General Assembly, Thursday, June 25, 2-3pm
Click Here to View the Video Recording of this Meeting
Agenda for General Assembly, Thursday, June 25, 2-3pm
2:00-2:15 Call to Order and Introduction: Presided by Jessica Summers, Chair of the Faculty Senate, who will discuss the role of shared governance, introduce key members, overview of the meeting, the vote, the process, the expected outcomes, the formation of an ad hoc committee, what we hope will come out of the recommendation to administration after the vote, and next steps. The purpose of an ad-hoc committee is to work with executive leaders to carefully study, revise, clarify, and communicate the furlough/salary-based furlough/pay cut plans to employee stakeholders.
2:15-2:30 Presentation by Coalition for Academic Justice at UA members, providing rationale for the vote on extension of the current furlough model(s). The proposal is to delay the start dates of the furlough/salary-based furlough/pay-cut programs from the current July 1 start date to September, 2020.
2:30-2:45 Consideration of the motion.
2:45-2:50 Presentation of the Vote.
2:50-3:00 Follow-up and meeting adjournment.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE ZOOM MEETING
General Assembly FAQ’s
· Why are we having a general assembly? Over 300 UA faculty members petitioned the Chair of the Faculty to vote on delaying the onset of the current university furlough/salary-based furlough/pay reduction plans from July 1 to September 2020. Faculty bylaws state that “Written petitions of five percent (5%) or one hundred (100) members of the General Faculty, whichever is smaller, shall be sufficient to call a Meeting of the General Faculty. Such petition, presented to the Chair of the Faculty, shall state the purpose(s) of the intended meeting.”
· Who can attend the general assembly? Anyone can attend the general assembly. According the Faculty Bylaws, “Meetings of the General Faculty shall be open to the public except when that body decides to meet in Executive Session.” Please register for the meeting in advance using the information below.
· How can I attend the meeting? You can register for the meeting at:
Registration is closed.
The Zoom meeting link is shared upon registration.
· How can I participate in the meeting? Because the University of Arizona Zoom license can only accommodate up to 200 people in a regular meeting, the Webinar format will be used. We request that those attending the meeting submit their questions via the Q&A feature (not chat), and those monitoring the Q&A will answer your questions in real time as quickly as they can. If time runs out before your question is answered, we will post answers after the meeting.
· How does the Q & A feature of Zoom work? Please look for guidance on Q & A functions and participation here.
· Who is presiding over the meeting? The Chair of the Faculty will preside over the meeting.
· Why is the meeting called “General Assembly” instead of “Meeting of General Faculty?” The term “General Assembly” is used to communicate inclusivity and participation of our University community in shared governance processes.
· How will voting be conducted, and who is allowed to vote? According to the Faculty Bylaws, “At meetings of the General Faculty, voting shall be by viva voce, by a show of hands, by a rising vote, or by ballot, as decided by the presiding officer, provided, however, that it shall always be in order to move for a vote by ballot. By a majority vote at a meeting of the General Faculty the pending action may be subject to a mail or electronic ballot by the General Faculty.” Therefore, General Faculty attending the meeting will be asked to vote via a Qualtrics ballot in real time to forward vote on the delay of furlough/salary-based furlough/pay reduction plans by ballot to the General Faculty. If the motion is approved, then a second Qualtrics ballot will be presented in real time to vote on the delay. General Faculty will have 24 hours to cast their ballot.
· What happens during “consideration of the motion?” During consideration of the motion, members of the General Faculty will have the opportunity for debate of the motion. In order to take the floor, General Faculty will be recognized by the chair by raising their hands in Zoom. To raise your hand, please see the instructions here.
· Will we be able to vote on other issues? Because the purpose of the meeting needs to be stated a week beforehand, we cannot vote on issues that are not explicit in the agenda. However, a poll will be taken in the case of amendments to the original motion if necessary. The Chair of the Faculty will generate the poll for General Faculty participants only.
· Will we be able to vote on other issues? Because the purpose of the meeting needs to be stated a week beforehand, we cannot vote on issues that are not explicit in the agenda.
· How do I know if I’m a member of the General Faculty? Members of the general faculty include: Individuals who hold at least half-time tenured, tenure-eligible, or continuing eligible faculty appointments; Individuals who hold at least half-time multi-year career-track appointments; Individuals who have held at least half-time year-to-year career-track faculty appointments for three (3) of the past four (4) years and who currently hold lecturer or ranked professorial titles that do not include an adjunct or visiting modifier, and, individuals who hold Emeritus status. Individuals who are not certain of their general faculty membership status may crosscheck their name and information in the University of Arizona Phone Book.
· What if I can’t attend the meeting but I would still like to vote as a General Faculty Member? If the motion for a ballot is approved by those attending the meeting, General Faculty will have 24 hours to vote on the postponement of the furlough/salary-based furlough/pay reduction plans.
· Will the meeting be recorded if I want to view it later? Yes – the meeting recording will be posted on facultygovernance.arizona.edu
· What if I am not a member of the General Faculty but still I wish to register my opinion? If you are represented by a non-faculty shared governance group (i.e., APAC, GPSC, ASUA, etc.), please contact your representative(s) for information about registering your opinion on this matter.
· If the ballot for the General Faculty is approved, and the General Faculty vote to delay the start date of the furlough/salary-based furlough/pay reduction plans, does that mean the delay will actually happen? The outcome of the General Assembly meeting and the vote following the meeting will be made public in a press release to the public and email communication to the Executive Leadership Team. Our Guidelines for Shared Governance state, “In this process, a spirit of mutual respect between administrator(s) and the shared governance body – the taking of each other’s positions into serious consideration – is the expectation. The President or designee(s), however, can make an announce a final decision without “general acceptance” provided he or she believes that every reasonable effort has been made to reach a common position through consultation and to be responsive and that such decision is necessary in the best interests of the University. In this circumstance, the President or designee is expected to explain the position taken.” Therefore, the outcome of any vote or decision by shared governance is advisory to the administration rather than a determination.
· The agenda outlines the need for an ad hoc committee – what is the purpose of this committee and who will serve? The committee will be intentionally composed of different university employee stakeholders, who will work directly with Executive Leadership on any future decision regarding the furlough/salary-based furlough/pay reduction plans.