1. The big story this week was the GEO and its apparently successful negotiations with the university. The vote will take place this week. From the source: http://www.uigeo.org/
Tentative Agreement Reached
Posted by stephseawell on November 27, 2012
The GEO’s bargaining team reached a tentative agreement today on all outstanding issues in contract negotiations with the administration. The membership will now have a chance to ratify the contract. For information about the specifics of the agreement and the voting process come to the General Membership Meeting tonight at 5:30 at Wesley Church at the intersection of Green and Matthews.
During the week, go to https://cfaillinois.org/cfa-news-bulletin-on-geo/ for up-to-date information. Other coverage from the NG, DI, AFT and an extensive interview with Stephanie Seawell, which was conducted before the agreement and published afterwards.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2012-11-27/updated-geo-ui-reach-tentative-accord.html
http://www.dailyillini.com/news/campus/article_6946e252-391c-11e2-9030-0019bb30f31a.html
http://www.aft.org/newspubs/news/2012/112912geo.cfm
http://socialistworker.org/2012/11/29/geo-draws-the-line
2. The lead story in the Sunday Chicago Tribune is:
(It was freely available on Saturday and is behind a pay wall today. I’m sure it will be on the E-summary tomorrow.)
“Illinois’ presence shrinks at U of I”
Though today’s undergraduate enrollment of 31,900 is 3,600 higher than a decade ago, there are 200 fewer students from Illinois. Meanwhile, the number of international students has soared. U. of I. enrolls 4,447 undergraduates from other countries — up from 649 in 2000.
[snip]
But it’s not just that U. of I. is looking elsewhere for students; Illinois students are increasingly turning the university down. Just 45 percent of residents offered admission to this fall’s freshman class accepted the spots, a decline from 53 percent five years ago and the lowest percentage in at least 10 years, possibly ever.
All those departments which have received a 40% increase in funding for instructional expenses (13% more students and 24% inflation) over the last 10 years, please raise their hands.
3. For up to date information on pensions and the Legislature, go to http://www.suaa.org/ Nothing substantive seems to have happened in the veto session yet. You don’t have to be retired to join the SUAA. I’m a member.
4a. The fiscal cliff and U: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2012-11-25/officials-estimate-45-million-loss-ui-if-fiscal-cliff-deal-isnt-reached.ht
4b Issues at Penn State and Florida which might show up here;
http://academeblog.org/2012/11/24/university-governance-doesnt-represent-the-people/
5, The New York Times on why firing coaches doesn’t seem to be cost-effective
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Digest of E-Summary at http://www.uillinois.edu/our/news/summary.cfm
11/26 — pp.1-2 (NG) — The fiscal cliff, see above.
11/26 — pp.8-9 (DI) — “Undergraduates will be most impacted if GEO strikes”
11/26 — p.10 (NG) — “Squeezy makes the point”
11/26 — p.14 (NG) — “Disintermediating higher education” (MOOC-ery from a business consultant’s pov.)
11/26 — pp.18-19 (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) “Universities face daunting leader search”
11/27 — pp.5-6 (NG) “GEO pulls all-nighter to display its resolve”
11/27 — p.7 (Pantagraph) Editorial “Huge salaries show priorities of universities”
11/27 — pp.20-24 (Progress Illinois) “Young workers dubious of public sector jobs due to pension crisis”
11/28 — pp.3-4 (NG) — “GEO, UI have tentative deal”, see above
11/29 — p.3 (Sun-Times) — Editorial “Pension reform first”
11/29 — pp.12-14 (Bloomberg) — “Will state colleges become federal universities?”
11/30 — pp.5-9 (Trib) — “The University of Chicagoland — at Missouri” (predecessor to #2)
11/30 — pp.13-16 (NYT) “Firing football coaches, with little evidence it pays off”, see above
11/30 — p.17 (Trib) “Penn State to pay over $2.4m to president fired over Sandusky”
Campus Faculty Association 