UUP Cortland Chapter

UUP member event
Union Matters Luncheon
Topic: Chapter Budget and other updates
Thursday, February 5th
11:30am – 1:00pm
Corey Exhibition Lounge

We will be serving lunch so please RSVP Union Matters – Thursday, February 5th – Fill out form
We look forward to seeing you there.
If you have any questions, please email the office at cortland@uupmail.org

Monthly Communication Highlights
UUP Cortland Chapter | February 2026                          Website: https://uuphost.org/cortland/

February Schedule of Events: 

Board/Executive Board Meetings:
Monday, February 2, 2025:       L/M Prep
Monday, February 9, 2025:       Members’ Forum & Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, February 25, 2025:    L/M Meeting

 Union Matters Luncheon: Will take place on Thursday, February 5^th from 11:30am – 1:00pm.  It will be in the Exhibition Lounge in Corey Union. We will be serving lunch so please RSVP.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Open Houses: 

Wednesday, February 11^th from 11:00am – 1:00pm in the Chapter Office, room 001, Moffett Center.  We will be serving delicious Empanadas, both Chicken and Beef.

Friday, February 20^th from 9:00am to 11:00am in the Chapter Office, room 001, Moffett Center. We will be serving Bagels, Muffins and Orange Juice.

Advocacy Day:

February 24^th from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Meet with the members of the NYS Legislature to show support for the 2026 UUP Legislative Agenda.  It will take place in the New York State Capitol, Albany NY.  Please see the flyer on the UUP bulletin board to register or go to the UUP Statewide website.

“The Individual Development Awards”
Featuring Dan Harms, Chair, Campus Professional Development Committee
Casey Avery, Associate Director of Purchasing & Accounts Payable
Noon, Wednesday, January 28th, Corey Fireplace Lounge

Learn how to apply for the IDA grant, and tips and tricks for getting your application through.

If you can’t make it, or if you want to  make sure we get to your question, please write daniel.harms@cortland.edu.

“The Individual Development Awards”

Featuring Dan Harms, Chair, Campus Professional Development Committee

Casey Avery, Associate Director of Purchasing & Accounts Payable

Noon, January 28, Corey Fireplace Lounge

Learn how to apply for the IDA grant, and tips and tricks for getting your application through.

If you can’t make it, or if you want to make sure we get to your question, please write daniel.harms@cortland.edu.

In 2025-26, UUP will be engaging in a round of Individual Development Award grants through our UUP/Jt. Labor Management IDA Program.

 All SUNY Cortland UUP Represented Faculty and Professional Staff (full and part-time) are eligible.

 Applications Accepted from January 5 – February 13, 2026

The State of NY/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Committees allocated funding to SUNY Cortland for the Individual Development Awards (IDA) Program for the following period:

July 2, 2025 through July 1, 2026          —               $$42,195.17

 -Employees may request an award for up to two projects or activities within the time period, with a maximum total award of $2,000 per employee.

 ELIGIBLE PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES:

IDA funds are intended to assist eligible employees in developing their full professional potential by enhancing teaching, research, improving professional knowledge and skills, and in preparing for advancement by reimbursing the following:

• Registration fees for conferences or workshops.
• Professional organization membership fees which are bundled with a free or reduced members-only rate for conference or workshop attendance expenses.
• Travel and related expenses (including lodging and meals (breakfast and dinner)).
• Tuition at the maximum allowable SUNY rate at the time of application, excluding associated fees.
• Fees for licensing or certification exam prep courses (e.g., USMLE Step 3 exam, medical board exam, or bar exam prep course, etc.). For reimbursement of exam fees, go to https://oer.ny.gov/nysuupclefr
• Fees for continuing education courses (e.g., CME or CLE courses).
• Entrance or access fees to institutions or archives that house materials which are related to, and the review or use of which is necessary, to complete the research or artistic endeavor.

Funds are also available for expenses related to professional development projects or activities that are not provided by the employee’s campus, department, program, or through other funding sources, including research materials, short term use of specialized equipment, services for skills, and costs associated with publication as follows (see attached guidelines for more specific requirements for these categories, as they may require supervisor approval and multiple bids or justifications):

• Consumable artistic or research materials, which are necessary to complete the research or artistic endeavor (e.g., reagents, antibodies, dyes, art supplies, sheet music).
• Fees for short term use of specialized equipment or skills (e.g., sound mixing/engineering, recording studio fees, videorecording and editing fees, performance space rentals, real time PCR testing, RNA sequencing).
• Costs associated with publication (e.g., copyright or licensure fees, journal page charges, and stipends or fees for indexers, proof reading, translations).

Guidelines

• All expenses must be incurred during the time period above. (If some activity dates are outside the period, only the portion within the time period can be funded.)
• Up to two eligible activities may be funded. Both activities may be placed on one application.
• Part-time employees are particularly encouraged to apply.
• The Cortland PDC may request additional information from any applicant as a condition for funding.

  Application materials are attached and should be emailed to united.universityprofessions@cortland.edu and daniel.harms@cortland.edu, subject line IDA Application

• All attachment file names should begin with applicant’s last name
• Signatures from department chairs are NOT necessary for conference travel

Deadline: 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 13, 2026.

The Cortland PDC will review applications no later than March 15, 2026. Award notification will occur as soon as UUP is notified by the Office of Employee Relations. Requests for reimbursements must be filed by July 31, 2026.

For more information about the program, contact UUP Office, (607) 753-5991 or united.universityprofessions@cortland.edu. 

In Solidarity,

Justin Neretich
UUP Cortland Chapter President

IDA program guidelines

IDA Program Application

STATEWIDE UPCOMING EVENTS

We will be offering virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics on the following dates:

Tuesday, January 13, 2026 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM via Zoom
Wednesday, January 28, 2026 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM via Zoom

To attend one of the virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics, you must pre-register here: http://go.aft.org/StudentDebtClinicRSVP. From the “student debt clinic” drop down menu, please select the UUP clinic that you are interested in attending – they are labeled “UUP [Virtual Student Debt Clinic] [date] [time].” In the affiliate field, type in the full name of our local (United University Professions), and it will autofill after a few keystrokes.

Registration is first-come, first-serve, and we must cap attendance for a single clinic at 125 participants to ensure that we are able to provide maximum assistance to attendees. Registration will close 48 hours prior to the virtual clinic.

 UUP 101 – Who is UUP?

 Webinars will now be held on:

Wednesday, January 7 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Wednesday, February 18 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

To join the discussion, please register using the link below.

https://forms.gle/tEUUdHReuwn6QpME9