My optimism about the impending failure of HB 7193 is at an all-time high. Not that this is saying much. Here is what I know.
- Bill Proctor, head of the House Committee on Education, will be meeting with the Council of Presidents this coming Thursday, April 7. Or maybe Monday, April 4. I've heard discussion about both dates.
- Valencia's President, Dr. Sandy Shugart, has publicly stated to the Orlando Sentinel that he strongly opposes the bill. He has also informed employees at Valencia that this bill was a complete surprise to him and that it was never discussed with the Council of Presidents.
- I have spoken to several folks this week involved in law and politics. None of them think this bill will go very far. Of course, none of them thought it would ever come into existence, so this bullet point is not as comforting as it might otherwise be.
There is very little new to report today. I did find a copy of the InsideHigherEd.com article from Tuesday posted on the UFF-FAU blog... which was interesting. The universities are worried. And well they should be.
I am encouraged greatly by the amount of activity this blog is starting to generate. I'm very good with social media and using it to inform people about something, so this blog... that's easy. However my experience as an activist is limited. These are my plans. Let me know if I should be doing anything else.
- Gather a core group of faculty at my college to write a white paper on the importance of tenure in student learning. This may or may not be necessary. It may or may not be useful. But it cannot hurt.
- Keep updating this blog regularly and posting links to it wherever possible. The more people who know about this, the better. Divided, we are conquered far more easily.
- Keep writing and calling my representative and encouraging others to do the same.
- Talk to reporters. A student reporter from UCF is meeting me on Monday. I am hopeful that this opportunity to appeal to college students may generate some support among that population.
5 comments:
You are doing great!!! Keeping us informed is the first step in staying undivided.
There have been reports that, in light of budget cuts at the state and federal levels, some students are willing to pay more tuition to ensure they receive a quality education. It has been suggested (but not substantiated) that an underlying motivation behind this bill is to enable college administrators, especially in light of budget cuts, to more easily terminate faculty who are making the highest salaries - often the result of more years invested at the institution. Perhaps this could be spun into a "cost" issue in favor of faculty - to help ensure a quality education, which is what students want, then colleges/the state must be willing to make the financial investment to provide that. (Sorry, the idea is still developing and I am thinking aloud.)
And I have yet to clearly understand how tenure "costs" more.
A report that I read (http://www.facc.org/facc/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=12305&SnID=2) stated that Rep. Frensen, who put this forward did so on behalf of college presidents - but which ones? And the rebuttal has been made by the CEO of the Association of Florida Colleges CEO Michael Braward insists that "the bill is looking for a problem where none exists". He went so far as to "challenge Rep. Fresen to enter a dialogue with us and let us provide the information he needs to see that all of our colleges already have the flexibility to address local and regional workforce needs and tailor programs as needed to meet those needs."
Fresen also rejected the idea that eliminating tenure "would limit the ability of college to attract the best teachers," saying "college presidents have made it clear to him they are not concerned about that possibility". I find that claim problematic because i) he has not stated which "college presents" (like when students write "research shows" but do not cite the source) and ii) I think that college presidents SHOULD be concerned about this - which causes me to further doubt the validity of that statement.
Thanks Brian, but you have to say that because we are married. :)
J.D.... every source I've spoken to states that the presidents are quite concerned about competing with universities for talent in a post-tenure world. So I don't know what universe Fresen lives in... but it's not the same one I'm living in.
J.D., somehow I think Fransen, who's a fairly new representative just starting his second term, might have picked up on some remarks made a couple of weeks ago by Speaker Cannon, and thought he'd just put together a bill that did what the big boss wanted and make a name for himself. It may be blowing up in his face as I write, and I have to say I hope so. It might be that some community college presidents wished aloud for more flexibility at some point, but Fransen's ramming this thing through committee without consulting, or even notifying, them was very poor politics.
What I've done: I've written both my local newspapers (I'm in Highlands County, where people still read newspapers), and written my state representative, Denise Grimsley.
I have used my personal Facebook page to raise awareness, as have others. If this blog had a Facebook presence I could invite people to join it.
The Democratic party could add it to their list of issues. It might be possible to get the AAUP interested in this matter, and perhaps the AAUW (since so many community college faculty are women). A national spotlight wouldn't hurt, though there's just so much bad news for educators right now that it might be hard to get attention. Finally, it should be possible to work for the defeat of each of the representatives who voted to move it out of committee, when they stand for re-election.
They are cutting --is it 6500 state jobs? more? -- now, and in a way I feel perhaps a little selfish. Even so, this bill has very bad long-term consequences for the whole state. And it has made me realize just how tenuous my own situation is, and how little the state of Florida values what I do. So it was good for consciousness-raising, I suppose.
Charlotte Pressler
We now have a Facebook presence... I'm about to post the link in the sidebar. Thanks for the great idea Charlotte!
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