Members of the United Faculty Alliance, a union that represents tenured faculty, spoke at the Sept. 12 Board of Trustees meeting. Concerns raised during the meeting included paid leave, a lack of a pay raise over 3% within the last 10 years, work loads, transparency in management processes and decisions about grant allocations and allegations of salary descrimination.

“We are here because we care,” Mark Schuller, Vice President of the United Faculty Alliance said. “Faculty working conditions are students’ learning conditions.”

The union is looking forward to a contract resolution, ideally by the end of September, Schuller said.

“The University is negotiating in good faith,” Schuller said. “Investing in faculty and scholars, researchers and artists, is the best way to attract and retain high quality diverse student population.”

Approved resolutions

•IBHE budget request for fiscal year 2021

•IBHE capital budget request for fiscal year 2021

•Remodel design for the Student Recreation Center locker rooms

•Funding for post-season Bowl Game from institutional–local funds and intercollegiate athletics

•Collective bargaining agreement for route drivers and health services employees

•Differential tuition fees for faculty and staff removal

•Sick and parental leave changes for faculty, administrators and civil service employees, including nonaccumulative leave for personal or family medical conditions and parental leave.

•Determination of surplus real estate to sell after Illinois Property Control Act chagnes, including the president’s house, 901 Woodland Drive, the art annex, 2211 Sycamore Road, and 11 acres of land in Sycamore. The university estimates $150,000 net profit for the Sycamore land.