Open Letter From The AAUP-Utica Leadership About Retrenchment at Utica University

September 11, 2025 AAUP-Utica

Yesterday, the AAUP-Utica Leadership issued an open letter in response to the retrenchment notices sent by Utica University on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

We urge all students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members to read it, as it provides important context for how we reached this point.

To echo the last line of our letter, in this difficult time, we stand united with our colleagues, our students, and our community.

In solidarity,

The AAUP-Utica Governing Board, Negotiation Team, Grievance Officers, Board of Trustees Guests, and Hearing Committee Members

8-10-25 AAUP-Utica Open Letter About Retrenchment Download

AAUP-Utica Tentative Agreement Is Ratified!

September 30, 2023 AAUP-Utica

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.

Read about this momentous win in the Daily Sentinel “Contract agreement a ‘win’ for both sides at Utica University.”

Happy Labor Day from AAUP-Utica!

Image September 4, 2023 AAUP-Utica

Congratulations To Our New Board Members!

June 5, 2023 AAUP-Utica

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!

An Open Letter from the Governing Board

Leave a comment April 30, 2023 AAUP-Utica

WE ARE WORTH MORE THAN 0%

10+ months fighting for a fair contract, advocating for the needs of the full-time faculty, librarians, and HEOP counselors.

9.97% increase in inflation since August 2021.

89+ days working without a contract.

7.625% pay cut for full-time faculty, librarians, and HEOP counselors for fiscal year 2020-2021.

68% of 119 full-time faculty and librarians who participated in a survey last week said they would vote Yes on a strike authorization vote.

5 members in the university leadership (at least) are leaving the institution at the end of the semester.

4 outstanding information requests still remain from the AAUP-Utica asking the University to explain their financial position.

3 extraordinary faculty (at least) are leaving this institution to take other jobs.

2 talented students (at least) withdrew within the last few weeks from the University in order to transfer to other institutions because their major was cut by the Board of Trustees on February 16, 2023.

1 year after becoming a “University,” the Board of Trustees voted to cut 13 programs at the behest of President Laura Casamento.

This past year we’ve been given

0% respect and shared governance

0% justification and transparency

0% raise in salary

Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. We are worth more than this; our students are worth more than this. We are all worth more than 0%.

Leonore Fleming, President, AAUP Utica/AFT 6786

AAUP-Utica Governing Board Officers

Douglas Edwards, Vice President

John Peter, Treasurer

Jim Brown, Secretary

Adam Pack, Immediate Past President

Xiao Xiao, Immediate Past Treasurer

Kirstin Walker, Grievance Officer

AAUP-Utica Governing Board Members At Large

Linnéa Franits

Ariel Gratch

Amy Lindsey

Jeffrey Miller

Deborah Pollack

Daniel Tagliarina

aaup-utica-govering-board-letter Download

Rally to Save Utica! Video Summary and News Round Up

Leave a comment February 20, 2023 AAUP-Utica

Click the Facebook Post Above or Click Here to Watch the Save Utica! Rally Summary Video.

We also have livestream footage of the entire four-hour event on our Instagram: @aauputica, and The Tangerine did a great job documenting the event and recording the individual speeches as well. You can watch their videos from the event on their Instagram using the links below:

Finally, make sure to check out the great news coverage of the event by clicking the pictures below:

Or click the links directly:

Utica Observer Dispatch (via Yahoo News)
Spectrum One
WKTV
WRVO
Rome Daily Sentinel

Rally To Save Utica! This Friday During Utica University Board of Trustees Meetings

Leave a comment February 12, 2023 AAUP-Utica

Come Out To Support Utica University Faculty, Students, Staff, and Alumni!

The Utica University Board of Trustees will be on campus this coming Friday, Feb. 17 and will be voting on whether or not to eliminate majors in Chemistry, Physics (BA), Geoscience, Philosophy, Spanish, International Studies, Therapeutic Recreation, Healthcare Management, Nutrition, Sociology & Anthropology, and more. As well as voting to modify English, History, Math, Political Science, Accounting, and others.

RSVP to Facebook Event

Please consider joining our Rally to Save Utica on Friday morning (stop by any time between 8:30am-12:30pm) to support the Utica University Faculty, Students, Staff and Alumni and help us make our voices heard!

This event is open to anyone and everyone. It’s a chance for faculty, students, staff, alumni and community members to come together and support one another.

Schedule of speakers and events will be released as soon as available.

Location Information:

Directions to Duffy Plaza (outside Boehlert Hall) at Utica University

Sign up for updates and RSVP here: tinyurl.com/SaveUticaRally

RSVP to the Facebook Event here: https://fb.me/e/3e4YWvFdS

Learn more at: https://aauputica.org/

Email: aauputica@gmail.com with any questions

Follow @aauputica on Instagram to watch the Livestream

AAUP-Utica President, Vice President, and numerous faculty and librarians deliver petition and letters condemning proposed cuts to University President and Board of Trustees

Leave a comment February 10, 2023 AAUP-Utica

February 9, 2023, 4:00PM, Office of the President at Utica University:

AAUP Utica/AFT 6786 President Leonore Fleming and Vice President Douglas Edwards, accompanied by a number of Utica University Faculty and Librarians, deliver the “Save Utica! Stop the Cuts!” Petition, that had gathered over 1302 signatures at the time of delivery. Nine letters from local, regional, and national associations were also delivered to Anthony M. Villanti, Special Assistant to the President and Secretary to the Board of Trustees.

“As president of the AAUP-Utica, I beg the Utica University President and the Board of Trustees to read these documents, to listen to these diverse voices, and think critically about the points that are being raised. We ask not just to be heard, but to be provided answers.”
– AAUP-Utica President Leonore Fleming

“The administration and the board have bypassed clearly established curricular processes in the union’s collective bargaining agreement, the Faculty Senate Bylaws, and established Curriculum Committee procedures, announcing on January 18, 2023 the proposed elimination of 15 majors and significant and mandatory modifications of eight others.”
– New York State Conference of the AAUP

Letters in the delivery to the University President and Board of Trustees Include (click the links to read the letters in their entirety):

The Utica University Faculty, Librarians and Students are so thankful for the support from the 1300+ people who signed the “Save Utica! Stop the Cuts!” petition as well as the support from the nine organizations who wrote and sent in letters.

“Utica University describes itself as an institution that provides ‘outstanding educational pathways’ and values ‘Intellectual growth, creativity, and scholarship in the pursuit of knowledge… Freedom of expression and civil discourse… [and] Ethical behavior and integrity.’ It would be difficult to argue that Utica University is living up to these values or fulfilling its commitment to a comprehensive liberal arts education were it to eliminate its philosophy major.”
– American Philosophical Association