University faculty union wants a say in MnSCU overhaul

Remember the concern that MnSCU's plan for more campus integration might lead to overcentralization and too much power in St. Paul?

Looks like the university faculty union is trying to head that off at the pass.

The Inter Faculty Organization is asking for a seat at the table when officials figure out how to implement the plan, known as Charting the Future.

The meat of the announcement is in bold below, and the union's letter to the chancellor is below that.

Update: Here's a written response from a MnSCU spokesman:

We are pleased that the IFO has endorsed the core commitments of “Charting the Future.” Chancellor Rosenstone is committed to an implementation process that continues to engage trustees, students, faculty and staff, and presidents, from across our colleges and universities.  He has already reached out to all of these constituencies asking for their ideas and counsel, and looks forward to sharing this input along with his initial thoughts about implementation at the January meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Faculty Union Calls for “Constituency Council” to Implement Charting the Future

 The Inter Faculty Organization (IFO) has endorsed the core commitments of Charting the Future (CTF), and its 3,500 members stand ready to meet those commitments.

“As we move from these recommendations to concrete actions,” said IFO President Nancy Black, “we expect to be a partner in each stage of the implementation process.”

Toward that end, the IFO today [see attached letter] recommended that the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities’ Chancellor Steven Rosenstone forego his January deadline for a draft implementation plan for CTF.  Instead, we recommend that the chancellor convene a Constituency Council to create and design this plan.

“If campus presidents are nervous about the prospects of implementation,” Black said, “our faculty are equally concerned that implementation from the top-down may jeopardize and devalue the strengths of our state universities.”

The faculty union also recommends creating a financial and administrative model that will foster, sustain and reward collaboration.  A model that rewards collaboration and institutionalizes incentives for campus-driven innovation is crucial to realizing future reforms.

 

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/894542-ifo-recommendations-for-implementation-of-ctf-12.html

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