More than a dozen members of the committee discussed the new Web site and spent time mapping out a strategic plan of 2009 goals and objectives during a two-day retreat at the UUP Administrative Office Jan. 8-9. The two-day retreat was the group’s first since the late 1990s.

“The retreat let us consider our strategies on a number of fronts—new ways to share and access information, new recommendations for committee structure and member outreach, and an action plan,” said Co-chair Jill Hanifan of SUNY Albany. “Part-timers are the most immediately vulnerable to shrinking campus budgets, so it’s urgent that the (committee) respond quickly with fresh initiatives and smart and strategic action.”

Added Co-chair Carolyn Kube of Stony Brook HSC: “The meeting left the participants energized about the future direction of the committee.”

Web training

During the session, committee members took part in a Web training seminar taught by UUP Web Site Specialist Kenneth Holman. During the seminar, members viewed the committee’s new Web site, designed by Hanifan and Holman. The Web site can be found at http://uuphost.org/ptc.

The Web site “is going to be an awe-some tool for committee communication,” said Kube, a member of the statewide UUP Executive Board.

Article for adjuncts

In other news regarding part-time employees, Steven Street had a story published in the Jan. 19 edition of Inside Higher Ed, a respected online higher education journal. Street, a lecturer and writing instructor at Buffalo State, wrote an article for Inside Higher Ed titled “Avenues for Change Adjuncts Can Believe In.”

In the piece, Street discusses the risk of retrenchment of contingent faculty during America’s current economic slump and suggests ways adjuncts can create positive change to protect themselves.

Street said contingent faculty can take several steps to be heard, including commenting on the Change.gov Web site (http://change.gov), contacting the Higher Education Act extension implementation strategy teams, and teaming up with local contingent activists during Campus Equity Week events.

The article is online at www.insidehighered.com/views/2009/01/19/street.

— Michael Lisi