Record of the Council: November 14-15, 1998

The Council of the Association met on November 14-15, 1998, at the Embassy Row Hotel in Washington, D.C.1 President James T. Richardson presided. Members of the Council (with the exception of Professors Judith L. Anderson, Dennis M. Clausen, Marvin Cox, and John Watanen, Jr.) were present, as was General Counsel David M. Rabban. General Secretary Mary Burgan and other members of the staff were in attendance. Professor William L. Meyer served as parliamentarian.

Professors David Rubiales, James E. Perley, Jeffrey Halpern, and James M. Bergquist reported respectively for Committee R on Government Relations, Committee D on Accrediting of Colleges and Universities, Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, and Committee O on Organization. Professors Jeffrey A. Butts and Estelle S. Gellman reported respectively for the Assembly of State Conferences and the Collective Bargaining Congress. Professor Rabban delivered the report of the legal office. 1998 and 1999 Association Budgets

Secretary-Treasurer Kerry E. Grant reported that the Association expects to end 1998 with a budget deficit of $22,000 and a negative fund balance of $204,500. For 1999, he reported a projected budget deficit of $74,500.

Legal Office

Professor Rabban recounted a significant legal victory in Beverly Enterprises v. Bronfenbrenner, a case in which Beverly Enterprises dropped its defamation suit against Professor Kate Brofenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Former General Counsel Matthew W. Finkin authored the AAUP's amicus brief in the case. Professor Bronfenbrenner had been sued for statements she made at a town meeting sponsored by members of Congress concerning Beverly Enterprises' violations of federal labor laws.

Professor Rabban also reported that the legal office has developed a fundraising plan for donations to the AAUP's Legal Defense Fund.

Graduate Students

Iris Molotsky, reporting on behalf of Committee C on College and University Teaching, Research, and Publication, informed the Council that the committee is developing a booklet to introduce graduate students to the profession of college and university teaching. She stated that the booklet will examine the changing face of the profession, how the profession regulates itself, modes of governance, and aspects of doctoral training. (For the text of a resolution passed by the Council regarding graduate students as teaching assistants, see pages 7-8.) Community Colleges

Michael Mauer, staff for Committee V, reported that the committee recently met in Arizona with AAUP chapter officers in the Maricopa Community College District as part of an effort to solidify relationships. The committee is encouraging state conference leaders to designate a Committee V chair at the conference level. It sponsored a two-hour panel on faculty bargaining in June at the annual convention of the Association of Community College Trustees.

Distance Education and Intellectual Property

Mark Smith, staff for the Special Committee on Distance Education and Intellectual Property Issues, reported that the committee is at work on policy statements on each of these topics. It is also developing a database of contract clauses and policy language dealing with intellectual property.

Government Relations

Professor David Rubiales, chair of Committee R, reported that the committee met on November 12-13 to select congressional priorities and set program goals. He said that the committee continues to increase the AAUP's visibility in the national policymaking arena and is doing more to assist state conferences with legislative challenges. (The full report of Committee R for 1998 appears on pages 54-56.)

Accreditation

Professor James E. Perley, chair of Committee D, reported that the committee is circulating and reviewing current documents in preparation for its spring meeting. He said that Committee D will continue to work toward adherence to AAUP-supported standards by accrediting agencies especially with respect to part-time faculty and to distance education.

Academic Freedom and Tenure

Professor Halpern, reporting for Committee A, explained that recent court-based demands for faculty research data led the committee at its meeting a fortnight ago to approve an amplification of a 1984 statement, now to be titled "Institutional Responsibility for Legal Demands on Faculty." He moved Council adoption of the revised document, and the Council so acted. (The text of the document appears on page 52.)

Additional Committee A policy work reported by Professor Halpern as currently in process includes that of a subcommittee on corporate funding and academic freedom, and on collegiality as a criterion in reappointment, tenure, and promotion decisions.

Amendments to AAUP Constitution

Professor James M. Bergquist, chair of Committee 0, requested and received the Council's unanimous approval for recommendation of two amendments to the 1999 annual meeting. The text of these amendments appears on page 53. In Memoriam