March 1997

What's Happening?

The developments of the last two months have been encouraging. Please read on...

• University-wide:
• The Educational Policy and University Standards Committee (EPUS) is currently addressing the status of honorarium faculty on the four CU campuses by focusing both on the pay scale and the capacity of part-time faculty to develop professionally. Recently, the committee discussed a proposal to eliminate the out-dated and inappropriate term "honorarium" and replace it with two or more titles such as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer. Yearly renewable contract, graduate pay scales, seniority in scheduling, benefits, and research and service components were considered in connection with these positions. The possibility of significantly increasing the pay scale for individual courses was also raised. Although no decisions were made, the committee agreed to resume the discussion at upcoming meetings.
  
• At UCD:
  
• Budget Priorities Committee:
• At a recent meeting of the UCD Budget Priorities Committee (BPC), Chancellor Lesh-Laurie gave a ringing and heart-warming endorsement of our call to rectify the seriously deficient honorarium salaries. A taskforce was formed which, having met once so far, will ultimately advise the committee on questions of salary, logistical support, merit pay, and greater involvement on the part of part-time faculty in school governance. At the most recent meeting, we presented our proposal for a 10% increase. For information and input, contact Lynn Holland (744-9134).
  
• The Faculty Assembly:
• The issue of honorarium representation in the Faculty
• Assembly is of central importance to us. In recent meetings with committee chairs and various administrators, we have learned that in order to obtain representation in the Assembly, Section III of the Assembly's by-laws will have to be amended. Until this happens, we hope to send representatives to these meetings by invitation. Anyone who would like to attend on behalf of the part-time faculty as an informal representative starting this semester can contact Pam Laird (722-7951).
  
• Within Our Departments:
• In light of the many pending questions before the Budget Priorities Committee and the Faculty Assembly, it is really important that we all talk to our full-time colleagues. We need their support. Find out who represents your department in the Assembly and talk to that person. Talk to your chair. Don't hesitate! These matters are important to them, too, and they need to understand the issues. Show them the graph in the last newsletter as evidence. It works.
  
• At the University of Wyoming:
• To integrate their part-time and temporary faculty more fully into its academic life, the University of Wyoming has instituted a system of six-year appointments (known as "Academic Professionals") with regular review procedures, safeguards of academic freedom, and rewards and opportunities for research and service, alongside a relatively few temporary course-by-course appointments, On the whole, despite some drawbacks, the system provides a solid opportunity for professional development to non-tenure track faculty. It is also forging a stronger teaching community, thereby enhancing the overall quality of education.

UCDHA Meeting

April 8, Tuesday

11:00-12:30 NC Room 3115

See Agenda Items on page 2

Bring your lunch and your ideas.
If you can come for any part of the meeting, don't hesitate to drop in; we need your input. If you cannot attend the meeting, contact one of us with your ideas and suggestions.

•Lynn Holland, Campus Box 190; 744-9134

•Pam Laird, Campus Box 182; 722-7951

The UCDHA Charter

For any of you who have not yet signed the Association's Charter, we include it with this year's first newsletter. Take a minute to read it through, then sign it and return it to Lynn Holland, Campus Box 190. Please feel free to send your comments and concerns also. Anyone affiliated with UCD is welcome to express support by signing.

Charter of the

UCD Honoraria Association

Whereas:

•the Honoraria Faculty of the University of Colorado at Denver constitutes a vital and invaluable asset of that institution;

•the Honoraria Faculty represents the fastest growing segment of the University's teaching core;

•the Honoraria Faculty provides a high quality of classroom education;

•the Honoraria Faculty has traditionally had neither role nor voice in the Honoraria salary allocations or any other

aspect of its employment;

the UCD Honoraria Association is hereby founded.

The mission of the Association is to represent Honoraria interests in the decision-making process at the University of Colorado at Denver, particularly relating to the salary scale for the Honoraria community. In the execution of its agenda, priority is to be given to cooperation with other relevant University sectors, most notably the administration and the tenured and tenure-track faculty. Active efforts are to be given to the procurement of new revenue sources, so as not to compete either with what we consider to be already under-funded programs or with other UCD personnel.

Membership in the UCD Honoraria Association is open to all Honoraria in any given semester. There will be no mandatory dues. The Association is to be governed by co-directors and a steering committee. The co-directors and the steering committee are to be chosen annually during the first meeting in the fall semester. Members of the governing body must be employed by the University during the fall and spring semesters of a given academic year. Service on the governing body is to be without remuneration. Should any member of the governing body be forced for whatever reason to resign, a replacement will be chosen during the next meeting of the Association membership.

I ____________________________________ support the mission of the UCD Honoraria Association and choose

to be counted as a member.

______________________________ (date)

Agenda for April 8 Meeting

•Specific items: We will elect co-chairs for the forthcoming year, confirm and add Steering Committee members, and discuss a possible name change for the organization, reflecting our changing status within the University. The definition below points out the inappropriateness of our present name.

•General Items: A detailed progress report and discussion on some of the questions that various meetings with committees, faculty, and administrators have raised since the last UCDHA meeting. This includes the rationale behind our proposal for a 10% raise in compensation for all part-time courses at UCD for the next academic year.

•As always, everyone's input and questions.

Call or write us. . . . Your concerns, ideas, questions, and comments continue to guide the priorities of the organization, keeping us on track. So please keep those letters and phone calls coming. Another way that you can help is to join the growing ranks of those who have signed the UCDHA Charter above. Thanks!