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Volume LXIV Number 2

Oct/Nov/Dec 2010

8/8/2019 Oct.Nov.Dec 2010


The TACT Quarterly eBulletinOct/Nov/Dec 2010 - Volume LXIV Number 2

In this quarter’s TACT newsletter...

Letter from the Presidentby Gary Coulton

Executive Director’s Report

by Chuck Hempstead

Pre-Filed Higher Education Bills

An Open Letter to George M. Philip, President of the StateUniversity of New York At Albany

Legislative Updateby Cindy Simpson

Pictures from the Fall 2010 Conference,and Upcoming Conference Dates

GRF Contributions

Membership Renewal and EPLI

Page 3

Page 5

Page 7

Page 9

Page 10

Page 11

Page 12

Page 13

TACT Board of Directors

2010-2011

President

Gary Coulton

University of Texas -

San Antonio

President-Elect

Peter Hugill

Texas A&M

VP of Financial AffairsFrank Fair

Sam Houston State Universit

VP of Membership

Mark Gaus


VP of Legislative Affairs

Cindy Simpson


Directors At Large

Elizabeth Lewandowski

Midwestern State University

Allen Martin

University of Texas - Tyler

Debra Price


Executive Director

Chuck Hempstead

(512) 873-7404

Texas Association of College Teachers

5750 Balcones Dr., Suite 201 Austin, Texas 78731

[email protected]

[p] (512) 873-7404

[f] (512) 873-7423

Copyright © 2010 by the Texas Association of College Teachers. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be produced in any form without permission; Chuck Hempstead, Editor.

TACT

mailto:tact%40bizaustin.rr.com?subject=


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Cover Page

Index

Letter from thePresident

Executive Director’sReport

Pre-Filed HigherEducation Bills

An Open Letter toGeorge M Philip,

President of the StateUniversity of New York At Albany

Legislative Update

Pictures from the Fall

2010 Conference

GRF Contributions

Membership

CONTENTS

3

The TACT Quarterly eBulletinTexas Association of College TeachersDefending Academic Freedom

TACT

Letter from the President

by Gary CoultonTACT President

It’s hard to predict the future. I wouldn’t be so pretentious as to claim that I

possess the ability to see what the Texas Legislature will do in the upcoming

session, but I’m sure that there will be many issues that affect college teachers.

With the exception of individuals who’ve been in a coma for the last

several years, everyone should be aware that the state is facing a huge (likely

record-breaking) budget shortfall. Speaking of predicting the future, even

experts (who should be fairly good at accurate prediction) don’t agree how large

the shortfall will be. Their estimates range from $15 to $25 billion for the 2011-

2013 period.

Major problems like this one require serious responses. Such economic

crises basically present two choices. One is to increase income; however, in the

present political climate simply mentioning the word “tax” creates a great dealof push back. The other choice is budget cutting. A majority of insiders (approxi-

mately 160 former ofce holders, lobbyists, etc.) informally polled believe that

spending cuts will be the legislature’s rst response (Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune,

November 22, 2010). And now for the really bad news, 95% of the same insiders

agree that higher education presents a very attractive target for the budget cutters.

With the current push to lure businesses from other states (e.g., California)

it seems counterintuitive that higher education would be a prime target for budget

cuts. Somehow making severe cuts to our state universities seems counterintuitive

when the state government is talking up how many companies are moving to Texas

from other states. If nothing else, I guess this reects that state ofcials prefer totake a short-term view here.

Two other relevant issues bound to come up in the upcoming

legislative session are, elimination of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating

Board (THECB), and amending the concealed handgun law to extend to college

and university campuses.



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TACT

Representative Fred Brown (R-Bryan) has submitted a bill that would merge

the THECB with the Texas Education Agency (TEA), effectively doing away with

the former agency. The gist of Rep. Brown’s rationale is that the proposed change

would support Texas’ K-20 (kindergarten through college) model of education

(provision of a seamless transition through the education process). He also cited

savings to the state that could be realized by combining the agencies. However,

TACT supports keeping THECB separate from TEA, because Texas needs a strong

Higher Education system, and folding THECB duties into TEA would only increase

the bureaucracy and politicization of education.

Regarding the concealed handgun issue, bills to allow individuals with

concealed weapons permits to carry a handgun on campus were introduced during

the 2009 session by both Senator Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) and Rep. Joe

Driver (R-Garland). Both bills failed, but similar ones have been introduced for the

2011 session.

TACT is opposed to permitting anyone but police ofcers or other security

personnel to carry rearms on college or university campuses. We don’t wish to

minimize the seriousness of actual “active shooter” events on campuses. But TACT

believes that the risk of the shooting of students with “carry permits” far outweighsthe possible benets of such a law.

What can you do if you would like to be heard regarding the issues

discussed here? First, if you aren’t already a TACT member – please join. Second,

contact your State Senator and Representative (as a private citizen, not using

university stationary or e-mail) and express your views.

I hope you all have a great holiday season. Take care.

Letter from the President

(cont’d.)



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CONTENTS

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TACT


by Chuck HempsteadTACT Executive Director

At the risk of anything I write about the upcoming Legislative Session

being outdated by the time the ink dries (O.K., the electrons settle), here’s what I’m

seeing. And don’t kill the messenger.

A Senator earlier in the week told me that the theme under the dome might

as well be “Nothing Good is Going to Happen.” While this may sound cynical, let’s

look at the context:

• Serious,seriousbudgetshortfalltocovercurrentservices. Some are now

whispering $28 Billion in the red. While sales tax revenues seem to have turned

the corner and are inching up, they’ve got a long way to go to get back to where

we were. Same with the business franchise tax (remember we can’t have a

business income tax, and doesn’t that school property tax reduction tradeoff feel

so good?). And nobody’s expecting to hear an updated revenue estimate from

the Comptroller, possibly until January.

• TheRainyDayFund.Eight Billion Dollars waiting to be tapped in years when

revenues fall below expectations, right? Doesn’t that sound like TODAY? One

would think, except that it is liable to be the biggest political football in the State

except the Dallas Cowboys (oops, bad example). Not only does it not nearly ll

the hole when placed next to the “no new taxes” promises, shrewd legislators are

holding back their support for future leveraging. Some are (rightly) claiming

it’s nger-in-the-dyke at best since the budgeting process and revenue sources

are so structurally decient.

• Redistricting. Always a show stopper. Remember, the top priority of a

politician is to get re-elected, and holding out support for a districts map nearly

always slows or halts progress on everything else. Anybody want to invest in a

hotel in New Mexico or Oklahoma???

• VoterI.D.slashimmigrationreform. Did you hear about the legislator who

camped out for TWO NIGHTS so that she could be the rst to pre-le her bills

on Arizona-like documentation of legal status. Now that’s dedication, and it’s

part of her four-bill package.



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TACT

• Casinogaming. O.K., you’ve heard about this one before (for 30 years?), but

we’ve got to nd some money somewhere. The recent electoral success of the

moral majority looks like gambling may be a non-starter, and even if adopted

wouldn’t generate revenue for years.

Enough. I could go on, but the point is that the budget, national political

mood and largest-ever Republican dominance sets a new landscape. The emotion

of these issues is well beyond the legislation led naming the hamburger the State

Sandwich of Texas.

Elsewhere in this issue you will nd more specics about what TACT will be

doing for Texas faculty, and we will be updating you as fast as we can.

Remember last summer when the TACT Board met with the Commissioner

of Higher Education regarding the controversial proposal to fund part of higher

education based on outputs, such as course completion? The proposal now enjoys a

business coalition including the Texas Association of Business and the Governor’s

Business Council.

How can you help? Make it a point to meet your Representative and Senator in your district, before they come to Austin in January. Tell them that you understand

the situation in which they nd themselves, but bankrupting future intellectual talent

in our state is not an option.

To paraphrase a rather familiar call to action, “Remember the TEXAS

Grant!!!”


(cont’d.)



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TACT

HOUSE

HB86-ConcealedCarryonCollegeCampuses- By David Simpson

Allows for anyone with a Texas concealed handgun license to carry on a college

campus, or inside of any building in which an activity sponsored by the institution is

being conducted

HB104-AbolishingtheHigherEducationCoordinatingBoard-By Fred Brown

Would abolish the Higher Education Coordinating board and fold their duties under

TEA

HB136-CourseDroppingLimits-By Mark Shelton

Would set a limit on the number of course an undergraduate student can drop in his

academic career. Exceptions include: sickness, caring for a sick loved one, a death in

the family, or military service which would keep them from completing the course.

HB50–EstablishingaUniversityofTexasSchoolofLawintheRioGrande

Valley-By Eddie Lucio III

This bill requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to do a feasibility

study of having a Law School in Cameron or Hidalgo Counties.

SENATE

SB28–EligibilityoftheTexasGrantsProgram-By Judith Zafrini

This updates the criteria for Texas Grants. While need is still the priority, grants will

initially be awarded based on merit as well, with an emphasis on higher level math

and science courses taken.

SB29-EligibilityofPostDoctorateFellowsandGraduatestudentsto

participateinHealthBenetPrograms-By Judith Zafrini

Allows for Post Doctorate Fellows and Graduate students to participate in the sameGroup Benets plans that other faculty can participate in.

SB36-EffectivenessofUniversityAdvisingPrograms- By Judith Zafrini

Would use student surveys and “objective, quantiable measures” to judge the

effectiveness of academic advising departments




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TACT

SB52-TaxFreeTextbooks-By Judith Zafrini

Would make textbooks bought by students exempt from sales tax beginning at 12:01

a.m. on the third Friday in August and ending at 12 midnight on the second following

Sunday, and beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the second Friday in January and ending at

12 midnight on the second following Sunday.

SB164-FixedCostTuitionOptionforUndergraduates-By Florence Shapiro

Would effectively “lock in” tuition rates based on the rate charged for any course

when that student was a freshman. For courses that weren’t offered that academic yearthe tuition would be calculated to be the same as an equivalent course. This would not

affect optional fees required

SB200-ReportsfromtheHigherEducationCoordinatingBoard- By Judith

Zafrini

Would require the Board to look at all of the reporting metrics they use and determine

along with the help of the legislature, Comptroller, and other “interested state

agencies and stakeholders” how the reporting process could be improved, including

the cancellation of some reports.


(cont’d.)



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TACT

Editor’s Note:

Below is an open letter written by Dr. Gregory Petsko of Brandeis University

to the President of the State University of New York at Albany about the trade-off of

trying to balance budgets by the elimination of courses and degree programs in areas

that were considered “losers” by the bean counters. The job of the President is “to nd

ways of solving problems that do not require the amputation of healthy limbs” which

is exactly what SUNY did.

With budgets being slashed across the state, it is important to remember that

colleges and universities should provide a balanced education for their students, and

that ultimately, it is impossible to determine what courses and topics will be most

necessary for the country to succeed in a decade’s time.

The letter can be read in its entirety by going to this link:

http://www.genomebiology.com/2010/11/10/138

An Open Letter to George M. Philip, President of the

State University of New York At Albany



http://genomebiology.com/2010/11/10/138



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TACT

Now that the election is over, it is time to look at our favorite 140 days of

the biennium: The Texas Legislative Session.

In preparation, your board members visited with legislators and staff members during our recent conference. After hearing their thoughts, we spent time

debating and agreeing to a list of legislative goals, which are as follows:

• Maintain current funding levels of TEXAS Grants.

• Oppose legislation allowing individuals to carry concealed handguns on

college campuses.

• Oppose the Coordinating Board appropriation formula recommendation of

eliminating the tenure track faculty in undergraduate courses supplement.

• Increase Texas faculty salaries to achieve parity with the other 10 most

populous states.

I hope that at this point you are thinking to yourself “How can I help?” In

a meeting with a member of the Senate Higher Education committee’s staff about

what we can do, he told us very simply: “Testify in person. I can give the

members hundreds of pages of research, but it won’t have nearly the same impact

as one person giving oral testimony to the committee.” When we know of a time

that we need oral testimony we will put out an alert so that any member of TACT

can come down to Austin and make your voice heard in person.

As always, I encourage you to contribute to our government relations fund.

This will be an expensive legislative session. Join me in helping to defray a small

portion of the expenses incurred by your dedicated ofcers spending their time on

your behalf.

Donate to the GRF by clicking here.

Legislative Update

by Cindy Simpson Vice President of Legislative Affairs


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CONTENTS

11


TACT

TACTUpcomingConferences:

Spring February 25-26, 2011

Fall October 28-29, 2011

Spring February 17-18, 2012

Fall October 26-27, 2012

Pictures from the Fall 2010 Conference

Dr. Gary Coulton, TACT President. Dr. Peter Hugill, TACT President-Elect.

Keynote Speaker Robert Nelson, former TACT Board Member

and President of UT Pan American, speaks about his faculty

perspective as a university president.



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TACT

The James M. Puckett, Ph. D.

Government Relations Fund

The TACT Dr. James M. Puckett, Ph.D. Government Relations Fund is a result of optional

contributions made by those committed to TACT’s heightened public affairs program. It is

not used for candidate contributions, but for activities that will increase awareness of TACT

among opinion leaders of public policy. Your contribution will assist in TACT’s legislative

efforts to improve Texas higher education. All expenditures are approved in advance byTACT’s President, President-elect and Legislative Committee Chair.

Click Here to Contribute

Thankyoutothefollowingcontributors

Gary Coulton

Jonathan Coopersmith

Mary Lynn DeShazo

Frank Fair

Clarke Garnsey

Chuck Hempstead

Harvey Johnson

Elizabeth Lewandowski

Andrea WilliamsGeorge Parangimalil

Robert Strader

Debra Price





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TACT

Visit www.tact.org, and

join TACT Today!

If you or any of your colleagues has not renewed your TACT membership,

then your Educators Professional Liability Insurance has expired! If you could

listen to the stories we hear about faculty mistreatment by students and administra-

tors, legal coverage would be a no-brainer. Losing one’s job or a million dollar

settlement is a huge price compared to what TACT-provided EPLI will cost you.

From the informational First Alerts and eBulletins to year-round advocacy in

Austin, TACT is here to serve you. In fact, we are currently going through all of the

pre-led bills for the 82nd Legislative Session and will continue to update you.

In order to renew your TACT membership online at www.tact.org under

“Join TACT” or over the phone by calling (512) 873-7404.

Membership Renewal and EPLI

ThankYouforYourSupport.

HaveaHappyandRestfulHolidaySeason!


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