Mt. Ida- our campaign is working! Plus other important information

2/13/2020

Dear Colleague,

Some important updates are here. 

►Mt Ida:  It worked!  Because a member wrote to State Senator Ann Gobi, and I met with her and the legislators serving on the Joint Committee on Higher Education, the Senator will look into having a hearing on Mt. Ida.  She recalls the promises of no competition from that campus with UMB.  I delivered our petition with 435 signatures to her and Representative Jeffrey Roy.  Let’s keep this on their minds.  If you have not yet done so, send them an email: anne.gobi@masenate.gov  and Jeffrey.Roy@mahouse.gov.  A sample one is attached. 

If you have yet to sign the petition, please do so as well here  and share on your social media.  UMass Amherst is now offering a Business and Analytics program that directly competes with offerings at UMass Boston, and it wants to offer 35 other programs, including a master’s degree in Accounting and one in Computer Science (for a list of course offerings, see the attached), and will offer Geographical Information Science courses. Stop this competition among UMass campuses and let’s have the UMass system operate as a system, not as competing campuses. 

► Facilities Issues: The FSU met with the new facilities director, Michael Kearns, to discuss issues raised by members such as roof leaks, office lights not working, etc.  To fix a problem, still obtain a work order https://www.umb.edu/facilities/services.  If there’s no response, email David.Torrice@umb.edu.   Still no response or if the problem is not resolved?  Email Michael.Kearns@umb.edu.  Let us know if this works.

► DPC/CPC training is on Tuesday, March 10^th, 2:30-4:30 pm in the Alumni Lounge (2^nd floor, Campus Center). Co-sponsored by the Office for Faculty Development and the FSU, this is designed to inform DPC and CPC chairs or their representatives the responsibilities of the DPC’s and CPC’s in the promotional and personnel processes.  Knowledge of the promotional procedures outlined in the contract and university policies is essential to ensure that the best practices for personnel procedures are utilized and to avoid taking actions for violations of the contract.  Therefore, we strongly encourage all Departments to send DPC and CPC chairs to attend this training.

► Higher Ed Advocacy Day, Monday, March 2 at the State House.  Come lobby for more funds for higher education.  See the attached flyer.  There will be an abbreviated lobby and lunch bus from UMB leaving at 11:30 and returning at 1:30 pm for those interested. 

For FSU/MTA Members in Good Standing

Sincerely,

Marlene Kim

FSU President

Professor, Economics

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