April 28, 2022

FSU Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

April 28, 2022 (Zoom)

Executive Committee Members Present: Steve Striffler; Caroline Coscia; Lynne Benson; Dana Commesso; Monique Fuguet; Sana Haroon; Jessica Holden; Meghan Kallman; Linda Liu; José Martinez-Reyes; Jeff Melnick

Others Present: Katie D’Urso (MTA rep); Ann Evans

1. Approve Minutes and Agenda: Motion to approve the agenda and the minutes of the April 7 e-vote on MTA delegates, the April 7 Executive Committee meeting, and the April 14 FSU Annual Meeting. Motion seconded. Motion passes.
   
    
2. MTA Financial Training: MTA and NEA are offering a two-part training on how to analyze university finances. There will be a virtual two-hour training on May 10 that will serve as an overview and preparation for a two-day in-person session on September 30 and October 1. Reach out to any interested FSU members who would like to attend.
   
    
3. Mt. Ida: State House news service reported an amendment regarding UMass Amherst and Mt. Ida. There is a budget line stating that UMA will study and report to the legislature on degree programs in the school of education and public health to be based out of Mt Ida. Discussion of strategy for pushing back.
   
    
4. OER/Low-Cost Textbooks: Starting in the fall, faculty can get a bonus for selecting a low-cost textbook. This will be noted in WISER. Discussion of impact on faculty, including textbook selections, standardization of classes, and academic freedom.
   
    
5. HELU Vote: Motion to endorse HELU framework and appoint Joe Ramsey as the FSU’s delegate to HELU. Motion seconded. Motion passes.
   
    
6. FSU Digital Collection: The newly-launch FSU digital collection is now available through University Archives and Special Collections at https://openarchives.umb.edu. Digital collection currently includes FSU contracts and newsletter, with additional materials to be added.
   
    
7. MOU Committees: FSU needs to keep pushing on these because they were part of our contract agreement.
   
    
8. FSU Committees: There are some empty spaces on FSU committees that we need to fill. Motion to approve grievance officers for next year: Heidi Stanish, Ellen Frank, Glover Martin, Paul Dyson, and Laurie Milliken. Motion seconded. Motion passes. Ellen Frank and Tim Sieber serve on the JCC committee on arbitration, grievances, meeting with colleagues from UMass Amherst. FSU will need at least one new person for this committee since Tim is retiring.
   
   
   
   Motion to move into Executive Session. Motion seconded. Motion passes unanimously.
   
    
9. EXECUTIVE SESSION

MEETING ADJOURNS