MEN’S GYMNAST NGAI MAKES HISTORY WITH NCAA TITLE PAGE B1 THURSDAY April 21, 2016
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What's next? BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
Students who walked past the English Building, had a class canceled or had their class location moved were impacted by a strike held by the Non-Tenure Faculty Coalition Tuesday and Wednesday. Union President Shawn Gilmore said no further work actions are currently planned in the near future, but they are looking forward to meeting with a federal negotiator on April 27. Depending on the outcome of the session, the entire coalition’s membership could meet again to discuss further work actions. Between 300 and 400 people participated in picketing from non-tenure faculty to solidarity groups. They had a large impact on bringing awareness to what the coalition is fighting for and to inspiring other nontenure faculty as well. Campus
“The campus and NTFC have important and principled differences that deserve discussion� - Interim Chancellor Wilson, Interim Provost Edward Feser
spokeswoman Robin Kaler said the impact of the strike was minimal on students. Twenty-three classes were moved from the English Building and met in a different location. The administration has not received any complaints from students or parents. There should be official numbers of how many faculty members participated by next week. A survey will be sent out and those who striked will not be paid as required by state law. The strike came after the union had been in negotiations for their first contract with the University since October 2014. However, this is a normal time frame for working through a first contract. “As always we remain committed to working together to work through these issues,� Kaler said. For the first time everyone wants to be careful to find the best language, the best words and to make sure they get a good contract. “It doesn’t mean we want to go slowly, we would like it to be resolved as quickly as
“I personally encourage the administration to have more productive talks,� Alex Villanueva, junior in LAS
“It’s disheartening that they aren’t giving that process a chance to work,� - Robin Kaler, Campus spokeswoman
“Ourmembers are telling the administration: Enough is enough!� - Kay Emmert, lead negotiatior
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A member of the Non-Tenure Faculty Coalition picketing outside the English Building on Tuesday.
“It’s their decision to cut back on tenure track positions and to rely on this faculty. �
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“The U of I wants to recruit the very best candidates in the world for this position.� TOM HARDY
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that decision will ultimately be made in conjunction with the search committee and University trustees. A job description for the position was posted on the Office of the chancellor’s website that noted transparency as a strong quality for candidates to have. “A work ethic that prioritizes shared governance, integrity and transparency as core values that shape all campus processes and decision-making,� the website said. Landscape Architecture professor D. Fairchild Ruggles said that these fi nalist interviews should adhere to the principles of transparency that they will be placed under as Chancellor.
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“If we seek a candidate who will steward faculty governance and transparency on this campus, we cannot do so through procedures that subvert those very principles,� Ruggles said. “Our hiring process must match our stated objectives.� Languages professor Harriet Murav said that while he respects his colleagues on the chancellor search committee greatly he still does not agree with this confidentiality. “This is not the openness this campus in particular needs, given our recent history,� Murav said. “We need a chancellor who supports the rights of our non-tenure stream fac-
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ulty colleagues to unionize and have a fair contract. I doubt very much that this issue will be properly addressed, absent a public hearing.� Murav, Ruggles and Romero are all published backers of a letter to President Killeen in September of last year titled “Statement of Principles for the Appointment of a Permanent Chancellor and Provost.� In the letter, the three along with 21 other faculty members, call for former Academic Senate members to not be part of the search process. The letter said former Chancellor Phyllis Wise and Provost Ilesanmi Ade-
Faculty, students react to discovery courses’ suspension BY ALI BRABOY STAFF WRITER
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Portrait of President Timothy Killeen.
sida resigned in the wake of a growing crisis many believed was caused by “efforts to subvert, circumvent, and ignore the principles of shared governance.� “Some current and former Senate leaders are implicated in these matters. They should play no formal role in the selection of a permanent chancellor and provost,� it said. In addition to Killeen and the 15-member search committee, this search for chancellor also involves firm Greenwood/Asher, who have been paid $838,677 in contracts by the University over the past five years, which is part of the $5.6 million spent overall on administrative searches at UI's three campuses. The search fi rm is in charge of creating a timeline for the search, facilitating background checks and arranging meetings between the committee and the candidate. Killeen said at the April 3 session that they aim to have a decided chancellor by this year’s fall semester. Applications for chancellor will be accepted until May 13.
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Discovery classes have been suspended for fall 2016 in light of the uncertain funding at the University due to the Illinois budget impasse. Since 1994, discovery courses have allowed firstyear students to enroll in classes presented by faculty in classrooms with no more than 19 students. For Charles Tucker, vice provost for Undergraduate Education and Innovation, canceling the courses was the smart decision. “It’s prudent to look at the things that are the most important to you and the things that are somewhat less important,� said Tucker. The University’s top priorities for students are financial aid and the timely completion of their degrees, he said. Beyond that, the University is focused on recruiting and retention. The decision to suspend the courses was made by the Office of the Provost in consultation with the colleges. It was made within the last two months after the Office of Provost discussed with colleges about their highest priorities, Tucker said. He believes that discovery courses offered an
experience for freshmen, but certain elements must come first. “That’s a great experience for students, but for nobody is it a required course. So it’s unfortunate that we’re not going to be able to offer that experience at that scale next fall,� he said. “But it’s more important to us that we have enough math classes, enough rhetoric classes, enough history classes and so forth.�
The effect on students “I think it’s a real tragedy,� said Steven Beckett, director of Trial Advocacy in Law, on the suspension of the discovery courses. Though he understands the courses were suspended due to the state budget, the ultimate victims of the courses being suspended are the students, he said. The core of learning at the University has to be there. Certain courses have impacts on students and help them to discover themselves, Beckett said. He has encouraged freshmen to test the waters with courses; ultimately, it’s their happiness at stake with what major they pursue. Beckett experienced this
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Candidates to remain out of public eye University President Timothy Killeen announced that the chancellor candidates will remain a secret with no public interviews despite being open to it initially. The chancellor search committee and Killeen came to this decision after reviewing the practices of the University and other nearby top-tier institutions as well as listening to concerns of some of the candidates who said they would not participate in a public search. The confidentiality of the process itself is not unusual for chancellor searches. Tom Hardy, University spokesman said this confidentiality has always been the norm. “As is the case with a vast preponderance of peer institutions, top tier private and public research universities,� Hardy said. “The U of I maintains the confi dentiality of the candidates throughout the search process and the only identity divulged is the person eventually selected for the job.� Current candidates for the job may be working in senior positions at different schools or businesses, which is why confidentiality is necessary to collect the best candidates, Hardy said because they may not wish to make it known that they are looking to move elsewhere. “The U of I wants to recruit the very best candidates in the world for this position,� Hardy said. “Public searches at this level tend to diminish the candidate pool as strong contenders may opt out.� Professor of Latina / Latino studies Rolando J. Romero said that while he
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Non-Tenure Faculty Coalition
CHANCELLOR SEARCH
can understand how applicants may not want their own campuses or businesses to know they applied for the position, it affects the process. “Unfortunately it hinders an open process, since the University community does not know the particular proclivities, vision or credentials of the applicants,� Romero said. At an Academic Senate meeting last fall, professor in the college of engineering Prasanta Kalita suggested allowing two or three of the finalists to present their vision as chancellor to faculty and students. Killeen responded and said he was open to all options, though he clarified
Editorial Board applauds the decorum of the NTFC picketers
“The typical professor today makes less than they did 30 years ago.�
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ASSISTANT DAYTIME EDITOR
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