bridges on this strike. Why? At this point the admin team has agreed to everything almost everything the GTF wanted. All that’s left is for Coltrane and Bronet to put it in writing. They don’t want to. This is silly, of course it has to be in writing.

Having been slapped down by the Senate on their attempt to get the faculty to weaken academic standards to help the admins break a GTF strike, our administration is now working on turning the undergrads against the grad students. Destroy everything, just so Scott Coltrane doesn’t have to admit he should have given up on sick leave back in August?

From: “Interim Tykeson Dean W. Andrew Marcus”
Date: December 1, 2014 at 11:47 AM PST
Subject: Attending your classes and submitting assignments as planned
Reply-To: “Interim Tykeson Dean W. Andrew Marcus”

Dear Students,

You are receiving this note because you are a student in one of the 45 programs that make up the College of Arts & Sciences, or because you are undeclared and receive advising through the college. You may be wondering what to do if Graduate Teaching Fellows go on strike this Tuesday, December 2. I advise you to attend all your classes as scheduled, and to submit all course requirements as stipulated by your instructors.

We are working diligently to minimize the impact on students should there be a strike. But various disruptions, including an instructor not attending a class, may still occur.

If you experience a disruption in your classroom, lab, or other academic experience due to a work stoppage, you may let us know by emailing [email protected] or calling 541-346-3902 with the course number and name, meeting time, instructor’s name, and class location.

We in the College of Arts and Sciences are dedicated first and foremost to ensuring that you achieve your academic objectives for this term.

Thank you.

W. Andrew Marcus
Interim Tykeson Dean
College of Arts and Sciences

11/28/2014 update: Administration fails to poll faculty and GTF’s on strike plans

There’s no sign that the administration’s team of well-paid strategic communicators got their act together on today’s promised (threatened?) survey of the faculty and GTFs about their strike plans. So instead I’m posting this letter from Professor Matthew Dennis to his History 201 students, with permission. Full letter here:

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11/27/2014 update: Administration to poll faculty on how to maintain academic standards during strike

Just kidding, there’s no evidence that the Senate legislation or all that heartfelt debate has had the slightest impact on Coltrane’s plans to degrade academic standards to make it easier to break a GTFF strike. To the contrary, the administration has moved from what AVP Ken Doxsee called “suggestions” to requirements, as in the new instructions about not assigning X or I grades. Combined with the new diktat below, this leaves faculty with essentially only one choice: assign some sort of letter grade based on work completed so far, even if that work is a small fraction of what is laid out in their syllabus, or even if that work would normally lead to a grade of incomplete.

Apparently they *will* be polling us (and the GTFs?) on Friday to ask us how we intend to comply with the administration’s increasingly desperate and confused instructions. The results will be “confidential” of course, unless the administration decides they will make for good PR spin:

GTFF rally for 5PM Monday at Johnson Hall draws politicians like … draws …

Update: Looks rainy, but there’s plenty of room inside the lobby, as the UO Coalition discovered last spring.

Coltrane could have settled this a month ago and saved our department heads a lot of time, and the GTFF a lot of megaphone batteries. But no:

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Thanksgiving Day Update: 62-year-old university president fails at ultimatum bargaining with 25-year-old students. His lawyers cash in again.

Harrang lawyers bill up to $250K on GTFF, Hubin and Park still hiding invoices

11/30/2014: Dave Hubin and Doug Park still hiding docs on GTFF bargaining Here’s a page of the invoices from the faculty union bargaining. Heavily redacted, but at least Gottfredson would release them. UO has become even less transparent under Coltrane: When the UO administration wants the public to know things that make themselves…

Beavers crush Ducks in Civil War for research money and flagship status

The figure on the left shows “Federal Flow Through” totals, which are the easiest to find directly comparable data. They include spending on outreach and instruction, but it’s mostly research money and the trends look similar no matter how you cut it. The figure on the right shows athletic department…

UO Composition GTFs call out admins on disrespectful, uncivil discourse

11/28/2014 Editor’s note: As of Friday, this letter has been downloaded more times than anything I’ve ever posted, except a few documents from various athletics scandals. As one commenter notes, “When you’ve lost your composition instructors, you’ve lost the war.” 11/25/2014: My headline, not theirs, but I think it captures…

UO Law school pays big-tobacco lawyer Dave Frohnmayer to teach “leadership”

11/27/2014 update: It’s been a while since Frohnmayer has threatened to sue me “for punitive damages” (in the end he got scolded by the auditors, and had to repay some salary) so I thought I’d post this latest. I don’t know how much the cash strapped UO Law School is paying…

Eleventh hour talks to be held today

11/25/2014 update: The GTFF has sent its leadership team to meet with the State appointed mediator, presumably for the last time. No word if the UO administration has sent anyone with the power to cut a deal, or just $300-an-hour zoning easements attorney Jeff Matthews and the usual low-level administrators. Meanwhile UAUO President Michael Dreiling has an op-ed in the RG in support of the grad students:

Why do we support the federation?

On Nov. 5, UO President Scott Coltrane explained to the University Senate why attracting, supporting and retaining graduate students is essential to meeting our academic ambitions. The UO is doing poorly in this respect.

Recent data show that our total number of graduate students has declined. Many universities with which the UO competes already provide paid sick leave for their graduate employees. The UO cannot afford to fall further behind them. Better pay and a humane sick leave policy would make the UO more competitive, and we urge the administration to move on these proposals.

He’s got a point. UO needs more grad students to stay in the AAU, as Board Chair Chuck Lillis discussed in his meeting with the faculty Senate. It’s not happening, and we all know pay and benefits are part of prospective students’ decision. Here’s the last 10 years or so of enrollment data (includes professional students). We lost 100 or so last year alone:

11/24/2014 update: Unions post updates on strike, what to do about grades, AAUP support

The United Academics faculty union’s website includes some useful info about grading, and a letter of support from the AAUP for the “dilute and degrade” legislation and opposition to the administration’s confidential strike plans, here. This message is particularly strong:

The campus is caught up in confrontation and brinksmanship. Regardless of where anyone stands on the issues between the GTFF and the administration, we all have right to expect our administration to provide creative leadership in these difficult times. We are not getting this leadership from our colleagues in Johnson Hall.

The GTFF grad student union post is here, and among other things they have a letter of support from a major German trade union, reassuring the UO administration that:

“Parental leave, maternity protection and sick pay are not equivalent to socialism, but are self-evident principles.”

Now that this matter of principle has now been cleared up, perhaps the UO administration will finally agree to a deal with the GTFF. Rumor has it that the mediator from the Oregon LRB is willing to try one more time, tomorrow.

11/22/2014 update: Blandy and Altmann’s admin costs up $1.1M or 50%, in just two years

And Scott Coltrane doesn’t know where to find the $300K to settle with the GTF’s?

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And from what I can tell UO’s General Counsel’s office has spent another $150K on outside lawyers in the last two months, suggesting that HLGR’s Sharon Rudnick and Jeff Matthews may be approaching $250K in billings for the GTFF bargaining. (Dave Hubin’s Public Records office is still hiding the invoices, which I paid him for almost 2 weeks ago.)

11/22/2014 update: The well known Crooked Timber blog follows up on the Chronicle report with a complete dissection of the UO administration’s dissembling about the grad student strike, here.

11/21/2014: $530,000 in Vice Provosts not enough to figure out “X” grade

For some reason UO has *two* “Senior Vice Provosts of Academic Affairs”, Barbara Altmann and Doug Blandy, each pulling in paychecks of ~$190K, plus a regular VP of Academic Affairs Ken Doxsee, paid ~$150K. But apparently three’s not enough to do the job. While we all know Blandy has some unusual but lucrative ideas about what an A grade means,

it seems that Academic Affairs is also now confused about the X grade:

University Board to hold emergency meeting tomorrow over gang rape allegations

That would the Board of the University of Virginia. The NYT has the story, here: CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia heads into an extraordinary meeting of its governing board on Tuesday struggling to find its footing, after a reported frat house gang rape rocked the university’s vaunted reputation…

UO administration to train “free speech” observers to monitor future protests

Full disclosure update: For all I know this program is a noble one. See the comments. But the provenance and timing is suspicious, I don’t have the $1,000 Dave Hubin would presumably charge me to seen the public records that would establish this, and he’d redact them anyway. 11/24/2014: My…

Blandy and Altmann’s offer of $1000 a course not enough to make department heads scab on their grad students

11/21/2014 update: The video from the Nov 19th Senate meeting debate on legislation to oppose the administration’s efforts to “dilute and degrade academic standards and the secretive process by which it was made” instead of negotiating a fair deal for the grad students, is now posted. Please note the time…