Calendar
If you’d like to subscribe to our events calendar, the public .ics link below can be integrated into various calendar applications:
Latest Events
- UUP 101 Webinars – December 10th & January 7th
Hello all,
We have added an additional “UUP 101” webinar for those who have been unable to attend previous workshops. This workshop will cover UUP’s structure, who we are, who we represent, what we do, and our role in the larger labor movement.
Webinars will now be held on:
Wednesday, December 10 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Wednesday, January 7 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PMTo join the discussion, please register using the link below:
Jeri
Jeri O’Bryan-Losee, MA, MS, MSEd
United University Professions
Statewide Secretary-Treasurer
NYSUT Board of Directors, ED41
AFT PPC Member - Public Service Loan Forgiveness Clinics – December 3rd & 17th
Dear Colleagues,
Over 12 million people in the United States are struggling to make their monthly student loan payments, and millions more see economic and personal opportunities pass as they prioritize paying down their debt. Does this sound like you or someone you know?
Many of these people may qualify for free federal programs that can help reduce their monthly payments and eventually lead to student loan forgiveness, but these lifeline programs are significantly under-enrolled. In an effort to help our members get access to these programs, United University Professions and the American Federation of Teachers are proud to host a Student Debt Clinic which will provide information on how to enroll in Income-Driven Repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
We will be offering virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics on the following dates:
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM via Zoom
Wednesday, December 17, 2025 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 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. Webinar login information will be provided prior to the clinic to all who register. [If you can’t make one of these virtual clinics, don’t worry – we’re planning on offering them every payday. If you want to help host a chapter-specific virtual clinic, please let us know!]
Managing your student loan debt is the first step in taking on the inequities which plague our system of higher education, and we look forward to seeing you at the virtual Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinic and working together to find a collective solution to the problems of student debt and college affordability!
Register now!
Jeri
She / Her / Hers
Jeri O’Bryan-Losee, MA, MS, MSEd
United University Professions
Statewide Secretary-Treasurer
NYSUT Board of Directors, ED41
AFT PPC Member - National Higher Ed Day of Action – Nov. 7th
Friday, November 7 is a National Higher Ed Day of Action on which labor, student groups and allies will join together to demand the kind of higher education system our communities deserve. Across the country, we’re speaking out for:
- Strong protections for academic freedom and freedom of expression
- Affordable and well-funded higher education
- Safe and welcoming campuses for all students
- Fair wages and secure employment for higher ed workers
In addition to gatherings at some of our chapters, UUP will be hosting a statewide virtual session on Protecting Academic Freedom in Turbulent Times. We invite all UUP members to join us to address how Academic Freedom is essential to the integrity of our institutions and to the work of everyone in UUP (not just academic employees); to learn about UUP’s contractual protections for Academic Freedom and recent legal developments in this area; and to and to discuss how union members can defend this critical right.
The session will be held from 12-1.30pm on Friday, November 7. CLICK HERE to register:
In solidarity,
Fred & AlissaFrederick E. Kowal, Ph.D.
President
United University ProfessionsAlissa Karl, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academics
United University Professions - November & December 2025 Chapter Events
For our full list of chapter events, please refer to our Events page and/or Calendar!
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Professional’s Luncheon with Statewide Vice President for Professionals Carolyn Kube
12:00 PM – Morris Hall, Le Cafe
Lunch: Greek Salad Buffet
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
UUP Unplugged: Topics and Conversation
Put your phones, laptops, and computers on pause, and join our union members to talk about current events and connect with your colleagues.
3:00 PM – Morris Conference Center, Room 104Refreshments will be served
NO RSVP REQUIRED!
Friday, December 5, 2025
UUP Holiday Dinner Celebration
— SAVE THE DATE —
6:00 PM – The Elks Lodge, 84 Chestnut Street, Oneonta, NY 13820
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
UUP Unplugged: Topics and Conversation
Put your phones, laptops, and computers on pause, and join our union members to talk about current events and connect with your colleagues.
3:00 PM – Human Ecology, Martha Pratt Suite Room 144Refreshments will be served
NO RSVP REQUIRED!
The next chapter meetings are on November 12 and December 10 in Morris Conference Center, Le Cafe. Chapter meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Lunch provided! RSVP at the links below:
- DEI Virtual Panel – Oct. 29
To kick off Indigenous Peoples Month, the statewide DEI committee is featuring a panel discussion about indigenous people’s history around NYS entitled “Erasing History and Stealing Futures” – featuring Melissa Parker Leonard, M. Ed, & Jeremy Dennis MFA.
Date: October 29, 2025
Time: 1:00 pm
Register HERE »Melissa Parker Leonard is a Seneca Educator and advocate founder of the 7th Gen Cultural Resources and Jeremy Dennis is a Shinnecock Photographer Founder of Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio.
The discussion will be focused on Ely S. Parker’s life and legacy and the Shinnecock Nation’s path to federal recognition. Ely S. Parker was an engineer, U.S. Army officer, aide to General Ulysses S. Grant, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the ancestor of Melissa Parker Leonard. In highlighting his life and legacy here, she is directly combatting current attempts to erase his contributions to the United States that are occurring under the orders of the current department of Defense/War.
Jeremy Dennis is a contemporary fine art photographer, an enrolled Tribal Member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton, NY, and the founder and lead artist of Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Inc., a nonprofit art space and residency program on the Shinnecock Reservation dedicated to uplifting Indigenous and BIPOC artists.
His work center’s Indigenous identity, culture, and the legacies of colonial assimilation, using photography to stage cinematic, otherworldly narratives rooted in Native oral stories, history, and contemporary experience.
- UUP to hold Oct. 29 virtual panel discussion on the Film “Adjunct”
As part of Campus Equity Week, UUP is hosting an Oct. 29 virtual panel discussion of the independent film “Adjunct,” featuring a question-and-answer session with filmmaker and former adjunct Ron Najor.
The event starts at 5:30 p.m. Panelists are Najor, who starts in the 2024 film; Jaclyn Pittsley, UUP’s Contingent Employment Committee chair and a statewide Executive Board member; Bret Benjamin, UUP’s chief negotiator and Executive Board member; and NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist Chris Sielaff.
The panel will draw comparisons between the film and how job protections UUP successfully secured through collective bargaining agreements with the state have produced big wins for adjuncts. Panelists will also talk about the UUP’s current contract with the state benefits adjuncts.
Registration is required to view the panel discussion. Click HERE to register:
UUP members can view a free livestream of “Adjunct” at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25. That event is sponsored by Higher Education Labor United (HELU). UUP is a founding member of HELU, a national organization formed in 2021 to unite higher ed workers across the country.
Click HERE to register for the HELU free screening and for more information:
Click HERE to view the trailer from the film, or watch below:
UUP members who aren’t able to view “Adjunct” on Oct. 25 can contact their chapter officers for information about “Adjunct” watch parties and other ways and times to view the movie. Last year, UUP delegates unanimously designated the last full week of October as UUP Campus Equity Week, a national initiative that highlights working conditions and contributions of contingent faculty (part-time, adjunct, and other non-tenure-track instructors) in higher education.
- UUP 101 Workshops
Hello all,
We have added an additional “UUP 101” webinar for those who have been unable to attend previous workshops. This workshop will cover UUP’s structure, who we are, who we represent, what we do, and our role in the larger labor movement.
Webinars will now be held on:
- Wednesday, October 15 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
- Wednesday, November 12 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
- Wednesday, December 10 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
To join the discussion, please register using the link below.
https://forms.gle/tEUUdHReuwn6QpME9
Jeri O’Bryan-Losee
She / Her / Hers
- Virtual Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics – November 5th and 19th
Subject: Need Help Managing Your Student Loan Debt?
Dear Colleagues,
Over 12 million people in the United States are struggling to make their monthly student loan payments, and millions more see economic and personal opportunities pass as they prioritize paying down their debt. Does this sound like you or someone you know?
Many of these people may qualify for free federal programs that can help reduce their monthly payments and eventually lead to student loan forgiveness, but these lifeline programs are significantly under-enrolled. In an effort to help our members get access to these programs, United University Professions and the American Federation of Teachers are proud to host a Student Debt Clinic which will provide information on how to enroll in Income-Driven Repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
We will be offering virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics on the following dates:
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM via Zoom
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 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. Webinar login information will be provided prior to the clinic to all who register. [If you can’t make one of these virtual clinics, don’t worry – we’re planning on offering them every payday. If you want to help host a chapter-specific virtual clinic, please let us know!]
Managing your student loan debt is the first step in taking on the inequities which plague our system of higher education, and we look forward to seeing you at the virtual Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinic and working together to find a collective solution to the problems of student debt and college affordability!
Register now!
Jeri O’Bryan-Losee, MA, MS, MSEd
United University Professions
Statewide Secretary-Treasurer
NYSUT Board of Directors, ED41
AFT PPC Member
- Pre-Retirement Workshops-October 14 and 16th
Dear Chapter Leadership and Members:
UUP’s popular monthly Pre-Retirement Workshops are scheduled for October 14th and October 16, 2025. The part 1 workshop will take place on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 12:00pm which will cover Healthcare/Medicare.
The part 2 workshop will take place on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at 12:00pm which will cover union benefits (dental & vision)
You may take these workshops as many times as you like as the information is rather complex especially with Medicare and feel free to have your spouse/partner attend with you. Also, you can take these two workshops in any order as they don’t depend on each other. For this and other UUP programing information go to the UUP Events Calendar https://uupinfo.org/calendar/
You will need to register for the workshops, and a Zoom link is sent the day before the workshop to the email address that you register under.
We do not record these workshops because of privacy concerns and because the information does change, and we want to make sure you have the most current information.
To register for the October pre-retirement workshop’s, use this link: https://forms.gle/imhB5frCA1WPMabdA
In Solidarity,
Patrick Romain
UUP Membership Development Officer
518-640-6639
- 2025 Fall UUP Legislative Town Halls
Dear Colleagues,
I’m writing to invite you to join our virtual Legislative Town Hall where we will gather input for UUP’s 2026 Legislative Agenda.
There will be two opportunities to join: Wednesday, October 15th at 6 pm and Tuesday, October 28th at noon. To sign up, please click here.
If you’re not able to attend but would like to submit your legislative proposals – click here.
Please also save the date for UUP’s Advocacy Day being held on February 24, 2026:
I encourage you to be active, participate in our advocacy efforts, and add your voice to the cause of our union. Your ideas and suggestions are critical for us to create a comprehensive agenda to take to the State Capitol.
In Solidarity,
Fred
Frederick E. Kowal, PhD
President
United University Professions