CALL FOR RATIFICATION VOTE ON TENURE CLOCK DELAY FOR 19 FORMER USF POLY TENURE-TRACK FACULTY
The legislature's dissolution of USF Polytechnic and the legislative mandated transfer of all USF Polytechnic faculty to USF Tampa impacts the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the United Faculty of Florida and the USF Board of Trustees. One issue that requires immediate action is the timeline of the tenure process as applied to former USF Polytechnic tenure-track faculty.
Article 15.3, Section B (pages 34 - 35) of the
Collective Bargaining Agreement requires that the university have written criteria for attaining tenure. USF Poly approved its own criteria for tenure-track faculty in September 2010, and USF Poly no longer exists. So former USF Poly faculty on tenure track will now be reviewed for tenure at USF Tampa using the USF Tampa Tenure & Promotion guidelines and criteria dated August 7, 1998. Former USF Poly faculty on tenure track, which totals nineteen faculty, had been preparing to apply for tenure under USF Poly's criteria approved by the former USF Poly Faculty Senate and General Faculty in September 2010.
It would be inequitable to require the nineteen tenure-track former USF Poly faculty to apply for tenure using USF Tampa's criteria without some extension or delay of their tenure clock. UFF (your bargaining agent) and the Administration (the Board of Trustees' bargaining agent) "tentatively agreed" to an amendment that allows the nineteen former USF Poly tenure-track faculty the option of choosing a modified system. The amendment requires that former USF Poly tenure-track faculty apply for tenure under the USF Tampa criteria, but those nineteen faculty will have the option of requesting a delay of one to two years to submit their mid-tenure review and tenure packet, depending upon the number of years they have been in their tenure-track position. The amendment with details, is posted on our website for your review.
As this amendment affects contractual language, as it applies to former tenure-track USF Poly faculty, it requires ratification by the USF employees of the UFF USF Bargaining Unit and by the USF Board of Trustees. USF faculty and professionals will vote on the amendment on July 26 (Thursday) from 9 am to 12 noon at the four USF campuses at these locations with each person listed facilitating the vote. Please bring your USF I.D. to present to vote.
- USF Tampa - Library - Main Entrance - Gregory McColm
- USF St. Petersburg - Library - Main Entrance - Jerry Notaro
- USF in Lakeland - Library - Main Entrance - Paul Terry
- USF Sarasota - Jonathan's Cafe (in the USF Sarasota Building) - Ross Alander & Christa Fowler
UFF believes this amendment is an equitable solution to this legislatively mandated emergency, that it follows past practice and precedent, and that it is in the best interest of the faculty and the university. Therefore, UFF strongly recommends that USF employees in the UFF USF Bargaining Unit vote IN FAVOR of ratification of the amendment.
Finally, this entire episode shows what we are facing. One powerful legislator goes on an ego trip and the rest of Tallahassee obliges him. Next spring, we will be facing a legislature flush with their electoral success in their new districts, and not facing an election until 2014. We will need YOUR HELP this fall getting as many reasonable legislators elected as possible, and YOUR HELP next spring fighting the unreasonable legislators - and the governor. You can help out now by joining today.