August 2007 Board Notes

/in


NEA HIGHER EDUCATION DIRECTOR’S REPORT  

NEA Higher Education Director Sally
Pestana reported that the Emerging Leader Academy nominations will be
open at the end of November.  UH-Manoa Director Ruth Horie brought back some literature from the NEA Representative Assembly.

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Mary Tiles reported on the recent Board of Regents meeting.  Governor Lingle will be releasing the first quarter of the biennium budget this year, which may include restrictions.  UH
President McClain informed Regents that after his visits to mainland
institutions, he believes there is external pressure to have higher
education shift its focus to generate more degrees by at least 30% to
remain competitive with other countries.

President Tiles informed Directors that
during her term in office UHPA negotiated a six-year contract that
allowed the organization to avoid constant bargaining.  While this was controversial, a 32% total increase in salary was obtained.  She added that UHPA has made significant changes.  The
Akala Lane property across from UHPA has been acquired and
modifications, including a bridge and conference room between the two
structures, are being developed.  The Board of Directors
no longer meets at the Campus Center Executive Dining Room, and we no
longer need to rent facilities to hold meetings since the Akala
building has significant space.  UHPA is in good financial condition and there is no mortgage due.

In closing, she expressed her
appreciation to Directors for their service on the Board and spending
their Saturday mornings at UHPA.  She especially was grateful to members of the Executive Committee for their support and commitment.

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Executive Director J. N. Musto reported on the following:

  • Directors
    passed a motion in June to have staff convey to the Chancellors the
    need to have DPCs and/or TPRCs trained on the tenure review process and
    that their decisions should be made independently from those made
    earlier.  UH-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw has acknowledged her concurrence.
  •  An update was given on the Faculty Classification Plan Task Force meetings.  No agreement has been reached as revisions are being made.  The administration would like the Board of Regents to approve the Community Colleges Classification Plan proposal in September.
  • UHPA has received the 2007-2008 Community Colleges Promotion and Tenure Guidelines, and there are no significant changes.  Executive
    Director Musto will be meeting with Leeward CC faculty, the first group
    to discuss the promotion and tenure guidelines.
  • UHPA has applied for a Membership Project Grant with the National Education Association.  If approved, UHPA will pilot an electronic voting program.  An
    attitudinal survey will be conducted of the membership and different
    vendors will be looked at to see who has the program that best fits our
    needs.  This could resolve our absentee ballot problem of folks on leave at the time of voting.  There
    are many faculty members on ships, in foreign countries, or on the
    mainland and ballots cannot be returned by the deadline.  Executive Director Musto is confident UHPA’s grant request will be approved.
  • We
    have requested, through our UHPA website, faculty members to assist in
    an effort to gain credit for compensation paid for overload teaching
    summer session or extension programs, or from grants or special
    projects during their non-duty period, in the     Employees’ Retirement System (ERS).  UHPA
    believes that those salary payments should be included in determining a
    faculty member’s “high three” salaries for the purpose of the
    retirement pension calculation.  We will need individual
    faculty members to represent our class action in petitioning the ERS to
    include these other sources of income in the ERS determination of
    defined pension benefits.
  •  An update was given on the six tenure denial cases appealed to Hearing Officers under Article XII of the 2003-2009 Agreement.  One case has been settled while Hearing Officers are being selected for the other cases.
  • Executive
    Director Musto attended the National Conference of State Legislators
    (NCSL) in Boston, which focused on higher education.  One of the keynote addresses included a four-member panel discussing the future and challenges of American higher education.  They
    included Hank Brown, President of the University of Colorado; Patrick
    Callan, President of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher
    Education; Phyllis Eisen, Senior Vice President at the National
    Association of Manufacturers; and Jim Hunt, former Governor of North
    Carolina.  They discussed accountability and how higher education is not preparing students for globalization in the 21st century.  Legislators
    were informed that they need to examine their higher education systems
    so that they can “set the mission for the state colleges and
    universities.”  Informational documents from the conference were shared with Directors.  Next
    year the NCSL will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana from July 20-27,
    and the following year, the NCSL will hold its annual meeting in
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from July 20-25, 2009.
  • UH
    President David McClain and UHPA Executive Director Musto have
    informally discussed beginning the negotiations for the next faculty
    contract.  The current Agreement expires on June 30, 2009,
    but it will require approval of the State Legislature no later than May
    2009, so bargaining must conclude before the contract expires.  UHPA hopes that formal bargaining will begin in Spring 2008.
  • In closing, Dr. Musto had laudatory comments about Mary Tiles’ leadership, including the outstanding accomplishments during her presidency.  Of particular note was her leadership the development of the new UHPA
    website and her outstanding leadership of the Board of Directors during
    the difficult times of collective bargaining, ratification, and
    implementation of significant new contract language, including
    extraordinary salary provisions and the creation of job security for
    non-tenured faculty.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT

Treasurer Ming-BaoYue reported that UHPA has gone through eleven months of the fiscal year’s budget.  She reported the major expenditures for the last two months.  Directors passed a motion to
receive the financial reports for the fiscal periods ending June 30 and
July 31, 2007 and to refer those reports to the Finance Committee.

 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

  • Directors
    were informed that Executive Committee members continued the discussion
    concerning UHPA’s Constitution and By-Laws compliance with Hawaii’s
    corporate not-for-profit laws.  Directors passed a motion to table the discussion.  Staff will provide the Executive Committee with the faculty count on each campus.
  • Directors unanimously passed a motion to
    approve the electronic voting of Board of Directors and Faculty
    Representative elections as a pilot program contingent upon receiving
    the NEA membership grant    .
  • Directors met in Executive Session to consider a grievance case presented by staff.  They passed a motion to appeal the grievance case of a UH-Manoa faculty member to arbitration for violation of the disciplinary article.

 

LEGISLATIVE/POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES

Directors approved the motion to
purchase a Lehua table ($2,500) for the Hawaii Republican Party’s 2007
Governor Linda Lingle’s Ball scheduled for October 6, 2007 at the
Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel Coral Ballroom.

Directors deferred taking action to
appoint a member to the Legislative Committee since the individual was
not yet an UHPA member.

 

RECOGNITION OF OUTGOING DIRECTORS

President Tiles recognized and thanked outgoing Director L. Thomas Ramsey, who was appointed in January 2007 to fill the remaining UH-Manoa at-large position until August 31, 2007.  She also expressed her appreciation and aloha to Kauai Director James McFarland.  President Tiles announced that UH-Manoa Directors Amy Anderson and Jerome Comcowich
were not present; however, she wished to convey the Board’s
appreciation and to recognize their service on the Board of Directors.

 

RESOLUTION FOR UHPA PRESIDENT MARY TILES

 UHPA Board of Directors

Special UHPA Resolution

Recognition of Professor Mary E. Tiles

 

RATIONALE:

WHEREAS, Professor Mary E. Tiles
has been an outstanding President of the University of Hawai’i
Professional Assembly (UHPA) for five years, and has dutifully served
on the Board of Directors for eleven years;

WHEREAS, Professor Mary E. Tiles
has made significant contributions to UHPA’s sustained growth in the
areas of website development, contract negotiations, organizational
planning and improvement of our faculty support base;

WHEREAS, Professor Mary E. Tiles’
professional specialization in the Philosophy of Science and Technology
has led her, in particular, to champion and contribute to the
University’s sustainability plan;

WHEREAS, Professor Mary E. Tiles’
due diligence and dedication has been premised on doing that which is
right for the collective good;

 

RESOLUTION:

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that
the UHPA Board of Directors rise to the occasion to formally express
its sincere appreciation for Professor Mary E. Tiles’ leadership, her
professional contributions, and her dedicated service to the UHPA;

WE, FURTHER, WISH Professor Mary
E. Tiles continued success in her new initiatives on behalf of the
faculty and the University and in her distinguished academic career.

 

(MOTION unanimously approved by the Board of Directors on August 11, 2007)

 

 

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