The Virgil C. Crisafulli Scholarship for leadership and service in the spirit of the AAUP was awarded to Natasha Myalik, nominated by Professor Yvonne Monti.
The Robert W. Millett Scholarship for Academic Achievement was awarded to Kathi Jabe, nominated by Professor Elizabeth Threadgill.
Thanks also to the 2024 AAUP-Utica Scholarship Committee members, Linnea Franits and Dan Tagliarina.
About AAUP-Utica Scholarships
Two $1,000 scholarships are awarded annually at the AAUP-Utica spring luncheon. AAUP-Utica members are invited to nominate worthy Utica University students who:
Are in at least their second semester at Utica University, and
Have not yet completed their undergraduate degree, and
Need to complete at least 12 credits after the spring semester to earn their undergraduate degree, and
Have not already been awarded a scholarship by the AAUP-Utica.
While any nominee should have both an outstanding academic record and an interest in service to the community, the emphasis is different, with the Millett scholarship highlighting the academic and the Crisafulli highlighting service. A subcommittee of the governing board reviews the nominations and determines the winners of the scholarships.
The Virgil C. Crisafulli Scholarship is awarded each year to a student for demonstrated outstanding leadership in regard to at least one of the AAUP’s core values such as academic freedom, professional responsibility, civic service, humanitarian concern for others, and solidarity with those who share the common goals of equity and voice for all.
The Robert W. Millett Scholarship is awarded each year to a student for academic excellence reflecting the values of the AAUP: respect for open dialogue and the free exchange of ideas; the right to self-expression; integrity in scholarly endeavors; and support for academic freedom.
AAUP-Utica members, save the date for Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 for our annual Spring Luncheon Business Meeting!
An agenda will be sent out via email on May 1.
You can attend the spring business meeting either in person or virtually (same as last year). Please RSVP to AAUP-Utica Secretary, Jim Brown by Friday, May 3rd, if you plan to attend in person since lunch will be provided.
1️⃣ The Virgil C. Crisafulli Scholarship is awarded each spring to a Utica University student for demonstrated outstanding leadership in regard to at least one of AAUP’s core values such as academic freedom, professional responsibility, civic service, humanitarian concern for others, and solidarity with those who share the common goals of equity and a voice for all.
2️⃣ The Robert W. Millett Scholarship is awarded each spring to a Utica University student for academic excellence reflecting the values of the AAUP: respect for open dialogue and the free exchange of ideas; the right to self-expression; integrity in scholarly endeavors; and support for academic freedom.
While any nominee should have both an outstanding academic record and an interest in service to the community, the emphasis for each award is different. The Millett scholarship highlights academics and the Crisafulli scholarship highlights service.
ELIGIBILITY
In order to be eligible for an AAUP-Utica scholarship, a Utica University student must:
Be in at least their second semester at Utica University, and
Have not yet completed their undergraduate degree, and
Need to complete at least 12 credits after the current spring semester to earn their undergraduate degree, and
Have not already been awarded a scholarship by the AAUP-Utica
NOMINATIONS
AAUP-Utica members are invited to nominate worthy Utica University students for these scholarships.
To nominate a student, please send the nominee’s name and a letter of recommendation to the AAUP-Utica Scholarship Committee: Dan Tagliarina and Linnea Franitsno later than Friday, May 3, 2024. Be sure to specify which scholarship you are nominating your student for.
⭐️ Scholarship winners will be announced at our Spring Business Meeting on Wednesday, May 8 ⭐️
Lastly, don’t forget that if you purchase any AAUP-Utica items from our store, a portion of each purchase goes towards the AAUP-Utica Student Scholarship Fund. There is also an option on the store website to make a gift to support the student scholarship fund without making a purchase.
The September 5, 2023 Tentative Agreement was ratified by the AAUP-Utica Membership on Wednesday, September 27, and by the Utica University Board of Trustees on Thursday, September 28! 🎉
AAUP-Utica bargaining unit members are again working with a contract, effective immediately!
85% of the AAUP-Utica membership (85% of voting members) voted on the contract ratification, and 99% voted YES to ratifying the tentative agreement.
This is a huge win, and it is the result of a lot of hard work by the AAUP-Utica negotiation team, the entire AAUP-Utica leadership, and everyone who participated in the AAUP-Utica’s collective actions and mobilization efforts last year in the fight for a fair contract. All of those actions helped give the AAUP-Utica strength at the bargaining table.
After many many months of negotiating, and working 218 days without a contract, we finally have a Tentative Agreement! 🎉
The economic proposal includes:
❗️Yearly raises and lump sum payments for this year and the next three years.
❗️A new minimum salary framework to help our most underpaid members.
❗️In Academic Years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, additional reimbursement pay added to base salary for any member whose salary was reduced in 2020-2021 under the July 2020 MOA.
❗️Yearly increases to promotional raises, professional development raises (PDC), overload pay, and faculty research funds (FRC).
❗️Stronger language to protect jobs in the case of retrenchment.
❗️Clear language codifying bargaining unit faculty members as 9-month employees, and specifying that faculty duties are only required during the 9-month Academic Year.
❗️No cuts to healthcare and no cuts to retirement.
This Tentative Agreement is now being brought to the membership for a ratification vote per theAAUP-Utica Bylaws. Two informational meetings will be held in order to discuss the Tentative Agreement and address any questions or concerns. Details of how to join the informational meetings via Webex will be emailed out to dues-paying/voting members shortly.
This agreement is the result of the hard work of our negotiating team, governing board, grievances officers, and everyone in the union leadership. It is also a result of the membership uniting as one and standing up to the administration last year.
Your voices were heard, your buttons, stickers, shirts and posters were seen, your stories were shared, your strength and passion were noticed, and all of these factors together gave us strength at the bargaining table!
Huge thanks also to many members of US-AAUP who helped with strategy, weekly meetings, grants, workshops, and so much more!
Make sure you know your rights under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and under the NLRA. Check out the Spring/Summer 2023 Grievance Report, which summarizes the grievances we have had to contend with over the past six months. Many of the areas of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that are mentioned in this report are the result of multiple grievance investigations, and the grievances in this report come from bargaining unit members in all three schools. Please look over this report so that you can stay informed of your rights and protections in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and under the National Labor Relations Act.
Huge thanks 🙏 to Kirstin Walker, and more recently to Chris Riddle (our second grievance officer who officially started July 1, 2023), for their hard work as our AAUP-Utica grievance officers!
Congratulations to our newly elected Vice President, Daniel Tagliarina, our re-elected Secretary, Jim Brown, our newly elected Member-At-Large, Zhaodan Huang, and our re-elected Members-At-Large, Linnéa Franits, and Ariel Gratch, who will take office on July 1, 2023.
Beginning July 1, the AAUP-Utica Governing Board for 2023-2024 is:
President: Leonore Fleming, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Vice President: Daniel Tagliarina, Associate Professor of Political Science
Treasurer: John Peter, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Secretary: Jim Brown, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
Immediate Past President: Adam Pack, Distinguished Professor of Biology
Linnéa Franits, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy
Ariel Gratch, Associate Professor of Communication Arts
Zhaodan Huang, Distinguished Professor of Finance
Amy Lindsey, Associate Professor of Psychology
Jeffrey Miller, Professor of Communication Arts
Deborah Pollack, Assistant Professor of Psychology
We also want to take a moment to thank Doug Edwards, whose one-year term as Vice President ends on June 30, 2023. During his year as Vice President, Doug was courageous, level-headed, and an important voice of reason. His passion, his hard work, and above all, his incredible thoughtfulness, helped us navigate a very difficult and taxing year. Doug worked tirelessly fighting the good fight, and advocating for the faculty and students at Utica University, and we thank him for it!
The Virgil C. Crisafulli Scholarship for leadership and service in the spirit of the AAUP was awarded to Rhiana Marie Wojcik, nominated by Professor Kirstin Walker.
The Robert W. Millett Scholarship for Academic Achievement was awarded to Alexandra (Lexi) Lumley, nominated by Professors Sarah Keesom & Adam Pack.
Thanks also to the 2023 AAUP-Utica Scholarship Committee members, Dan Tagliarina and Ari Gratch
About AAUP-Utica Scholarships
Two $1,000 scholarships are awarded annually at the AAUP-Utica spring luncheon. AAUP-Utica members are invited to nominate worthy Utica University students who:
Are in at least their second semester at Utica University, and
Have not yet completed their undergraduate degree, and
Need to complete at least 12 credits after the spring semester to earn their undergraduate degree, and
Have not already been awarded a scholarship by the AAUP-Utica.
While any nominee should have both an outstanding academic record and an interest in service to the community, the emphasis is different, with the Millett scholarship highlighting the academic and the Crisafulli highlighting service. A subcommittee of the governing board reviews the nominations and determines the winners of the scholarships.
The Virgil C. Crisafulli Scholarship is awarded each year to a student for demonstrated outstanding leadership in regard to at least one of the AAUP’s core values such as academic freedom, professional responsibility, civic service, humanitarian concern for others, and solidarity with those who share the common goals of equity and voice for all.
The Robert W. Millett Scholarship is awarded each year to a student for academic excellence reflecting the values of the AAUP: respect for open dialogue and the free exchange of ideas; the right to self-expression; integrity in scholarly endeavors; and support for academic freedom.
AAUP Utica 