Dave Johnson

COVID news from 3/20 (first post)

March 21, 2020

Two separate newsletters/announcements came out on Friday, 3/20. Here’s the first.

Dear colleagues,
Please carefully read the new update from the Chancellor regarding the latest developments on campus, particularly in response to the state’s “stay at home” order. Such campus messages can be found here:
https://shc.siu.edu/coronavirus/campus-messages.php
Locally, there is some good news. I am happy to say that communication and consultation between the administration, unions, and constituency heads has been strong, particularly over the last couple of days. Some of our recommendations have yet to be implemented, and more questions will arise in the days to come, some of which will probably prove controversial, given the range of issues facing us. But so far we are doing a pretty good job of facing the crisis together.

Read more of this post

Filed under 2019-2020 Newsletters, COVID

FA News: COVID #2

March 19, 2020

A new set of recommendations is available here:

FA COVID Recommendations #2

Filed under 2019-2020 Newsletters

COVID-19 Recommendations

March 16, 2020

Dear colleagues,

The attached document shares some FA recommendations for the COVID-19 crisis.

We are all scrambling to react to this crisis. The recommendations we pass on are just that, our best ideas for how to handle this crisis now. The way things are going, many of them may be overtaken by events in the next day or two.

Read more of this post

Filed under Older Posts

COVID-19 page

March 13, 2020

I’ve posted a COVID–19 page which can be accessed directly from the menu (top left) and via this link. I’ll try to gather together relevant information there as this situation progresses.

Filed under Older Posts

FA News (Mar 10, 2020)

March 11, 2020

Here is the latest addition of the FA news–an update on the COVID-19 crisis.

FA News 11 March 2020

I am also doing email list maintenance. If you want to receive FA newsletters and announcements, drop me a line at dmj2@me.com.

Filed under 2019-2020 Newsletters

Restructuring comes for CoLA

January 28, 2020

To any not in this particular loop, restructuring is now making its way to the remaining ten departments in CoLA (i.e., those not included within the proposed college of Arts and Media or otherwise already shipped off to other colleges.

Attached here are two relevant documents: the “Solicitation of Feedback” memo from the administration, and a response by Joseph Brown of Africana Studies, which was written up in preparation for a meeting held for CoLA faculty on January 21.

Solicitation of Feedback – CoLA Jan 2020

Notes for 1-21-20 CoLA meeting

Filed under Restructuring & program changes

Report on Faculty Senate 12/10/2019

December 10, 2019

Graduate student numbers.

The most important news item may have been an explanation for why SIUC didn’t provide any data on graduate applications at last week’s Board of Trustees meeting. As was noted in the last FA News post, numbers distributed on campus indicate a decline in graduate school applications of over 50%. Yet at the same BOT meeting where the provost touted higher undergraduate numbers, she reported that no figures were available for graduate students. At the FS Provost Komarraju provided a more nuanced response. Komarraju said that a glitch in the new reporting system appears to have led to a undercounting of applicants. Undergraduate numbers were the priority, she said, and a staffer was out in the grad school, explaining why they had undergraduate application numbers but no reliable graduate numbers. The administration is working on getting more accurate numbers, they said. Komarraju assured a questioner that applications were being processed despite this glitch.

Read more of this post

Filed under Miscellaneous

FA News from 12/6/2019

December 10, 2019

This edition includes an announcement about an election, quick report on bargaining, then longer commentary on some recent events.

1. Election. It’s time for FA members to elect someone to serve as a delegate to the IEA Regional Assembly, the body that sets IEA policies (including dues). Our colleague Jacob Haubenreich has agreed to put his name forward, and we need to hold an election to ensure we are represented at the Assembly. To vote, stop by my office in Faner (2037) any time between 9:30 and 1:30 on Monday. If you are an FA member and will be on campus on Monday, please consider coming by to vote.

MONDAY 9:30-1:30 IN FANER 2037

(Second floor, near south end of the building, west hallway) This would also be a fine time for anyone to stop by to discuss any FA business they would like to with me.

Read more of this post

Filed under 2019-2020 Newsletters

New System President Named

December 3, 2019

Daniel F. Mahony, president of Winthrop University in South Carolina, has been named the new president of the SIU system (pending formal BOT approval this week).

I (Dave Johnson) was on the search advisory committee, and can confirm that he was one of those most highly ranked by the committee, though the committee did not rank candidates. Our only role was to help select a group to be interviewed by the BOT.

Here are the relevant detailed BOT documents, including the public version of his offer package.

SIU System Presidential Announcement_12-5-19final

1219agendarevised

cppresidentmahonycombined

Filed under News, Presidential search