Faculty members are reactivating the UNM chapter of a national organization of university professors, hoping to strengthen their voice in the outcry against UNM's administration.
The faculty has been struggling with the administration over how they have addressed important issues at the University such as retaining tenure-track professors, preventing programs from dissolving due to lack of instructors, and maintaining faculty pay.
"Recent events have convinced us that we should revitalize the UNM chapter of the AAUP, which has existed in the past and done some good work, but has been less active recently," said AAUP and Faculty Senate member Richard Wood.
Eleni Bastea, an AAUP member, said in an e-mail that the national organization could help address problems like salary discrepancies and poor decision making.
"As the pay inequities between the two bodies - faculty and administrators - sharpened, and as decision making became concentrated in the hands of the administration, it was all but inevitable to witness a near breakdown of the system," she said. "As I became involved with these developments this academic year, I looked to the AAUP as a way to advise us on the next steps."
In March, 35 members of UNM AAUP met, and another meeting is scheduled in May.
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In February, UNM's voting faculty said they had no confidence in President David Schmidly, Executive Vice President David Harris and then-Regents-President Jamie Koch. Koch stepped down in March.
According to a document provided by Wood, about 500 voting faculty members - some 28 percent of UNM's faculty - voted in favor of all five motions presented during that meeting, which also included a request for an external audit of the University's finances and a restructuring of the administration's chain of command.
"While I'm disappointed, I'm grateful to the . faculty who took part in yesterday's two-hour meeting to express their support and to the countless others of our 22,000 faculty and staff who have contacted me with words of encouragement," Schmidly said in a statement after the results were announced.
Schmidly said he has avoided the loss of University employees during his tenure and has increased the number of students and faculty at UNM.
"While the decisions we have made may have not been popular with some, we have nevertheless so far managed to avoid any layoffs or furloughs, unlike so many other colleges and universities - all while increasing enrollment and diversity and adding 43 new faculty positions," he said.
Schmidly added that the University administration will increase its efforts to improve accountability and morale.
"Nevertheless, the University of New Mexico is a family, and . we will redouble our efforts to reach out and gain the support and confidence of every member," Schmidly said.
Wood and other faculty members have been attempting to build a stronger faculty base to combat the turmoil that has been stirring between the faculty and the administration.
Wood said aligning with AAUP is beneficial for UNM faculty because it provides access to nationwide resources and data.
"(AAUP) has resources in the way of position papers on various issues that universities face (and) advice on the way that what's going on at UNM is part of national trends in higher education," he said. "It's really a set of national connections and national perspective on things."
Wood said UNM AAUP is being careful to avoid stepping on the toes of the Faculty Senate and other faculty organizations that are already established.
Faculty Senate President-elect Douglas Fields said he is willing to work with AAUP in the future, but he intends to address problems with UNM's administration through the Faculty Senate.
"I think if the faculty want to start an AAUP chapter here to get more information or whatever, that's their privilege to do that," he said. "My plan is to work with the Faculty Senate. I have no problems with people organizing through AAUP, and I welcome working together with them."
Bastea said that she became involved in the AAUP because the national data can support local efforts.
"The AAUP can also provide a context, potential structure, and support for University-wide movements, like ours here at UNM," she said. "I believe that working with the AAUP, we can achieve more than if we went at it in an isolated fashion."
Wood referred to UNM AAUP as "a professional organization" but said he doesn't know if its role might become more like a labor union.
"People ask, 'Is there a labor-organizing effort in play?' and the answer is, 'We don't know.' But at present, it's a professional organization," he said. "The point is to have an organized faculty group that's focused on representing the core academic mission of UNM, and organizing among faculty to do that."
This article is a compilation of work published February 27 and April 22.
