Modern Language Association Vote Opposing Pathways
The Delegate Assembly of the Modern Language Association passed a resolution opposing Pathways this weekend at their meeting in Boston. The organization serves a membership of 30,000 English and foreign language faculty in 100 countries. According to Inside Higher Ed, the resolution “criticiz[es] the CUNY administration at the City University of New York, arguing that administrators infringed on faculty rights in creating and requiring a curricular system to ease transfer from the system’s community colleges to its four-year institutions.” It goes on to support a moratorium on implementation of the new curriculum. The resolution now goes to the MLA’s executive committee for review and to the full membership for a vote. (Read more on the Inside Higher Ed website.)
Resolve to Spread the Word about the New Pathways Petition in the New Year
Sharing the Pathways petition with your colleagues throughout the country and around the world is a New Year’s resolution that is easy to keep—one that will can make a real difference for CUNY students. Please sign the petition, if you haven’t yet, and forward the petition to your colleagues in professional organizations, research groups and other networks.
Steven Stoll from Fordham University says the Pathways petition was forwarded to him, and he signed to oppose cutting corners on students’ education. “A college education is not a Pop-Tart,” he said. “It’s slower food and delivers more in nutrition than a quick fill on empty calories.”
More than 5,000 people have signed the National Petition for a Moratorium on CUNY’s Pathways Curriculum since it was launched. More than 1,500 petition signers have left heartfelt and supportive comments so far. The comments show that our struggle against Pathways has national scope, and that faculty throughout the country are fighting similar proposals on their campuses. (Read selected comments in the latest Clarion.)
Declaration of Candidacy Forms for PSC Elections Due Wed., Jan. 9
Seventeen PSC chapters will elect chapter officers, delegates and alternates to the union’s Delegate Assembly this spring. Thirteen campuses will elect representatives to the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund Advisory Council. Candidates must submit a signed declaration of candidacy no later than this Wednesday, January 9 to Barbara Gabriel at the PSC office. The Declaration of Candidacy form and PSC’s election rules are posted on the Elections Committee webpage.
PSC-CUNY Research Award Applications Due Wed., Jan. 9
On December 11, 2012, PSC President Barbara Bowen and Vice Chancellor for Research Gillian Small announced that the deadline for applications for PSC-CUNY research awards had been extended to January 9, 2013, due to Superstorm Sandy. Applications must be submitted electronically by midnight this Wednesday, January 9. The new deadline applies to all applicants, regardless of whether the storm had a direct effect on your work. (Read the full announcement in the latest Clarion.)
Deadline for Grieving a Notice of Non-Reappointment—Jan. 15
For members of the instructional staff holding full-time faculty titles, college laboratory technicians in their second year of service and adjunct faculty hired on a semester-by-semester basis, December 1 was the date by which the PSC/CUNY contract requires that you receive notice of reappointment or non-reappointment from your college President for the 2013-2014 academic year (Article 10).
If you received notice that you have been denied reappointment (with or without tenure) or have not received any notice at all, we urge you to contact a PSC grievance counselor immediately. Under the terms of the PSC/CUNY contract (Article 20), grievances relating to non-reappointment must be filed within 30 days, excluding Saturday, Sundays and legal holidays from the December 1 contractual date of notification. The deadline for filing these grievances is January 15, 2013. After that date the union will be time-barred from pursuing a grievance on your behalf. (Read more.)
Save these NEW Dates for Advocacy Trips to Albany
NYSUT has changed the spring advocacy calendar, cancelling the May 13-14 Committee of 100 Advocacy Day and putting a greater emphasis on visits to legislators in their local district offices. Please sign up for one or more of these events so the union can effectively communicate our message to the state legislature:
- In-District Meetings Within the Five Boroughs—Feb. 7-8
- Committee of 100 Advocacy Day, Albany—Mar. 4-5
- Higher Education Advocacy Day, Albany—Mar. 11-12
Transportation, food and housing costs for the Albany trips are covered by NYSUT. Contact Amanda Magalhaes ([email protected]) for more information and to sign up to participate. In the coming weeks, the union will announce additional dates for meetings with legislators in their local district offices and will provide updates about coalition advocacy days in Albany and City Hall.
Clarion Named Best Union Newspaper in New York City
In 2012 Clarion was named as New York City’s best labor union newspaper and best NYSUT local newspaper in its circulation class. These awards were among several top prizes the PSC newspaper won at the local, state and national levels for excellence in reporting, opinion writing, and graphic design. (Read more about the awards.) PSC’s revamped website was also recognized by NYSUT with a first place award for Best Website. The January Clarion includes articles about the Pathways campaign, an update on the frozen state of contract negotiations for municipal unions in New York City and how this relates to the PSC/CUNY contract, coverage of the CUNY community’s reaction to Superstorm Sandy and profiles of CUNY faculty whose scholarship is shaping how the City responds to climate change.
