From Donald Kreutzer

8/25/09 11:21 AM

Hi Leo

I believe that if there is a public discussion or debate on an issue, the first rule is that everyone needs to agree to use facts not hyperbole. One of the key points in your email was “Ask the Storrs faculty- they have realized no gains over what UCHC faculty have received”. What data/fact base or Storrs faculty have you used to make these assertions? It can be documented in the AAUP contract that the Storrs faculty routinely receive 5% salary increases (3% base and 2% merit), with the merit distribution decided by the faculty in each department. Additionally, AAUP members receive annual development funds from the University, of over $600,000 per year (AAUP contract). With AAUP support in the legislature, the Storrs faculty have benefited with over 2 billion dollars in construction dollars, compared to the relatively small dollars received on the Farmington campus. In the area of salaries, the Storrs faculties are among the highest paid state university faculty in New England and the US. Most importantly, Storrs AAUP members are guaranteed due processes and cannot simply be terminated without cause, which is the current situation for most of the UCHC faculty (i.e. in residence faculty). The Storrs faculties also have a meaningful voice in the university. The Storrs faculty are also not threatened by onerous employment contracts in which they have no voice, as is the case for clinical faculty. Also, they do not have furlough days forced on them without a voice. There are no demands by the Storrs administration that Storrs faculty must generate 50% to 200% of their salary or their salaries will be cut. Additionally, there is no attack on the principles of tenure occurring, as is the case on the Farmington campus. In fact, tenure remains a cornerstone of the Storrs campus with the overwhelming number of Storrs faculty in tenured/tenure track positions. On the Farmington campus the tenured faculty has decreased to the point that only a minority of the UCHC faculty are tenured/tenure track. In summary, the Storrs faculty and the University as a whole, have benefited greatly from AAUP representation, compared to faculty on the Farmington campus. The positive impact of the AAUP on the Storrs faculty and the University is not an opinion it has been attested to by the past presidents of the University of Connecticut (letters available from the Storrs AAUP).

Don