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Vance Blackburn attended the 2008 New Leadership Workshops and learned a valuable lesson about creating an online newsletter: He doesn’t have to do it alone.
Blackburn, of SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, attended the Communications 401 workshop and said he never realized that help was available from the UUP Communications Department simply for the asking. From easy-to-use computer templates to personalized aid that’s just a phone call away, Blackburn was surprised, delighted and motivated to start a newsletter at his campus.
"I’m going back to my chapter president and make a pitch for what we need to start small," said Blackburn. "We need to start getting the news out to the campus."
Blackburn was one of more than 150 chapter presidents, vice presidents and new leaders who attended the conference, which was combined for the first time with a meeting of chapter presidents and vice presidents. The event was held March 14-15 in Bolton Landing.
UUP President Phillip Smith opened the session, welcoming members and thanking them for such a strong turnout. "This is the stuff that makes our union work and makes things good for our members," he said.
Smith discussed a number of important issues during a three-hour meeting
March 14, including former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s proposal to create a $4 billion Higher Education Endowment for New York colleges and universities. Funding for the endowment would come through privatizing the New York State Lottery, which Spitzer had said would generate more than $200 million annually in new higher education operating aid.
Smith, who met with Spitzer’s aides the day news broke of the former governor’s alleged involvement with a high-priced prostitution ring, was wary of the proposal, saying that $200 million yearly "barely scratches the surface of what we need for CUNY, SUNY and community colleges. The best I can do is to say that we support the concept."
He touched on other topics, including:
- Plans to air UUP TV and radio ads statewide in late March;
- Putting out the call for volunteers to host focus groups in April on academic freedom as part of an initiative by the American Federation of Teachers;
- The UUP Executive Board’s recommendation to delegates to continue affiliation with the American Association of University Professors; and
- Putting out the call for new members to become involved on union committees.
UUP Treasurer Rowena Blackman-Stroud discussed budget-related topics with members, including agency fee issues. She and Patricia Bentley of SUNY Plattsburgh – both on the NYSUT Board of Directors – reviewed proposed UUP-sponsored resolutions to the 2008 NYSUT Representative Assembly.
Smith and UUP officers discussed those and other issues with members during a candid Cracker Barrel session later that evening. The Cracker Barrel, held for the first time, provided members an opportunity to share and discuss their successes and concerns with the board.
"I think the Cracker Barrel session was really good," said John Shackelford of SUNY Stony Brook.
Shackelford attended the Communica-tions 401 workshop March 15, which offered tools, tips and techniques on public speaking, media relations, communicating using the Internet, and newsletter design. The workshop was presented by members of the UUP Communications Department.
Three other workshops provided new leaders with information that will be useful in their new roles.
Collective Bargaining and the Taylor Law offered an overview of the Taylor Law, which makes collective bargaining legal in New York. The course provided a history of the law and defined terms such as good faith negotiations and past practice. Grievance II detailed UUP’s contractual grievance procedures; the course was intended for members who took the Grievance I workshop in October 2007.
Workplace Violence was designed to aid attendees in setting up a workplace violence prevention program on campus. The course highlighted the workplace violence prevention program in place at SUNY Farmingdale, focusing on its development and implementation.
UUP presidents and vice presidents split into groups and attended four breakout sessions – Technology Sector Colleges, Comprehensive Colleges, University Centers and Health Sciences Centers. During the sessions, chapter leaders met with colleagues from similar campuses to identify concerns and work on ways to resolve them.
"These sessions make good sense," said Smith. "They provide a vehicle for leaders to discuss shared problems and to strategize on ways to solve them."
– Michael Lisi