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UFF Biweekly EXTRA
United Faculty of Florida -- USF Chapter
26 May 2021
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The USF Forest Preserve is a square mile of relative wilderness northeast of the USF Tampa campus, and in addition to being a wildlife refuge and environmentally significant link in a Central Florida greenbelt, it is a resource for scholarship by USF faculty and students. Nevertheless, the USF Administration recently posted a "Request for Information" to determine if any firms or other entities were interested in developing or making use of it. In response, the USF Senate made a Resolution of the University of South Florida Faculty Senate stating that, "...the Faculty of the University of South Florida are vehemently opposed to any development or destruction of the Forest Preserve... "

The USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida resolved that UFF issue a statement in support of the Faculty Senate's resolution. This is that statement.

Whereas, an RFI on the plot of land designated as the USF Forest Preserve has been posted, and

Whereas, the USF Faculty Senate observed that the USF Forest Preserve serves critical environmental functions, and

Whereas, the USF Faculty Senate observed that the USF Forest Preserve is a critical teaching and research resource, and

Whereas, the USF Forest Preserve is a major resource to faculty in at least seven departments for both teaching and research, and is thus important to those faculty for carrying out their assigned scholarly duties, and

Whereas, the USF Forest Preserve is a major resource to graduate students both for completion of their dissertation and thesis work and for their instructional duties,

Therefore, be it resolved that the United Faculty of Florida declares the USF Forest Preserve to be of intrinsic value, both to the mission of the University of South Florida, and to the faculty and student employees within the UFF USF Bargaining Unit, and as such it should be regarded as being held in trust by the USF Board of Trustees, to be maintained in perpetuity as a resource for the University, and

Therefore, the United Faculty of Florida opposes any attempt to dispose of or compromise the USF Forest Preserve.

Getting a Shot

As of now, everyone 40 and older is eligible to receive a COVID-19 shot, and effective Monday, all Florida residents of age 18+ will be eligible. To find a location to get a shot, you may use the Florida Health Vaccine Locator or visit the Vaccine Finder website.

What do you think about going back to campus in fall?

Speaking of the pandemic, USF has announced that, the virus willing, USF will reopen in fall. UFF would like to know what you think about that. Here is a link to an online anonymous survey, and we ask all faculty to fill it out. Thank you.

Join UFF Today!

Download, fill in, and mail or email the membership form. Benefits of membership include the right to run and vote in UFF chapter and statewide elections; representation in grievances (UFF cannot represent a non-member in a grievance or litigation); special deals in insurance, travel, legal advice, and other packages provided by our affiliates; free insurance coverage for job-related liability; and the knowledge you are supporting education in Florida. Come and join the movement.

USF United Support Fund for Food Pantries

Many of our students are struggling during this crisis, and the USF Foundation is supporting the USF Food Pantries to help out. They are accepting non-perishable donations, but one can also make monetary donations for the pantries at St. Petersburg, Sarasota / Manatee, and Tampa.


LOGISTICS

Next Chapter Meeting Friday, June 4, at 12 noon, via Zoom: for an invitation, contact the Chapter Secretary.

Membership: Everyone in the UFF USF System Bargaining unit is eligible for UFF membership: to join, simply fill out and send in the membership form.

NOTE: The USF-UFF Chapter website is http://www.uff.ourusf.org, and our e-mail address is uff@ourusf.org.

About this broadcast: This Newsletter was broadcast from uff.ourusf.org, hosted at ICDsoft.com, and is intended for all UFF USF members.

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