Fall 2017 AAUP of SC State Conference Focuses on State of Higher Education
The Fall 2017 South Carolina Conference of The American Association of University Professors was held on the University of South Carolina campus on November 4th. AAUP members from nine South Carolina colleges and universities were in attendance to discuss concerns about the state of higher education in SC, as well as plans of action by the AAUP of SC that might address those concerns.
Attendees identified four areas of interest which the AAUP of SC might address. These areas included identifying the relationships of faculty to administrators among SC college and universities, establishing a state wide definition of shared governance, addressing the increased reliance on contingent faculty on SC campuses, completing a survey of the different structures of governance and common practices among the different SC campuses. Full notes on the discussion can be found here.
The conference began with a teleconferenced keynote address on "The State of Higher Education" from Harris Pastides, President of the University of South Carolina.
President Mark Blackwell reported about a case of a CCU professor who asked for state AAUP representation during a forfeiture of tenure hearing. Discussion extended to legal rights of faculty members as relating to faculty manuals and handbooks. President Blackwell planned to present a follow-up report at the spring 2018 meeting.
President Blackwell also reported his experiences from the Southeast Regional AAUP Conference Presidents Meeting, held October 28, 2017. And reported that he would be co-presenting as part of a panel discussion at the National AAUP meeting in summer 2018 on faculty protest and Confederate Monuments. AAUP of SC members suggested inviting members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Rep. James Clyburn, to the spring 2018 meeting.
The AAUP of SC business meeting was called to order in the afternoon to discuss vacancies in AAUP of SC leadership, budgetary concerns, and possible locations for the spring 2018 AAUP of SC meeting.
The official conference minutes can be found here.