Welcoming New Faculty for Academic Year 2015-16

Last week we held an orientation for our new, full-time faculty and, just yesterday, PSUFA held their orientation for new, part-time faculty.

Over 50 new tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty members attended the September 16 orientation kick-off lunch. They were joined by President Wiewel, the deans, vice provosts and me. President Wiewel shared information about PSU’s current strategic planning effort, facts about the university, and accomplishments of the past year. I spoke about how we all support our new faculty, the resources available, challenges we face, and academic goals for the coming year. During the Q&A, our new faculty asked about our commitment to research, how our budget model works, and how earthquake resistant our buildings are.

Learning More About Interest-Based Bargaining

Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In is a best-selling book by Roger Fisher and William L. Ury

I recently had the privilege to participate in the first day of a two-day Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB) training session for PSU’s Administration and AAUP bargaining teams. I have previously blogged about IBB and held multiple discussions to explore this option.

Highlights
The training was a deep dive to understand the value of IBB, what makes it successful, and to begin to use its principles to work together.

Changing Landscape for Non-tenure Track Faculty

At PSU, like many universities, our Promotion and Tenure Guidelines (pp. 13-18) recognize different faculty classifications. We have tenure-track and tenured faculty; full-time instructional and research non-tenure track faculty (NTTF) (formerly fixed-term faculty); and part-time faculty. Regardless of category or rank, every faculty member contributes to the high quality learning environment and overall student experience.

While we recognize there are differences between classifications and rank, it is vital that we support and respect all faculty; for the benefit of the individual, our students and the University.

Labor Relations Progress and Updates

In my October 2014 blog I shared my thoughts on interest-based bargaining (IBB) and encouraged the University and AAUP to consider this approach.  The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) describes IBB as “a process that enables traditional negotiators to become joint problem-solvers. It assumes that mutual gain is possible, that solutions which satisfy mutual interests are more durable, that the parties should help each other achieve a positive result.”

There have been many positive developments since my posting.

IBB Info Session

On January 22, 2015 the University and AAUP jointly participated in an IBB overview session presented by Janet Gillman, State Conciliator with the Oregon Employment Relations Board.  Janet is familiar with PSU; she served as a mediator for the negotiations last year between the University and AAUP (and is a PSU grad!). She also facilitated the SEIU-PSU IBPS process in May last year and the efforts from that collaboration remain strong today.