UO: working for a safe and equitable campus

Posted by  AAUP Oregon   in       Dec 14, 2015     2265 Views     Comments Off on UO: working for a safe and equitable campus  

University of Oregon

 by Michael Dreiling, President, United Academics

plenary panel 2015

In recent months, events off campus spoke to challenges in our own community at the University of Oregon. From the tragic shootings at Umpqua Community College to student resistance to racism at Mizzou, we see that campuses remain crucibles for larger social contradictions and injustices – as well as models for change. Safety procedures and protocol remain inadequate in many teaching facilities on our campus. Sexual assault and harassment betray the peace across our campus. Racial discrimination, violence and insensitivities upend the foundations of justice. Inexplicable inequities persist among faculty.  Our union is part of the solution.

Standing together, we are better poised to solve problems for faculty across campus. Yet we can also stand together to face larger challenges in our university and society. In the next six months, United Academics will be engaged on a number of fronts, aiming at concrete solutions with partners in the university. Many United Academics’ members have already volunteered to join one of many taskforces to work with campus groups and administrative offices to improve the working and learning conditions at the UO. Thank you!

To work on a campus-wide safety policy, scheduled to conclude this June, email info@uauoregon.org
To support a data-driven investigation into campus equity issues facing faculty, email info@uauoregon.org
To support 2000 locked out steelworkers in Albany, OR email info@uauoregon.org

■ You can also support the workers by sending a check for any amount to the USW 7150 Strike and Defense Fund, 1400 Salem Ave., Albany, Oregon, 97321.
Members of our union are also working this year to improve childcare support on campus, work in coalition for racial justice, and more. Let us know if you want to be part of any of this work in the New Year.  Meanwhile, enjoy re-centering with family and friends over the holidays!

About  

The Oregon State Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP Oregon) is the state-level organization of the AAUP. The Conference’s mission is to advance the collective interests of affiliated AAUP Collective Bargaining and Advocacy chapters, the principles and practices of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and the overall interests of higher education faculty in Oregon through the promotion of excellence in higher education as an investment in Oregon’s future.