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AAUP-CCU is monitoring developments regarding changes in the rules for scholarly reassignments, as they apply to tenured faculty at CCU. It appears that CCU leadership want to have applicants include “a plan to seek external support for scholarly or creative endeavors either prior to or during the period of reassignment leave“.

The question is, how usual is this among universities that are comparable to CCU? We did a little looking into higher education literature to see if we could find anything about external funding being required for scholarly reassignments/sabbaticals at other schools. There didn’t seem to be a lot out there that studied requirements for applying, but this article from 2012 did.

The authors examined the sabbatical application policies at 75 different colleges and universities and of those, they found that only “[t]hree institutions, including two bachelor’s degree granting institutions, required the sabbatical applicant to present proof of external funding prior to receiving a sabbatical. The doctoral institution indicated that the external funding must be research-related, and the bachelor’s degree institutions indicated that the institution provides no salary support during the sabbatical period and that the individual must present proof of alternative salary funding to be approved and to continue participating in institutional sponsored human resource benefits.”

AAUP-CCU will continue to monitor this topic, and speak to faculty who are currently applying for scholarly reassignment for 2022. We will update our membership accordingly.

[Thanks to AAUP-CCU Vice President Allison Faix for this information]

The Executive Committee of the AAUP-CCU met earlier today for the first time since last month’s elections, which resulted in new leadership. Following the financial report, members discussed the statement by AAUP-SC against SC Governor Henry McMasters’ COVID-19 return-to-work order, which was endorsed by AAUP-CCU and by the CCU Faculty Senate. Additionally, Joseph Fitsanakis reported on his communication with CCU President Michael Benson and Provost Dan Ennis. New business involved a discussion of updates regarding faculty evaluation and decompression, as well as faculty concerns regarding changes in the rules in scholarly reassignments for tenured faculty. The Committee decided to launch a website and a bi-weekly newsletter for AAUP-CCU members. It also discussed plans to reach out to department chairs and ensure that AAUP Executive Committee membership is viewed as university-level service for purposes of annual evaluations, as well as promotion and/or tenure.

At the CCU Faculty Senate meeting today, AAUP-CCU Vice President Allison Faix proposed that the Senate endorses the AAUP-SC statement objecting to SC Governor Henry McMaster’s executive order, which requires state employees to return in person to the workplace. The text of the statement, which was endorsed by AAUP-CCU last month, can be found here. The motion passed with 34 votes in favor and 8 against.Opposition to this motion was that CCU itself returned to work well before this order was passed by the governor.

At its meeting last week, the Executive Council of AAUP-SC drafted a statement objecting to SC Governor Henry McMaster’s executive order, which requires state employees to return in person to the workplace. What AAUP-SC wants is for that decision to be left to the individual educational institutions, and to be taken with reference to guidance and data from the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the SC department of health. Governor McMaster’s EO is available here. On March 25, the Executive Commmittee of AAUP-CCU unanimously endorsed the SC Chapter’s statement. It will now be communicated to the university leadership, and will also be presented to the Faculty Senate for endorsement. The statement, as endorsed by AAUP-CCU, is as follows:

AAUP-CCU President Joseph Fitsanakis, and Vice President Allison Faix represented our chapter at the AAUP-SC Conference Spring Meeting on Saturday, March 20, from 9:30am to 12:30pm. The meeting was well attended by representatives from every AAUP branch in the state (over 30 people), including the newest AAUP-SC chapter at Presbyterian College. The new executive board of the South Carolina state chapter was elected, with new officers, including Professor Shawn Smolen-Morton (Francis Marion University) as its new president. The treasurer’s report followed. No spending has occurred this year, due to the pandemic.

Arguably the most notable thing that came out of the meeting was the adoption of a statement produced by faculty at College of Charleston, which criticized the governor of South Carolina for unilaterally lifting COVID-19 restrictions, and urges him to authorize educational institutions to determine their own policy in regards to COVID-19 mitigation and safety measures. This document will be sent for endorsement by the Executive Committees of AAUP chapters across the state. It will then be disseminated to university presidents across the state, as well as to the state governor.

Following the election that took place this month, AAUP-CCU has a new Executive Committee. It consists of Joseph Fitsanakis (Intelligence and Security Studies, President), Allison Faix (Kimbel Library, Vice President and Membership Director), Steve McCartney (English, Secretary-Treasurer), Linda Martin (English, Associate Faculty Representatives), as well as James Arendt (Visual Arts) and Tristan Daniels (Kimbel Library) as at-large Faculty Representatives. As our most recent past president, José Sanjinés (Communication, Media, and Culture), remains a member of the Executive Committee. We wish to thank José for his leadership of the AAUP for the past four years.