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Letters
to the Editor
Campus Journal prints only signed and verified letters
from the UNH community. If you have recently sent an unsigned letter to Campus Journal,
please resubmit it with your name and contact information. All letters should be 500
words or less. Thank you.
Women's Commission Launches Survey on Child Care
Dear Members of the University Community:
Child care is an issue of significant public interest, and the President's
Commission on the Status of Women is aware of its impact on working families
at the University of New Hampshire. In an effort to learn more about these
families and their child care providers, the commission has developed a
survey to collect data on child care concerns, needs, and experiences.
Nationally, families face issues related to the availability, quality, and
cost of child care; this survey attempts to capture similar data.
As president, I applaud the commission for undertaking this study and request
your participation in the survey process. Your input is important to identifying
critical issues faced by many UNH families utilizing child care services.
Thank you in advance for taking time out of your busy schedule to complete the
attached survey. The data collected will yield valuable information on child
care services for working families.
Ann Weaver Hart
President
(02/08/06)
Mallory Reappointed Provost
As many of you know, Provost Bruce Mallory underwent a comprehensive
review of his performance during fall semester. This review included
feedback to me from faculty, deans, staff, trustees, and colleagues,
as well as a detailed assessment of our vision for the future of
the University of New Hampshire. Following the conclusion of that
review, I am pleased to announce that Provost Mallory has accepted
my offer of reappointment as Provost and Executive Vice President
of the University of New Hampshire.
I want to thank all of you who took the time to respond to my request
for feedback and to the Agenda Committee of the Faculty Senate for
conducting an extensive survey and providing thoughtful analysis
of the data gathered as a result of that survey. In addition to
helpful feedback directly to me regarding Provost Mallory's performance,
suggestions for ways in which the leadership and structure of administration
at UNH might be improved were received. You will see some changes
in the months to come as a result of that feedback.
Again, thank you all for participating in this important review.
Please join me in welcoming Provost Mallory to an ongoing appointment
as Provost and Executive Vice President.
Ann Weaver Hart
President
(02/01/06)
Administration, AAUP Begin Negotiations
Dear Colleagues:
I write to remind you that beginning this semester, the UNH administration
and the UNH chapter of the AAUP will begin negotiations for a new
faculty contract. As I wrote to you at this time three years ago,
I sincerely hope that we reach a fair agreement in a collegial manner
before the current contract expires in June. Indeed, the last round
of negotiations was respectful, productive and timely; I call upon
everyone involved to maintain that standard this time around.
During the last negotiation process, I promised compensation
for our faculty that would be commensurate with their excellence
as
teachers and scholars. We delivered on that promise. Among the
New England land-grant universities, UNH faculty salaries are
now above
the mean in all ranks — 3.6 % for full professors, 1.8 % for
associate professors; and 5.7 % for assistant professors. This represents
a remarkable turnaround since 1990, when average full, associate,
and assistant professors’ salaries were below the respective
means by 9.3 percent, 7.4 percent, and 9.9 percent. Relative
to
the 14 comparator universities used for the last round of negotiations,
we are above the mean for two ranks (2.2 % for associate professors
and 2 % for assistant professors) and slightly below the mean
(.5
percent) for full professors. We will work hard in these negotiations
to maintain the substantial ground we have gained.
Negotiations will again be conducted and managed by campus administrators.
Provost Bruce Mallory will serve as chief negotiator, assisted
by
Assistant Provost Jim Varn. Jim McCarthy, Dean of the School
of Health and Human Services, will be the deans’ representative
and Associate Provost Alan Ray will serve as an advisor. I am
also
pleased to tell you that Candace Corvey, who retired as Vice
President for Finance and Administration in December, has agreed
to work with
us through the negotiation process.
The Chancellor and Board of Trustees have once again entrusted UNH
with the responsibility to conduct negotiations and recommend an
agreement that 1) reflects the University's particular mission,
2) responsibly manages the financial and human resources of the
University, and 3) is consistent with legitimate public expectations
that we will take actions that are defensible under the current
economic conditions.
The current economic conditions are challenging. Although we
are blessed with increased tuition revenues due to strong enrollment,
they are offset in other areas. In 2005, for the first time in
history,
state funding constituted less than 15 percent of the university’s
total revenue — the lowest rate in the nation for state
support per capita. And, like other institutions, the University
is facing
enormous financial drains from the increasing cost of fringe
benefits and a sharp rise in utility costs.
In spite of continual financial struggles, we have visibly demonstrated
that our faculty is this University’s most valued resource.
We remain committed to reaching an agreement before the end of
June
that is fair to our faculty and fiscally responsible.
Ann Weaver Hart
President
(01/25/06)
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