{"id":2260,"date":"2014-06-12T09:32:46","date_gmt":"2014-06-12T14:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/?p=2260"},"modified":"2014-06-12T09:47:36","modified_gmt":"2014-06-12T14:47:36","slug":"so-professor-you-dont-think-you-need-a-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/2014\/06\/12\/so-professor-you-dont-think-you-need-a-union\/","title":{"rendered":"So professor, you don’t think you need a union?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Faculty feud with MnSCU chancellor heats up<\/h1>\n
By Mila Koumpilova
\nmkoumpilova@pioneerpress.com<\/a><\/p>\n
POSTED: \u00a0 06\/09\/2014 12:01:00 AM CDT\u00a0|\u00a0UPDATED: \u00a0 2 DAYS AGO<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Steven<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
Steven Rosenstone, left, the new chancellor of MnSCU, talks to Board of Trustees Chair Scott Thiss before a news conference announcing Rosenstone’s new position, January 2, 2011. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Minnesota’s state university faculty union sent a harsh critique of Chancellor Steven Rosenstone’s performance to the MnSCU governing board as it gears up to evaluate him.<\/p>\n

The union and Rosenstone have had a tense relationship. Since last fall, they have clashed over a new strategic planning process for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. And they have been caught in contentious contract negotiations for more than a year.<\/p>\n

In a memorandum Friday to the MnSCU’s Board of Trustees, the union voiced a litany of concerns, arguing the system administration is not attuned to faculty and student input.<\/p>\n

“I have been hearing from faculty increasingly for the past year,” said Nancy Black, the outgoing president of the union, the Inter Faculty Organization.<\/p>\n

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\"Steven<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
Steven Rosenstone (Courtesy photo)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“One of their disenchantments is that it doesn’t appear students are better off now than they were three years ago.”<\/p>\n

MnSCU board chairman Clarence Hightower said in a statement that trustees “unanimously and without reservation” support Rosenstone, whose three-year contract expires in July.<\/p>\n

Rosenstone has had a more amicable relationship with other employee groups and organizations representing students. Those groups voiced measured support for the chancellor’s Charting the Future initiative, which calls for more coordination among the system’s campuses, wider use of education technology and other changes.<\/p>\n

Faculty has voiced concerns that the initiative will lead to a more centralized system that undervalues the liberal arts. Rosenstone has argued the effort is about collaboration and innovation on a rapidly changing higher education scene.<\/p>\n

Black said the university faculty union’s open dissent on Charting the Future and other issues has at least in part snarled contract negotiations. This spring, the two sides enlisted a state mediator to help resolve differences.<\/p>\n

“We are the only part of the system that has vigorously dissented with (Rosenstone), and he doesn’t tolerate dissent,” Black said.<\/p>\n

Citing the mediator’s request that the two sides not discuss the closed-door talks publicly, Black declined to discuss the union’s efforts.<\/p>\n

Hightower said the board is “enthusiastic” about the direction in which Rosenstone had led the system.<\/p>\n

“He is a visionary leader who cares passionately for our students and works tirelessly on their behalf,” he said.<\/p>\n

Trustees will begin their annual evaluation of Rosenstone this month.<\/p>\n

LIST OF CONCERNS<\/p>\n

In its memo to the board, the union criticized Rosenstone for what it deemed an “uninspiring” budget pitch to the Legislature and spending cuts on two MnSCU campuses.<\/p>\n

It argued the system’s legislative proposal was informed by the wishes of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce rather than by student needs. The union previously has questioned Rosenstone’s belief that campuses need to be more responsive to the workforce needs of Minnesota employers to stay relevant.<\/p>\n

The union faulted the system’s office with the handling of two recent high-profile cases:<\/p>\n

— Payroll problems at Metropolitan State University.<\/p>\n

— The firing and rehiring of a Minnesota State Mankato football coach who was accused and then cleared of child pornography.<\/p>\n

The memo also charges that the chancellor ignored faculty input into his budget proposal and did not sufficiently involve faculty in work on Charting the Future.<\/p>\n

Newly formed 18-member implementation teams for the plan feature one university faculty each, Black said.<\/p>\n

Black said faculty morale at state universities was at an all-time low, and members on several campuses discussed no-confidence votes on the chancellor this spring.<\/p>\n

In late May, Rosenstone wrote to the union to say he shared its frustration with the pace of contract talks. He said $17 million in additional state funding for salaries would allow the system to settle the contract with base pay increases rather than one-time bonuses.<\/p>\n

He voiced hope that the change of union leadership this month would allow a “reset” in the relationship when Mankato faculty member James Grabowska takes over for Black.<\/p>\n

CHANCELLOR SUPPORT<\/p>\n

Earl Potter, president of St.\u00a0Cloud State University and of MnSCU’s executive committee, condemned the union’s memo as a “public effort to embarrass and damage the president that is not productive.”<\/p>\n

He said the faculty backlash is ultimately about two issues: the difficult contract talks and faculty resistance to changes envisioned in Charting the Future.<\/p>\n

“The chancellor appropriately and wisely is looking to our future and saying, ‘We need to change to remain viable,” Potter said. “I’ve heard from faculty who don’t believe we need to change.”<\/p>\n

Potter said he and fellow campus presidents reviewed the system’s finances this year and agreed “the money is not there” to meet union contract demands — though the additional state funding helped.<\/p>\n

MnSCU is the state’s largest higher education system and one of the nation’s biggest. Seven universities and 24 community and technical colleges serve more than 400,000 students annually, including almost 60 percent of the state’s undergraduates.<\/p>\n

Rosenstone’s base salary is about $360,000 a year. He is also eligible for up to $50,000 in annual performance pay.<\/p>\n

Average university faculty salary at MnSCU is about $59,680 for an assistant professor, $66,500 for an associate professor and $83,000 for a full professor, according to data provided by the union.<\/p>\n

Mila Koumpilova can be reached at 651-228-2171. Follow her at\u00a0twitter.com\/MilaPiPress<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faculty feud with MnSCU chancellor heats up By Mila Koumpilova mkoumpilova@pioneerpress.com POSTED: \u00a0 06\/09\/2014 12:01:00 AM CDT\u00a0|\u00a0UPDATED: \u00a0 2 DAYS AGO Steven Rosenstone, left, the new chancellor of MnSCU, talks to Board of Trustees Chair Scott Thiss before a news conference announcing Rosenstone’s new position, January 2, 2011. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri) Minnesota’s state university […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2260"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2264,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260\/revisions\/2264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/monte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}