February 2007 Board Notes

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NEA HIGHER EDUCATION DIRECTOR’S REPORT

NEA Higher Education Director Sally Pestana reported that both the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (No Child Left Behind) and Higher Ed reauthorizations are moving ahead in Congress at an aggressive pace, due in great measure to the new party configuration in both houses.  NEA is taking a strong proactive stand and working very hard to lead the way in final language for both acts. 

The Spellings Commission Report (lengthy report can be found at http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/index.html) will have a great impact on the Higher Ed reauthorization.  While NEA applauds many of the report’s accessibility and affordability recommendations, the assessment and accountability recommendations have a definite No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) flavor. 

Department of Education Director Margaret Spellings will convene a Higher Education Summit in March to bring those of her choosing to the table to discuss all aspects of the Commission’s report, as well as implementation strategies.  The voice of faculty was blatantly overlooked.  NEA President Reg Weaver personally made a strong case with Ms. Spellings for the need for faculty to have a representative at the table.  As a result, NEA’s National Council for Higher Education President, Kathy Sproles, will be participating in the Summit.

An excellent e-newsletter for following all the trends and concerns in Higher Education is Inside Higher Ed.  For the latest update on the Higher Ed Act, as well as to subscribe, see http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/03/09/hea

Sally is working with Senator Akaka’s office to secure data on how much higher education faculty spend out of pocket for teaching supplies.  Please add your personal experience to the data, by answering the one question survey on the opening UHPA website page at www.uhpa.org.  Your input will be used to work towards a tax deduction for such expenses for higher education faculty (currently only K-12 teachers are eligible for such a deduction).

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Mary Tiles attended the Collective Bargaining Committee (CBC) meeting.  She indicated that it would be elaborated upon later by the CBC Chair.

President Tiles was invited to talk about faculty governance to a graduate class   This prompted the reflection that although the Board of Regents (BOR) policy on faculty governance and Chapter 89 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) express similar sentiments about the reason for including faculty participation, the ability for faculty to exercise the roles conferred in the two documents has been different as Chapter 89 is a law and its provisions can be legally enforced.  Board of Regents policy in this area has been difficult to enforce.  She recommends that members of faculty senates should look at Chapter 1 of the BOR policies, as all senates should have the language about shared governance as part of their organizational structure.  She also indicated that it would serve the faculty if the faculty senates and the union could continue to work in harmony as the faculty’s voice.

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Executive Director J. N. Musto reported that UHPA is moving the corporation’s business insurance from Bank of Hawaii to another firm, which will include liability insurance for Directors and Officers.

The building permit, necessary to begin renovations on the Akala Lane property, will soon be submitted to the City & County of Honolulu.  Provisional arrangements are being made to connect both telephone service and data access to the two buildings prior to the completion of the bridge that will connect them.

The number of serious grievances and complaints related to faculty employment and possible terminations has grown.  There continues to be many other contract-related issues, including negative evaluations in tenure and promotion dossiers that are being reviewed by Executive and Associate Directors.

The Executive Director has continued to work with the faculty groups, the UH administration, and legislators trying to find solutions for the housing crisis that new faculty, especially, and those currently living in UH faculty housing are facing.  Although the possibility of UH back mortgage guarantees and down-payment loans are possible, these are answers to providing affordable housing.  Some form of UH or state ownership of land and development of housing is necessary.

UHPA is already preparing for the next round of bargaining scheduled to begin in April 2008.  Faculty retirements in the next five years will place a huge strain on the ability of the institution to replace these faculty members.  Housing and salaries will certainly be priority issues.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT

Treasurer Ming-Bao Yue reported the expenditures that have affected the budget this past month. Directors passed a motion to receive the financial report for the fiscal period ending January 31, 2007 and to refer that report to the Finance Committee.

 

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING COMMITTEE

Chair Karla Hayashi reported that the Collective Bargaining Committee met in January.  They agreed to a series of questions that will be put out to UHPA members through the website.  The first set of questions will go up the week of February 26 and remain available for two weeks.  New questions will rotate every two weeks. The responses will be gathered by the Collective Bargaining Committee and used in preparation for the next round of negotiations.

 

GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE

Directors considered two cases—one was an appeal to arbitration recommended by the Grievance Committee and the other an appeal to arbitration recommended by legal counsel.  Directors did not pass the motion by the Grievance Committee.  Directors passed the motion to appeal a UH-Hilo faculty member’s case to arbitration based on Article XVIII.

 

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

Chair Tom Jackson shared the list of critical bills that are being monitored by Radcliffe and Associates for UHPA.  Directors were informed and encouraged to view these on UHPA’s website.

The Legislative Committee informed Directors that on March 14 Human Rights’ Day will be celebrated at the State Capitol.  Representative Lyla Berg is actively involved as are other legislators.  Directors unanimously passed a motion to participate in the Human Rights and Quality of Life Day on March 14 and to approve expenditures up to $500 for tee shirts and a banner that will come from the Special Services Account.

 

NEW BUSINESS

1.  Committee Appointments

Directors unanimously passed a motion to confirm the appointment of Amarjit Singh (UH-Manoa) as a member of the Collective Bargaining Committee. 

Directors unanimously passed a motion to confirm the appointments of Nina Buchanan (UH-Hilo), Joel Fischer (UH-Manoa), B. Jeannie Lum (UH-Manoa), Earl Nakahara (Honolulu CC), Francis-Dean Uchima (Hawaii CC),  and Richard Nettell (UH-Manoa) as members of the Grievance Committee.

Directors unanimously passed a motion to confirm the appointments of Belinda Aquino (UH-Manoa), James Cartwright (UH-Manoa), Joseph Chernisky (Leeward CC), Robert A. Fox (UH-Hilo), James McFarland (Kauai CC), Barry Nakamura (Leeward CC), Duane Stevens (UH-Manoa), Elizabeth Tam (UH-Manoa), and Francis-Dean Uchima (Hawaii CC)  as members of the Legislative and Political Action Committees.

Directors unanimously passed a motion to confirm the appointment of Adrienne Valdez (UH-West Oahu) as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Special Projects.

The above appointments begin their terms immediately, which will end on August 31, 2007.

2.  Proposed Conflict of Interest Policy for UHPA Employees and Consultants

A motion was made to have a new conflict of interest policy for UHPA employees and consultants; however, it did not pass.

3.  Faculty Representative Appointment

A motion was made to appoint a Faculty Representative for Primary Academic Unit 087, which is for the College of Education at UH-Manoa.  Directors, however, deferred action until clarification is made on the individual’s home campus as there is another faculty member with the same name at Kauai Community College.

November 2006 Board Notes

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NOVEMBER 18, 2006 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

NEA HIGHER EDUCATION DIRECTOR’S REPORT

NEA Higher Education Director Sally Pestana reported that members of the UHPA Board of Directors were provided news and information about NEA’s higher education website.

Directors were encouraged to attend the NEA Higher Education Conference that is scheduled for March 2-4, 2007 at the Hilton San Diego Resort on Mission Bay.  The NCHE and Leadership Day meetings usually precede the conference.  Director Ruth Horie plans to raise the amendment to the NEA By-Laws concerning the higher education Board seat at the March meeting.  She has been working with NCHE President Kathy Sproles on this issue.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Mary Tiles reported that more interest has been expressed on the tenure issue for foreign faculty members.

She attended the Hawaii State AFL-CIO Executive Committee meeting, which included a wrap-up discussion of the general election outcome and presentations.  Of particular interest, President Tiles was impressed with the presentation of the Hawaii HomeOwnership Center (HHOC).  The Hawaii HomeOwnership Center is designed to help people organize their financial affairs so that they may be able to own a home.  HHOC has many resources that would assist first time home owners.  President Tiles will discuss with the Directors their interest in inviting HHOC to a future Board meeting for a conversation.

President Tiles attended the 2006 Career and Technical Education Conference at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel.  Dr. Willard Daggett, President of the International Center for Leadership in Education, was the keynote speaker.  The meeting was well attended by business leaders, community college administrators and faculty, the UH-Manoa staff, and participants from the Department of Education.  UH President David McClain spoke about the need for remediation of Hawaii students enrolling in the UH, frequently in Math and English.  Dr. Daggett expressed the view that today’s children are different because they have grown up using information technology.  Because this technology is changing all the time, faculty will need to think of new ways to teach.  He emphasized the need for a focus on applied skills for workforce training.

President Tiles again participated in the Board of Regents’ meeting that was held at Maui Community College.  The Regents approved UH-West Oahu going forward with enrollment of lower division freshmen and sophomore students despite prior agreements with Leeward CC that first and second year students would not be enrolled until UHWO had a permanent campus.  Space will be rented at Kapolei for these new classes.  UHWO also received approval from the Regents for a Baccalaureate for Applied Science degree.  Under this program, students would begin study at a community college for two years and then finish a liberal arts BA program at UH-West Oahu.

UH President McClain informed the Regents of a proposed UH system level administrative reorganization.   Prior to the Regents approving this change, the proposal would be subject to consultation with UHPA under the collective bargaining law. President McClain presented an outline to the Regents and indicated he would like to have this done before the WASC returns to Hawaii.  UHPA has not yet received a copy of the proposal or a briefing on the concept being presented.

UHPA recently received a proposal to add a new administrative position under the Office of the Vice President for Academic Planning and Policy.  The new office would oversee the P-20 partnership with the Department of Education.  The University has received legislative funding for three positions to staff this office.  One position will be a transfer of the Honolulu CC-K-12 partnership office to the UH system’s office.  UHPA has been requested to respond by November 29.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Executive Director J. N. Musto reported that UHPA continues to work on the ongoing grievance relating to a number of disciplinary and termination cases.

The Executive Committee met with Attorneys Jeff Piper and T. Anthony Gill to discuss the state’s non-profit laws and the impact on UHPA’s Articles of Incorporation, Constitution and By-Laws.  The results of that meeting will be reported by the Executive Committee.  Directors were informed that UHPA has engaged Attorney Piper, who specializes in Hawaii not-for-profit corporate law, to review all our governance documents and make recommendations.

ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Associate Executive Director John Radcliffe reported that UHPA successfully supported election of the vast majority of candidates in the recent general election.  The House and Senate committee chairs organizations were shared with Directors.  Representative Calvin Say will be Speaker of the House and Senator Colleen Hanabusa will be the President of the Senate.

He announced that UH Day at the State Capitol is scheduled for January 19, 2007.  UHPA will again participate in this event in cooperation with the UH.

Over the last two months, Associate Executive Director Radcliffe, who is a Trustee for the Employer-Union Trust Fund (EUTF), has spent considerable time reviewing the various insurance plans for public employees.  He reported that there should be more choices in coverage, better insurance plans benefits, and premium rates should go down significantly and possibly include three premium rates for single, two-party, and full family coverage.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Treasurer Ming-Bao Yue informed Directors the changes that have been made to the September and October financial reports.  UHPA has a surplus at the end of the October fiscal period.  Directors passed a motion to receive the financial report for the fiscal periods ending September 30 and October 31, 2006 and to refer them to the Finance Committee.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

Directors were informed that UHPA’s Constitution and By-Laws are not in compliance with the Hawaii’s current not-for-profit law.  There needs to be much thought and reflection on what we would like done; therefore, changes will not be made right away.  Directors were asked to review and respond to Attorney Piper’s initial report.  If UHPA remains as a not-for-profit corporation, changes will need to be made to comply with the law.  If UHPA wishes to operate its governance as it has been, then it would need to dissolve its corporation status and reapply to become an unincorporated association.  Such a decision would be subject to approval by the UHPA membership.

The University of Hawaii will be celebrating its 100th year in 2007.  KITV will air information about the UH throughout the year and a major sponsor for the centennial campaign is the UH Federal Credit Union.  After some discussion, Directors passed a motion to invest $38,250 in one of the sponsorships of the UH Centennial that will be televised by KITV in 2007.

The Executive Committee reported answers to the questions raised by Director Jerry Comcowich last month raising allegations of a conflict of interest with respect to Associate Executive Director John Radcliffe’s outside employment.  These questions were raised by Director Comcowich last spring, and the Personnel Committee chair reviewed the charges and found that Associate Executive Director Radcliffe was in compliance with UHPA’s policy governing the outside employment of UHPA staff. The current allegation that Associate Executive Director Radcliffe stood to gain personal remuneration had the development contract for UH West O’ahu’s contract gone to UniDev was investigated by the Executive Committee and found to be false. The Executive Committee found that there had been no breach of trust to UHPA (as charged by Director Comcowich) by Associate Executive Director Radcliffe.  Moreover, the Executive Committee was of the opinion that his effectiveness as a lobbyist for UHPA and the broad interests of its members had never been greater, given the record of the last legislative session, recent state elections, and Associate Executive Director’s Radcliffe work as a Trustee on the EUTF (the state health care fund).  It did find that Associate Executive Director Radcliffe signed a contract with UniDev in December 2005 (well after the UH-West O’ahu bid was settled).  That contract resulted in legislation that would be helpful to UH as well as other non-profits wishing to develop workforce housing.  Given the concerns about faculty housing, this represents a coincidence of interests between UHPA and another client rather than a conflict.

Director Comcowich then moved that the answers to his five questions be given to him in writing by the Executive Committee.  After discussing the issue, the Directors defeated the motion.

APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE CHAIRS & MEMBERS

Directors unanimously passed a motion to confirm the appointment of Mark Rognstad (UH-Manoa) as a member of the Collective Bargaining Committee.

Directors unanimously passed a motion to confirm the appointments of Robert Paull (UH-Manoa), L. Thomas Ramsey (UH-Manoa), Lynn Wilkens (UH-Manoa), and Dennis Vanairsdale (Kapiolani CC) as members of the Finance Committee.

FACULTY HOUSING

A motion regarding faculty housing was made but later withdrawn after the Board of Directors discussed the matter.  Directors passed a motion to refer the issue to the Executive Committee to do research and to obtain documents from the administration on faculty housing.

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UHPA Does Well in Elections

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The UHPA election effort crossed party lines and was, overwhelmingly, successful. There were three particular things that might be noted.

  1. Republican voters stayed home. Hawaii had the lowest voter turnout in history and yet had one of the highest system-wide victory for Democrats–ever.
  2. Constitutional Amendment ONE. Although other unions also supported this, they did so following the UHPA lead.
  3. The re-election of Governor Linda Lingle. Governor Lingle’s re-election vote total was 4,933 votes MORE than that of the next highest vote getter, Democratic Senator Daniel K. Akaka. Yet Republicans lost a total of three seats at the local (House) level, where UHPA voters were far lower in number. One conclusion that can be drawn from this is that many Democrats, and UHPA members are primarily Democratic, voted for Governor Lingle, and Republicans, for a number of reasons, stayed home.

UHPA endorsed Governor Linda Lingle (R), Senator Daniel Akaka (D), Representative Neil Abercrombie (D), Mazie Hirono (D), Russell Kokubun (D), Shan Tsutsui (D), Les Ihara, Jr. (D), Brian Taniguchi (D), Carol Fukunaga (D), Suzanne Chun-Oakland (D), Donna Mercado Kim (D), Norman Sakamoto (D), Will Espero (D), Jill Tokuda (D), Dwight Takamine (D), Jerry Chang (D), Clifton Tsuji (D), Faye Hanohano (D), Robert Herkes (D), Josh Green (D), Cindy Evans (D), Joseph Souki (D), Bob Nakasone (D), Angus McKelvey (D), Joe Bertram III (D), Kyle Yamashita (D), Mele Carroll (D), Hermina Morita (D), James Tokioka (D), Roland Sagum III (D), Lyla Berg (D), Barbara Marumoto (R), Calvin Say (D), Scott Nishimoto (D), Scott Saiki (D), Kirk Caldwell (D), Della Au Belatti (D), Sylvia Luke (D), Corinne Ching (R), Karl Rhoads (D), Joey Manahan (D), John Mizuno (D), Glenn Wakai (D), Lynne Finnegan (R), Blake Oshiro (D), K. Mark Takai (D), Alex Sonson (D), Roy Takumi (D), Ryan Yamane (D), Marilyn Lee (D), Marcus Oshiro (D), Jon Riki Karamatsu (D), Rida Cabanilla (D), Kymberly Pine (R), Maile Shimabukuro (D), Michael Magaoay (D), Ken Ito (D), Pono Chong (D), Cynthia Thielen (R), and Tommy Waters (D)—and made max contributions to all who were eligible to receive…did a fair GOTV—-And was a “major” support group behind Constitutional Amendment 1, BOR.—and won them all.

We lost ONLY George Yamamoto (D), A.J. Halagao (D), Anne Stevens (R), Mark Moses (R), and Michael Kahikina (D).

March 2007 Board Notes

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NEA HIGHER EDUCATION DIRECTOR’S REPORT

NEA Higher Education Director Sally Pestana reported that she, Directors Jerome Comcowich and Adrienne Valdez attended the NEA Higher Education Conference that was held in San Diego, California in early March.  The two predominant themes throughout the Conference were accountability and assessment.  She indicated that Texas Governor Rick Perry has proposed having mandatory college exit exams for all higher education graduates.  Monetary incentives would be given to Texas state public higher education institutions for the students they graduate.  The amount of the incentive payments would vary with more given to critical fields such as nursing.  Governor Perry’s proposal includes a boost of $363 million to their state appropriations for financial aid and an increase to $964 million for 2008-9.   (President Tiles reported that Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Neal Smatresk, had proposed a similar exit exam for UH-Manoa graduating students, but now that he is leaving the University, it is unsure whether his predecessor will pursue the idea.)

Another big issue was contingent faculty.  They are defined as anyone who is non–tenured or not in a tenure–track position. In some parts of the U.S. a 40% tenured/tenure track to 60% contingent ratio is typical. One California community college has a 75:25 ratio with 400 tenured/tenure track faculty and 1200 contingent faculty! Thirty years ago, the State of California passed a law that stipulated if a faculty member taught at 60% FTE, the employer would need to offer them a full time position.  It was intended to ensure that full time positions were the norm.  In reality it has proven to be a huge brick wall, keeping thousands of faculty at less than 60% positions, forcing them to teach at multiple institutions as “freeway flyers”.  (President Tiles commented that this issue is a serious one for UH-Manoa, involving not only lecturers but researchers in large numbers.)

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

  • President Mary Tiles reported that there has been a growing concern over the conduct of faculty members and their relations with other faculty and other staff.  The University has had discussions about inappropriate behavior, and the union has been involved in a number of cases.  Directors reported incidents where faculty members have been confrontational to both staff and colleagues, using profanity and abusive language for all to hear.  President Tiles reported that UHPA’s national affiliate, the National Education Association, has a Code of Ethics for its members.  UH-West Oahu Director Adrienne Valdez indicated that the UH Workplace Non-Violence Policy may be viewed at http://www.hawaii.edu/svpa/ep/e9/e9210.pdf.  Directors and Faculty Representatives need to become familiar with this policy.  Faculty having faculty to faculty or faculty to staff conflicts may seek assistance from the Conflict Resolution Center at UH-Manoa or the University ombudsman, and Unit 3 and 8 staff members can receive assistance through their own union, the Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA).
  • A Memorandum of Understanding to put foreign faculty on tenure track is said to be ready for signing but has not been signed yet.  It should take effect next fall.  Foreign faculty without “green cards” will be considered to be on tenure track rather than temporary faculty.
  • Executive Director J. N. Musto and President Tiles attended the Board of Regents’ monthly meeting that was held at Hawaii Community College.  Much time was spent on personnel matters.  Other issues at the BOR meeting included:

The P-20 Council has received $10 million from the Kellogg Foundation.  Funding is earmarked to help all third graders to read at their grade level.

The University’s land sale to the Texas based Hunt Corporation for the construction of the UH-West Oahu campus has finally been signed.

The Community Colleges accreditation review is usually done every six years.  A new report from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) requires another year.

The UH Centennial Recognition Day is scheduled for March 22.  UH coaches will be honored on March 27.

Regents considered another reorganization proposal for the UH system.  UHPA responded adversely to the proposal, reiterating the multiple reporting lines and some going in a circle.  The UH President indicated that as long as the “right” people were in those line positions, there should not be a problem.  President Tiles pointed out that there is a problem with the relationship between the system and the campuses.  Each campus has had to reduplicate positions because it needs to operate as a campus, meanwhile positions remain at the system level.

The Regents approved the appointments of Virginia Hinshaw as the new UH-Manoa Chancellor, Manuel Cabral as the Interim Chancellor for Leeward Community College, and approved the permanent status of John Morton as Vice President for Community Colleges.  Regents also approved salaries for newly appointed administrators.  Information about these appointments may be viewed at http://www.hawaii.edu/newsatuh/2007/0319/printable.php.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

  • Executive Director Musto assured Directors that the issue of workplace violence will be referenced in the next faculty contract.  The UH System Executive Policy on Workplace Non-Violence can be found at http://www.hawaii.edu/apis/ep/e9/e9210.pdf.
  • Testimony was provided by the Executive Director on the proposed reorganization of the UH System.  Regents were informed that since 2001 UHPA has conveyed the fundamental problem between the organizational structure of the UH System and its relationship to the campuses, especially with the UH-Manoa campus that is disproportionably larger and more complex than any of the other campuses.   The break up of the unified Community Colleges into semi-autonomous campuses has also created a “resource inefficiency” without advancing the mission of the community colleges.  Executive Director Musto’s testimony may be viewed at http://www.uhpa.org/news/testimony-concerning-proposed-uh-system-reorganization-plan.
  • During discussions over the development of the UH-West Oahu Campus, UHPA recommended that the Regents’ consider the proposal made by UniDev, LLP as the ideal developer since it tied the campus development to the creation of workforce housing for faculty members at below market prices.  UH President David McClain responded to the testimony of Executive Director Musto by saying that UniDev did not hold exclusive market on this housing development concept.  The UH Regents never considered the UniDev proposal, but accepted the administration to grant the development of UH-West Oahu to the Hunt Corporation.  The UH recently signed a letter of intent to sell 298 acres of university land for $100 million to the Hunt Building Corporation.  This will enable construction to begin for the UH-West Oahu campus at Kapolei.  Although there remains $36 million of general fund appropriations that are needed for capital improvement before UH-West Oahu can break ground, Directors expressed concern for the campus’ continuing operational costs once the campus is built.  The development of workforce housing could have been a source of perpetual and growing revenues to support UH-West Oahu operations.  Other commercial development will not generate the same amounts of revenue over time nor, more importantly, will it offer below market housing opportunities for faculty on all the campuses of Oahu. Directors were concerned that the issue of faculty housing had not been addressed and, therefore, passed the following motion… that the Board of Directors direct Executive Director J. N. Musto to send a letter to UH President David McClain conveying our concerns on the land sale to the Hunt Corporation with regard to faculty housing and the continued funding for the operation of the new UH-West Oahu campus.
  • UHPA Vice President Joseph Chernisky has received approval from Vice President for Community Colleges John Morton to have a Faculty Classification Plan Task Force that would meet to discuss student learning outcomes (SLO), and other proposed changes.  One of the issues to be discussed will be faculty classification.  The Task Force include Chancellors Clyde Sakamoto (Maui CC) and Peggy Cha (Kauai CC), Faculty Senate representatives Harry Davis (Kapiolani CC) and Marcia Roberts-Deutsch (Honolulu CC), UHPA Executive Director J. N. Musto, UHPA Vice President Joseph Chernisky (Leeward CC), and Community Colleges Director of Human Resources Sandra Uyeno.
  • Executive Director Musto announced that he and Associate Executive Director James Kardash will be meeting with UH-Hilo and Hawaii CC administrators and campus leaderships to discuss guideline changes for promotion, tenure, and contract renewal.  This is the first time that a joint meeting with the UHH administrators, division chairs, and the UHPA staff and leadership has occurred.  The meeting is scheduled for March 21.
  • He also announced that Systems Director of Human Resources, Ed Yuen, will retire on April 1.  He has agreed to represent the President’s level on Unit 7 grievance cases and to represent the University in faculty negotiations for the next two years at 40% time.
  • Governor Lingle has decided to reappoint UH-Manoa Professor Emeritus Byron Bender to serve again on the UH Board of Regents.  Dr. Bender was one of three candidates UHPA had nominated for the Board of Regents before his confirmation to the BOR in 2003.  Directors unanimously passed a motion to inform legislators in the Senate and House of Representatives that UHPA supports the reappointment of Dr. Byron Bender as a member of the UH Board of Regents.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Treasurer Ming-Bao Yue reported that UHPA has completed six months of the fiscal year, which began September 2006.  She explained the expenditures that have affected the budget this past month such as the Faculty Representative Forum.  Directors passed a motion to receive the financial report for the fiscal period ending February 28, 2007 and to refer that report to the Finance Committee.

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

Chair Tom Jackson informed Directors that all UHPA members may view the bills that are being tracked by Radcliffe and Associates on the UHPA website.  UHPA members need to log in and go to “Legislature” to find the link to the tracking site http://www.hawaiilobbyist.com/UHPA/.

Last month, Directors approved participation in the Human Rights Day at the State Capitol.  Maui Director Josh Cooper reported there were over forty committee groups, and faculty who participated from other groups expressed their joy and appreciation to see UHPA’s banner and display.

UH-Manoa Director L. Thomas Ramsey will represent the All Campus Council of Faculty Senate Chairs (ACCFSC) on the Candidate Advisory Council to enable legislation for the constitutional amendment.

Directors shared the loss of positions from their campuses.  It was noted that 21 staff and faculty positions were from UH-Manoa and 10.75 positions were from the community colleges.  Funding for those positions, however, were supposedly being used in other areas.

NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

Chair Adrienne Valdez reported the results on the voting to approve the proposed constitutional amendments.  Of the 2,909 ballots sent to members, 501 ballots were returned—representing a 17% participation.  Of this, 7 ballots or 1.4% were spoiled.  There were 469 or 93.6% in favor of the amendments and 25 or 5% not in favor of the amendments. Two-third of votes were in favor of the proposed amendments, therefore the changes take effect immediately.  With the passage of these amendments, the election of UHPA officers and members-at-large can take place before the end of the fiscal period.  That election will take place at the Board of Directors’ meeting in May.  This will allow the new officers to plan over the summer months for UHPA activities during the next academic year.

The nominations and elections process for Board of Director seats that are to expire on August 31, 2007 will begin the week of March 19.  The eight positions include UH-Hilo, Hawaii Community College, Kauai Community College, two UH-Manoa at large seats, UH-Manoa constituency for Education, Business, Law and Architecture, UH-Manoa constituency for CTAHR and Natural Sciences, and UH-Manoa constituency for Social Sciences, Social Work, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Arts and Science.  Deadline for Board nominations is April 6.

The nominations and elections process for Faculty Representatives is currently going on.  Only specific Primary Academic Units (PAU) have open seats.  The deadline for Faculty Rep nominations is March 23.

The nominations and elections process for delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly (RA) is also occurring.  There are twenty positions available to UHPA.  The RA is the annual meeting of UHPA’s national affiliate, the National Education Association.  This year the RA will be held from June 30 through July 5 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.  Deadline for NEA-RA delegate nominations is March 23.

AFL-CIO HAWAII STATE FEDERATION MEETING

UH-West Oahu Director Adrienne Valdez reported on the Hawaii State Federation meeting that she attended in place of President Tiles, who needed to attend another meeting.  An informative presentation was made regarding advanced directives, and much of the meeting was spent discussing political issues.

NEW BUSINESS

1.  Committee Appointments

Directors unanimously passed a motion to confirm the appointment of Richard Nettell (UH-Manoa) as a member of the Collective Bargaining Committee.  His term begins immediately and will end on August 31, 2007.

2.  Faculty Representative Appointment

Nominations and Elections Committee Chair Adrienne Valdez reported that PAU 087 consists of nine faculty members, and they all have indicated their support for the candidate.  The faculty member, who is willing to serve as Faculty Representative, teaches and resides on Kauai.  After due consideration, Directors unanimously passed the appointment of Scott Robinson of UH-Manoa as the Faculty Representative for Primary Academic Unit 087.  His term begins immediately and will end on May 31, 2008.