November 9, 2007
Dear MSCA Faculty and Librarians:
As published in the October issue of the MSCA Perspective, the state college Council of Presidents has initiated a strategy to create a "state university system," whereby the nine state colleges would retain the existing collective bargaining relationships but individual institutions could decide to change the institution's name to a university and, in the future, offer doctoral programs of study. It is our understanding that all changes in salary, workload, working conditions, evaluation and the like would be negotiated at a statewide bargaining table, regardless of which institutions might initiate these changes.
The first formal presentation of this initiative will be made on Friday, November 16th, at the Board of Higher Education meeting to be held in the John S. McKenzie Auditorium in the main classroom building at Massachusetts Bay Community College, 50 Oakland Street, Wellesley Hills (off Route 9). Driving directions can be found on the Mass Bay website . Parking will be available in the student parking lot. The meeting is scheduled from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.
SSC President Patricia Meservey will make the presentation on behalf of her colleagues; this item is scheduled for 11:00 am but this time is approximate and subject to the pace of the meeting. As I did in the Perspective, I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to hear first hand the presentation by the state college presidents on this important issue.
Some of you may know that the Mass Bay CC chapter of the community college faculty/staff union has voted no confidence in their college president. Although this issue is not part of the BHE's agenda that day, we expect a significant media presence as well as activities on campus in conjunction with the vote.
A follow-up article on the proposed university status system will appear in the November/December issue of the MSCA Perspective.
On behalf of the MSCA, I wish all of you an enjoyable Veterans Day holiday weekend and I thank the thousands of men and women, many of whom belong to our membership, for their service on behalf of our country.
Pat Markunas MSCA President
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