American Association of University Professors Illinois Conference Policy Council Minutes for Saturday, November 1, 2003 Meeting Columbia College, Chicago IL Present: Pangratios Papacosta (Columbia College), President, Joan Berman (Barat College, DePaul University, Emeritus), Vice President, Joseph Felder (Bradley University), Secretary, Leo Welch (Southwestern Illinois College), immediate past President and Lobbyist, Lynne Meyer, Executive Director, Michael Collins (Loyola University Medical Center), Lisa Townsley (Benedictine University), John Wilson (ISU Graduate Student, Editor of IL Academe), John Leahy (DePaul University), Past President. Absent: Anne L. Draznin (U of I Springfield), Treasurer, Walter J. (Jerry) Kendall (The John Marshall Law School), Lesley Kordecki (Barat College, DePaul University), Frederic W. Widlak (National-Louis University), Michael McIntyre (De Paul University), Jan Cook (ISU retired), Robert Hippensteele (Illinois Wesleyan University) Also in attendance for part of the meeting: Jordan Werblow, an accountant and financial general contractor, hired shortly after the April 26 Annual Meeting. The meeting was called to order at 10:30 a.m. 1) The Minutes for the April 25, 2003, Meeting were approved as amended. The Secretary was informed that the Minutes for the April 26 Business Meeting will be distributed at the 2004 Annual Meeting. 2) Report of the President, Pan Papacosta a) Pan speaks at other campuses, takes many calls, and provides information and referrals. b) IL Academe was sent to all members and bundles were sent to chapter presidents for local distribution. The new format and content of IL Academe have been well received by members of the national office. c) There have been no applications for chapter grants. (Columbia College will be submitting one shortly.) d) The Illinois Conference sent Lynne Meyer and Leo Welch to an AAUP Summer Institute in New Mexico. e) The website keeps getting better. It now has some photos and more links. f) There have been significant problems with the recently purchased laptop computer. It appears that we purchased a lemon. We are still trying to resolve the issue with the manufacturer (DELL). Because of the computer problem, we have fallen behind is issuing newsletters and chapter outreach. g) The accounting mess is being resolved. Pan assumed the duties of de facto Treasurer shortly after becoming President. We are now in a transition phase as the duties of Treasurer are being shifted to the elected Treasurer, Anne Draznin. h) John Wilson, the new editor of IL Academe, has computer expertise that has saved us a lot of money. 3) Report of the Editor of IL Academe, John Williams a) The deadline for submissions is November 13. The next edition will be sent out a week before Thanksgiving. We need member mailing labels. John was advised to contact Eileen Garner, Administrative Coordinator in the National Office. After the meeting the Secretary found the following contact information: egarner@aaup.org, 202-737-5900, ext. 3005, to get mailing labels. b) We will send copies to other State Conferences. We will also send copies to the Presidents of Illinois colleges and universities. c) The editor still wants to hear from chapters so that chapter news items can be included. d) The editor would like to be able to announce in the next issue the date, place, and theme of the next annual meeting. e) John Wilson is the first graduate student to serve on the State Council. We should do more to get graduate students to join AAUP. We should get and distribute a brochure aimed at graduate students. John announced that the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students will hold its regional meeting at ISU in March, 2004. 4) Report of accountant and financial general contractor, Jordan Werblow of the Hechtman Group, Wilmette, IL a) Jordan was engaged shortly after the April 26 Annual Meeting to do a one year financial report for 2002. Later, Jordan was asked to go back two more years and prepare financial reports for 2001 and 2000. He provided us with Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports for 2001, 2002, and 2003, as of the end of November or December. Jordan worked closely with Anne Draznin and was very impressed with her competence and professionalism. His report covers many of the same topics and recommendations found in Anne Draznin’s Treasurer’s Report, submitted to Council members in advance of this meeting. b) Jordan Werblow made the following discoveries and recommendations. c) AAUP-IL had a tax ID number, but it was invalid because it was not associated with a qualifying organization. d) We have considered Lynne Meyer, our Executive Director, to be an employee, and we did take withholding and Social Security, but we did not remit the money to the relevant governmental agencies. We agreed that Lynne should be treated as an independent contractor, responsible for paying her own taxes. We also agreed that her pay will be adjusted so that she ends up with the same after-tax income she would have received as a regular employee. e) Remission of dues from National is deposited at irregular times. Jordon recommended that we work with National to standardize the timing of remissions and deposit them in a timely scheduled manner. f) Jordan recommended that we centralize where things are sent, where funds are deposited and kept, and from whence disbursements are made. g) Jordan recommended that we purchase Quickbooks Pro and issue electronic checks. The program updates balances and accounts automatically. It costs about $200. A drawback is that the program would reside on just one computer and all checks would have to be issued from that computer. Anne Draznin recommends in her report that we purchase Quickbooks and that it reside in Jordan Werblow’s office, where it would be accessible to the Treasurer and other authorized individuals, no matter where they are located. h) Jordan recommended that we establish an explicit reimbursement policy. He said that when we issue reimbursements we need to issue 1099 IRS forms to the recipients. He also said that some reimbursements may be taxable. i) To be a non-profit tax exempt organization we need to go through an application process. Jordan said that either a 501(c)3 or (c)4 would be appropriate for us. To learn more about an501(c)3’s and 4’s see the handout by Donna Euben, a lawyer in the national AAUP office, entitled “Taking Care of Business: Managing Chapter and Conference Taxes and Business Affairs.” j) It is easier to get the (c)4 designation. Essentially, we self-declare that we are a not-for-profit social welfare organization. We would need professional help to get the (c)3 designation. With the latter, but not the former, our members could take their state dues and contributions as a charitable tax deduction. One drawback of the latter is that our lobbying would be more limited. k) In either case, we should incorporate, if only to limit the liability of officers, employees, volunteers and members. We would need professional help to incorporate.    l) Jordan’s time far exceeded what was originally envisioned. He will submit a bill for the time he and his staff have put in. The rates will be in the $100 to $200 per hour range. 5) Treasurer’s Report: Anne Draznin a) Anne Draznin could not attend. She submitted a written report to Council members in advance of this meeting. I incorporated most of her points and recommendations above. b) Pan Papacosta, who acted as de facto assistantTreasurer until accounts and records were ready to be transferred to Anne Draznan, submitted a complete statement of all checks issued under his name, including an explanation for each check. 6) More on incorporation. Various members said that they would consult with spouses and acquaintances who have legal expertise. a) John Wilson moved that the Executive Committee explore the options and initiate steps leading to incorporation in the State of Illinois, including drafting articles of incorporation and drafting any changes to our constitution required by same, if any. Michael Collins seconded. Discussion followed. These questions were asked, but not answered: Is bonding of the Treasurer part of incorporation? To what extent is the Treasurer’s personal liability limited by incorporation? (Personal risk was one of Anne’s concerns.) It was recommended that we look into the practices regarding incorporation of other state conferences and identify “best practices.” John Wilson’s motion carried unanimously. 7) Discussion of the duties of the Treasurer. a) One possibility, described on pages 6 and 7 of the Treasurer’s Report, is to have the Executive Director keep track of the incoming requests for reimbursement and bills, have the Treasurer approve or disapprove the expenditures, and have the Executive Director issue checks and generate a monthly report of all transactions for the Treasurer so the Treasurer can keep track of the expenses on an ongoing basis. b) Another, more in keeping with our standard practice, is for the Council to have responsibility for approval and the Treasurer to have responsibility for dispersal and record-keeping. c) Pan Papacosta moved that we specify in writing the job descriptions of all constitutional officers, starting with Treasurer. Pan Papacosta then proposed specific language for the job description and duties of Treasurer, based on the language in Robert’s Rules of Order. Lisa Townsley seconded. After discussion and accepted friendly amendmentswe agreed on the following language: Job Description of Treasurer of AAUP-IL The Treasurer of AAUP-Il is the custodian of its funds and receives and disburses them upon authority from the President and/or the Executive Committee. A Treasurer shall be bonded. The Treasurer should prepare monthly statements and a report once a year to be presented at the annual meeting. The annual report will be audited by an audit committee or an independent accountant. The auditor’s report should be presented following the Treasurer’s report. The Treasurer must prepare an annual budget to be presented to the Council for approval at the Fall meeting. Copies of the monthly statements, budget and annual report should be kept at the Conference’s main office. d) Leo Welch proposed that the President be given a small discretionary budget. Leo proposed that there be a recall provision. Leo also proposed that in the event of a recall, resignation, or incapacity, the President should have the power to make an interim appointment, subject to approval by the Executive Committee. There was general agreement but no formal vote was taken on Leo’s proposals. 8) Planning for Annual Meeting a) Pan Papacosta proposed Chicago, in hopes of greater attendance. b) Jack Leahy suggested that the main topic be contingent faculty. See the September/October issue of Academe. Jack also proposed breakout sessions for administrators. c) There was much discussion of other topics and formats. d) A long list of possible keynote speakers was compiled. e) Possible dates are April 17th or 24th. 9) Nominating Committee a) It was decided that the nominating committee should be made up of 2 or 3 Council members and 2 or 3 people not on the Council. b) Positions to be filling include President, Vice President, and 2 Council seats. 10) Legislative Report: Leo Welch a) Leo proposed creation of a new (constitutional?) Conference officer position called the “Officer for Legislative and Governing Board Affairs.” The officer would be a member of the Executive Committee. The officer would attend IBHE meetings (roughly 6 per year in various locations throughout the state), monitor state legislative activity dealing with higher education, testify before and submit written reports to legislative committees, meet informally with legislators and their staffs, and generally serve as lobbyist for AAUP-IL. b) Leo has been performing these functions for years, and he is a member of the Council by virtue of being the immediate past President. His proposal would ensure that the lobbying function be done by someone who is an elected or an appointed member of the Executive Committee. Before Leo assumed the lobbying function without pay, we employed a Springfield lobbyist for about $2000 per year. Until recently, there was usually at least one member of the Council who concurrently served on the Faculty Advisory Committee to the IBHE. c) Leo also recommended that a budget item of $2500 be approved for the 2004 calendar year to cover the costs of attending IBHI meetings and lobbying. Pan Papacosta moved acceptance in principle of creating an “Officer for Legislative and Governing Board Affairs.” John Wilson moved authorization and funding immediately, pending creation of the official position. Both motioned passed unanimously. d) Leo presented a written Legislative Report listing all higher education bills signed into law, vetoed by the Governor, and not yet passed by both houses. He called special attention to the new Higher Education Budget (HB2671 – FY 04 and following) and the Redefinition of Educational Employee (House Bill 1457). e) Leo pointed out that individual campuses can have independent union affiliations, including affiliations with AFT. A case in point has arisen at UIC. The faculty at that campus request joint AFT - AAUP membership for purposes of organization. Discussion followed, including discussion of the growing tension between AFT and the Collective Bargaining Congress of AAUP, and the fact that they sometimes launch competing unionization drives. Leo Welch Moved the following: Should the faculty of UIC prefer a joint AAUP-AFT affiliation in its attempt to organize and form a union, we honor and support the choice - as long as AAUP principles are strongly adhered to. John Wilson seconded. The motioned passed unanimously. f) Leo reported on the PEW Trust’s “National Forum on College-Level Learning.” He gave Council members copies of a PEW Trust document summarizing the project (available at http://www.people.virginia.edu/~mam5mc/nationalforum.html Leo also handed out a memorandum summarizing his views on the PEW Trust project. In his opinion, it is a seriously flawed attempt to impose a uniform grading system on student outcomes. Leo thinks that the PEW project will lead to a “No Child Left Behind” for Higher Education. He pointed out, as he had at the April, 2003 meetings, that the National AAUP Committee on College and University Teaching, Research, and Publications, issued a report in June 1991 entitled “Mandated Assessment of Educational Outcomes.” Point 1 in the AAUP Report says that “The faculty should have primary responsibility for establishing the criteria for assessment and methods for implementation. “ The pilot has people from outside the state and the ILBHE staff decides the criteria and methods. Within institutions it is implemented by staff, not faculty. Point 2 in the AAUP Report says that “The assessment should focus on... institutionally determined goals and objectives.” The pilot is “one size fits all.” Institutions decide whether or not to participate in the pilot, but the institutional decision is made by university presidents, not by faculty. g) Leo is working with Tom Guild (Oklahoma) and Jiim Richardson (Nevada) on the issue and has asked Jane Buck to address the issue at the Collective Bargain Congress meeting in December. John Wilson asked to get information from and about PEW. 11) Mike Collins, Loyola University Medical School, needs a speaker who can address Medical School issues. Motion to adjourn at 2:30 P.M. JOB DESCRIPTION OF TREASURER OF AAUP-IL The Treasurer of AAUP-Il is the custodian of its funds and receives and disburses them upon authority authorization from the President and/or the Executive Committee. A Treasurer shall be bonded. The Treasurer shall prepare monthly statements and a report once a year to be presented at the annual meeting. The annual report will be audited by an audit committee or an independent accountant. The auditor’s report should be presented following the Treasurer’s report. an annual report. The annual report, consisting of an Income and Expenditure Statement and a Balance Sheet, shall be [may be?] audited by an audit committee or an independent accountant. The Treasurer’s annual report shall be presented at the annual meeting, followed immediately by the auditor’s report [if any?]. The Treasurer must shall prepare an annual budget to be presented and present it to the Council for its approval at the Fall Council[?] meeting. The Conference’s main office shall retain Ccopies of the Treasurer’s monthly statements, budget, and annual report, and the auditor’s report [if any] should be kept at the Conference’s main office. Page 1 of 6