[AAUP-ULL-List] AAUP-LA Conference newsletter from Ravi Rau

[Leslie Bary]

Dear all,

When the Conference website upgrade is finished, AAUP State Conference
President Ravi Rau's February newsletter will be on it. In the meantime, I
would like to share it with you here as it contains his perspective on the
Bunsis presentation (a version of which was given at LSU) and also, at the
end, important information about funding for chapter development (there are
fall and spring deadlines).

Cheers -- Leslie. Ravi's letter follows:
Newsletter from AAUP LA State Conference, Feb 17, 2017

Dr. Howard Bunsis (Eastern Michigan) from the national AAUP visited our
campuses in Baton Rouge, Alexandria, and Lafayette Feb 9-11. In presenting
the bleak prospects we face in the State and the nation, he had a wealth of
information to share. A brief summary is given here. The full set of his
Powerpoint slides may be found through the LSU Faculty Senate website:
http://www.lsu.edu/senate/media%20archive.html
He exhorted us to grow our chapters of AAUP, that body standing ready to
help us as it has for a hundred years.

Revenues and State support of higher education
.    All but 7 US states showed gains in the total higher education
appropriation between 2012 and 2017, but LA’s loss was the second worst at
-11%. Already, the 2012 number was 30% below 2009.
.    The change per capita was +7% for the national average, LA’s
-25% being the second from the bottom.
.    For the year 2016-7, while most showed an increase, LA is one of three
with a further drop of over 5%.
.    State support as percent of total revenues are 38, 24, 20 for the
years 2008, 2012, and 2016, respectively. Concomitantly, tuition, again as
percent, shows the flipped numbers 17, 25, and 31. Breakdowns of these
numbers by LA institution are available (the third of these numbers, for
2016, for the main LSU campus are 14 and 33).
.    For the ten-year 2007-2017, change in Public 4-yr tuition was 43% for
the US average, LA’s 100%.
.    State appropriation per student, adjusted for inflation, was $10,000
for years 2008-9, $8000 for 2010-11, and $6000 for 2012-15, with a further
drop for 2016.
.    2016 total state revenue ($24 billion) is 44% from the federal
government; income and sales tax (highest in the nation) provide 14% each.
Oil and gas pays <10%.
.    In 2015, LA gave away $1.18 in sales tax break for each $1 collected.
It gave away $2.72 in corporate income tax break for $1 collected.
.    LA’s 10% is highest sales tax rate (AL is 9, MS 7) in US. Blue Ribbon
Panel has recommended eliminating 1% while reducing breaks.
.    LA has the 2nd highest poverty rate, 6th lowest per capita income.
.    In “Educational attainment,” as measured by percent of adults 25-34
with associate degree or higher, even among southern states, LA is second
lowest at 32 (MS and AL are a shade higher)

Political profile
.    Dramatic flip from blue (Dem) to red (Rep) between 2009 and 2016, LA
House from 23-16 to 14-25, Senate from 52-50 to 42-60. Also true in other
southern states and US as a whole.
.    Workers in labor unions: 7.3% of 113M in private, and 37.9% of 21M in
public sector in 2016 for overall rate of 10.7% (20 in 1983). For LA, this
last number is 4.2 against 6.4 for 16-southern-state average.

Further attacks coming on unions and tenure
.    In Iowa and Missouri, legislatures are advancing further restrictions
on collective bargaining and removal of tenure at universities, including
retroactively applying to presently tenured:
https://www.lwgis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=87&ba=SF41
and Inside Higher Education Feb 10, 2017. For AAUP Response, see:
https://www.aaup.org/news/concerted-attack-academic-freedom#.WleUJ7GZOjQ
See also U of Louisville defense:
http://louisville.edu/artsandsciences/why/defend

Faculty salaries and benefits
.    They are low, also not the majority portion of the budget. Instruction
+ Research salaries+benefits are 35% of Total Expenses (LSU main campus),
and 56% of Total salaries+benefits; results available for all campuses.

AAUP Membership
.    Of 7600 total faculty in LA, only 153 are members of AAUP. Main campus
of LSU: 35, Tulane: 35, ULL 12, SELU and SU-Shreveport: 11.
.    AAUP membership fees are based on salary: $100 for $40-50K salary,
$200 for $70-80K, $240 for $100-120K.

Summary Conclusion: With threats ahead to tenure, academic freedom, and
higher education as we have known it, it is imperative that all our campus
chapters grow their numbers substantially (establishing a new chapter takes
only 7 members) to stand together in a progressive movement for higher
education as a common good. National AAUP stands ready to help.

The State Conference’s website is being upgraded, as also the LSU main
campus chapter’s site. Campus chapters are also encouraged to have an
active online presence and tie their websites to the state conference’s.
There are also sources of support from the national office that we can
benefit from. ASC Grants of $1,000 or 2,000 have minimal requirements of a
functioning executive committee, a newsletter, and committees maintained
for legislative monitoring, academic freedom, and chapter development.
Applications are due Dec 15. Conference Development grants for one time
significant projects are entertained each Apr 1 and Oct 15. Our State
Conference encourages and will support any campus chapter willing to team
with us and apply for these.

Ravi Rau
President, LA State Conf., AAUP
225-578-6841
arau at phys.lsu.edu
-- 
Leslie Bary, Ph.D.
Asst. Prof. Spanish / LAS
http://languages.louisiana.edu/academic-programs/spanish

2016-2020 District V Representative, National Council AAUP
2016-2018 Secretary, Louisiana Conference AAUP
2017-2019 Vice President and Chair, Committee A, UL Lafayette Chapter AAUP

Department of Modern Languages
P.O. Drawer 43651
University of Louisiana
Lafayette, LA  70504
Tel.: 337.482.6814
Fax: 337.482.5446
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