Western Oregon Journal

Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Headlines

Dr. Edwin Dover, Professor of Political Science

Vice President of Finance and Administration

Every two years the administration and faculty come together for several meetings to discuss a collective bargaining agreement. At the meetings they discuss faculty raises in salary, release time for pursuit of scholarly endeavors and other contract issues.

The process in years past has been a long and difficult engagement. This was best demonstrated two years ago when faculty threatened to go on strike during negotiations. The parties came to an agreement just in time, only two days before classes started at the end of Winter break. At this time, negotiations were not exactly harmonious and neither side was willing to make a large concession.

According to Dr. Edwin Dover, professor of political science and chair of the faculty bargaining team, the reason for the delay was that the chief negotiator for the administration was in no hurry to get things done and, Dr. Dover recalls, was not completely sincere with the faculty.

Things were very different this year and a faculty strike was not even considered. This year, both sides decided that the possibility of a strike was undesireable and both worked hard to get the agreement done sooner and make the process more pleasant. According to Dr. Dover, "The man who we were working with this year was very good at being upfront with us, he gave us accurate numbers and honest info." Dr. Dover was referring to the VP of Finance and Administration, Mark Weiss. Dr. Dover has been the chief negotiator through four of the last nine agreements (dating back to 1991). He claimed that this agreement was the quickest negotiation process he had ever seen completed his service as negotiator.

The only reason the agreement was not completed earlier was because, until the first week of September, the administration did not know what the state's budget and allocation was for Western. When they finally got the budget, the process went smoothly.

The fact that both sides wanted to get this done quickly and successfully was not the only reason it went well; the State of Oregon came through with more money than it had in the past due to increased funding for higher education. This made it easier for both sides to get what they wanted.

One of the snags in past negotiations was the administration's desire (at the time) to give raises to only a certain number of faculty members. It is not hard to imagine why this would not bode well with the rest of the faculty and this year the administration awarded the faculty with an increase of 7.5 percent across the board. Non-tenured professors get a raise of 6 percent over the next two years.

Another important issue that was addressed during the negotiations was revising the rules for tenure and promotion. The work load was lessened on Western's professors as well. Extra staff will be hired to help out in the labs of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and in the College of Education. Beginning this year, each professor will be able to apply for a new grant. This specific grant stipulates that the professor can take one class off during one term and put that time and effort into scholarly pursuits instead, while still getting full pay. These pursuits may include, but are not limited to, research and writing. Professors will apply to a committee of nine faculty members and share with them their plans concerning the use of the extra time.

This reflects both sides' preference to begin putting more effort into scholarship. According to Dr. Dover, at large universities, such as Oregon State University and the University of Oregon, an average professor may spend 40 percent of his/her time in teaching and the rest in scholarship and service towards the university. Currently, Dr. Dover estimates that on the average, Western professors spend 80 percent of their time teaching. Professors will now have the opportunity to contribute more time and effort to the academic community, beyond the classroom walls.
Weiss said that the faculty should be commended for their achievement in getting this agreement ratified. Weiss also stated that there has been money allocated for faculty to attend different academic conferences. Overall, both sides seem very happy with the agreement. The faculty members who were involved in the voting ratified the agreement by a vote of 78-2. Both sides are on the same page and Western professors should be able to enjoy a nice smooth two years until the next negotiation begins. •

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