Nuts & Bolts: Executive Committee meetings, annual elections, Anti Racism Grant Recipients, Simulation Lab instructors, MTA legislative agenda and MTA Benefits
1/27/2025
Dear Faculty and Librarians,
Welcome to the spring semester. Hard to say spring as we just experienced below average temperatures the past four weeks. The positive is that mid-January is traditionally the coldest time of the year so we can only go up.
FSU Executive Committee Meetings
FSU Executive Committee meetings are open to all FSU members. Spring 2025 meetings are being held on Fridays from 3:30PM to 5:00PM in Zoom. Meeting dates are February 7th, February 21st, March 7th, March 28th, April 11th, April 25th and May 9th.
An email with the agenda and zoom link will be sent no later than Thursday afternoon on meeting weeks.
FSU Annual Election:
The FSU Elections Committee will be sending an email with details of our annual elections with nominations opening later this week and voting taking place prior to spring break.
2024/2025 Anti Racism Grant Recipients
The Anti Racism Grant program was added to our 2020-2023 collective bargaining agreement (Article 26.6.1.b.2). At that time the funding pool was $25,000. In 2023 we were able to raise it to $45,000. The Executive Committee creates a committee to review and determine award recipients. The list is then submitted to the provost for confirmation. Confirmation was recently received, and we are now able to announce the recipients.
Promoting Anti-Racism through Continued Community Care among UMB Black Women Faculty and Connection to Boston-Wide Women of Color in the Academy Network, $5800
Faculty: Tahirah Abdullah, Azizah Jord'an, and Karen Okigbo
Access to Wealth and Economic Empowerment (AWE) Program, $2000
Faculty: Kristen Callahan
Speaker Series, "“Divest from Racism and Genocide" $5000
Faculty: FSJP/Heike Schotten
Ubuntu Dialogues: Cultivating Community Through Race Conversations at UMB, $4000
Faculty: Patricia Naya, Jared Poole, and Alessia Contu
A Struggle for Equality: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias, $2700
Faculty: Marisol Negron
En Route to Institutionalizing Racial Literacy Among UMB Literacy Educators: Fostering Interdepartmental Engagement, $6500
Faculty: Patricia Krueger-Henney
Unveiling Racialized Emotions: A Coaching & Shadow Work Program for Antiracist Leadership Development, $4000
Faculty: Samantha Erskine
Building an Anti-Racist and Health-Promoting Campus through Restorative Justice and Activism: Bridging the Past, Reimagining the Future, $15,000
Faculty: Suha Ballout, Keith Jones, Tony Van Der Meer
Watch this space for events related to these projects.
Thank you to the Anti Racism Committee for their work in reviewing over twenty applications: Karen Grayson, Jared Poole, Patricia Krueger-Henney, Lynne Benson and Andrew Elder.
Welcome to the College of Nursing Simulation Lab Instructors
The simulation lab instructors are now FSU members. An agreement has been reached moving the instructor position from the professional staff union to the faculty staff union.
MTA 2025 Legislative Agenda
The new state legislative session began in early January. This is the time of year when proposed bills are filed. MTA is supporting legislation on debt free education, fair wages for public higher education employees and that collective bargaining agreements be funded within thirty days of submission to the legislature.
To learn more about these bills and how you can get involved, join MTA members on Wednesday, January 29th at 7PM (virtual). Click here to register.
MTA Benefits: BJs Wholesale Club Membership
Join or renew your membership and save! All MTA discount enrollments must be done via phone. For details (and the phone number), log into your MTA Benefits account. Enrollment deadline is January 31st.
Have a great semester!
Sincerely,
Caroline Coscia
FSU President
Senior Lecturer II
Political Science Department