Interview with Gillian Mason, conducted by Jennifer Berkshire, newsletter editor
FALL 13
Tell us about Scholars for Social Justice—what does the group do?
Scholars for Social Justice is a group of academics who are invested in social justice and are interested in fighting corporatization both inside and outside of the university. We’ve currently got just over 300 members and they come from all over the state from Amherst to Boston. We try to amplify their voices and connect them to opportunities for activism on issues that matter most to them.
Welcome to the 8th issue of Union News. We’re covering some interesting and important stories: the Governor’s higher education budget and the recent Advocacy Day at the statehouse, the new 2:2 teaching schedule, proposed changes to retiree health insurance, the importance of the family leave policy for both tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty, a teachers strike in Haiti, and more.
By Lorenzo Nencioli, Membership Coordinator, UMass Faculty Staff Union
SPRING 13
On Tuesday, March 5th, hundreds of students, faculty, and staff from around the state, including a large contingent from UMass Boston, gathered at the State House for the Public Higher Education Advocacy Day. Their goal was simple: tell their legislators to support Governor Patrick’s proposal to increase public higher education spending by $152 million in 2014.
The pilot conversion in the College of Liberal Arts to move all tenure-track and tenured faculty in CLA onto a standard 2-2 teaching schedule began this semester, and, with your help, the Faculty Staff Union (FSU) will be carefully monitoring the effects of the conversion on all faculty, including non tenure track. While the implementation of the new policy is likely to have a major impact, the Dean’s Office has indicated that no official monitoring is planned.
