NC-AAUP
Annual Business Meeting Minutes
Friday, October 21, 2005 in Boone, NC

Pres. Weinberger convened the meeting at 5:30pm.
The minutes of April 2, 2005 Annual Business Meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s Report:
Dr. Pubantz, who took after after Dr. Sangster left the country, gave the Treasurer’s Report (see attached). NC-AAUP now has a new account with Bank of America.
Approval of the Treasurer’s Report was moved and seconded. The motion passed.

Old Business:
Pres. Weinberger made a short report about the new By-Laws NC-AAUP adopted, which do not yet include the new election procedures that National AAUP now requires of both state conferences and chapters. The new requirements mandate we will have to conduct a vote in writing. All members are encouraged to consider running for office and/or nominated colleagues. A nomination committee will be established and listed on the NC-AAUP website. Offices open: Member-at-Large from a Public Institution; Secretary; and President.

New Business:
Hosting an NC-AAUP conference in April 2006:
Pres. Weinberger called for suggestions for campuses to volunteer to host the next NC-AAUP statewide meeting. Prof. Ramsey suggested that Pres. Weinberger contact various NC chapter presidents to see if they’d be willing to host a meeting.

Motion to thank the ASU Campus and Appalachian Chapter of AAUP:
Pres. Weinberger moved to thank the ASU campus and Appalachian chapter for hosting the meeting. The motion was seconded and passed by acclamation.

A question was asked about how we can use the many thousands of dollars in a foundation account for NC-AAUP. It was suggested that we use that money to revitalize some chapters in NC. Prof. Pubantz explained that it is still not clear who constitutes the Board of Directors of the foundation account. Prof. Hughes said that the foundation money had in the past been used for academic freedom awards, grants for first visits with an attorney, and other efforts to support academic freedom.

Prof. Gates presented on his work on Faculty Assembly connected with repealing the state statute (9598) that prohibits collective bargaining by public employees. Prof. Gates explained that the effort to repeal the statute is not to impose collective bargaining on any groups but to remove the barrier and open up the choice for state employees to act as they see fit on that. Each campus could make its own decision about collective bargaining. Repealing the prohibition is necessary before having conversations about the desirability (or not) of collective bargaining on campuses. Prof. Gates requests for the endorsement of the NC-AAUP on this repeal. It was moved that the NC-AAUP endorse the effort to repeal General Statute 9598 prohibiting collective bargaining. The motion was seconded. Further discussion took place noting that national AAUP documents consistently support the right for any group of employees to come together for a collective cause, including collective bargaining. The motion passed.

Prof. McCaughey noted that NC-AAUP needs a Committee A representative to deal with academic freedom and tenure issues in the state. The Executive Committee appoints a Committee A representative. This person might be a lawyer. Pres. Weinberger referred the matter to the NC-AAUP Executive Committee.

There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and passed by acclamation.

Respectfully submitted,
Martha McCaughey
Secretary