Author Archives: blagovp

Successful Motion to Review the President and Provost

At its meeting on March 8, 2023, the faculty approved a motion to amend the Faculty Code to require a periodic review of the college’s president and provost by the elected faculty representatives on the Committee of Division Chairs (or their faculty delegates). Each review is to be collaborative and in accordance with AAUP principles. The faculty conducting the review are to convey the full results to the supervisor of the person under review as well as to the faculty (in a manner that “adheres to the AAUP principles on confidentiality and shared governance”). The ultimate goal is to promote the quality of education at the college by stimulating and sustaining shared governance and the improvement and accountability of senior leadership. The motion was put forth by Profs. Jack Jackson and Lisa Uddin, vice president and president of the AAUP chapter. The motion was informed by a 2018 internal report by a subcommittee of the chapter, subsequent deliberations within the chapter, and conversations with each of the college’s divisions. The motion passed with 61 votes in support (against two opposed).

Statement on Academic Advising

On February 14, 2023, the Whitman College Chapter of the AAUP issued a statement concerning the implementation of summer pre-major advising. At present, the chapter “takes no position on the wisdom and utility of summer academic advising” in a general sense. Instead, the chapter reaffirms:

  • “the necessity for shared governance in which all faculty are meaningful participants prior to the creation of new programs that require faculty labor and expertise;
  • “the Whitman faculty’s knowledge and experience in teaching and academic advising;
  • “the importance of summer for both faculty scholarship, including faculty-student scholarship, and intellectual renewal;
  • “the necessity of fair compensation for those trained faculty and staff who may voluntarily pursue extra teaching labors during summer;
  • “the decision of the faculty… to modify the faculty code… in 2022 to provide the following injunction: “Because faculty are hired for nine months of teaching responsibilities, no faculty member will be penalized for not taking on formal teaching or advising duties during the three-month period following the deadline for final submission of Spring semester grades (in May). (04/19/2022)” See Ch. I, Art. IV, Sec. 3, A1.”

The February 14, 2023, statement by the chapter affirms the values and principles above and expresses the concern that the imposition of summer advising by the administration undermines these same values and principles. The statement is accompanied by a timeline of the introduction of summer advising at the college.

Statement on Affordable Housing

On October 5, 2022, the Whitman College Chapter of the AAUP issued a Statement on Affordable Housing for Whitman Faculty. The statement:

  • Asserts that the housing crisis in Walla Walla is of significant concern to our members;
  • Calls for the immediate creation of a new benefits program to address the housing crisis;
  • Expresses solidarity with efforts on this issue by the Faculty Committee on Compensation;
  • Provides links to housing benefits policies at similar institutions of higher education.

Selected Activity from the Spring of 2022

During the spring semester of 2022, the chapter and its members:

    • Continued to speak up for equity and transparency with regard to in-person teaching mandates, with measured results.
    • Interpreted and shared the findings from the external financial analysis of Whitman College. (See the FAQ about the external analysis here.)
    • Worked with the Academic Freedom and Due Process Committee to join a multi-university effort and propose a resolution “Defending Academic Freedom to Teach About Race and Gender Justice and Critical Race Theory.” The faculty voted on and approved the resolution.
    • Engaged with department and division chairs over plans to institute online summer pre-major advising, and issued a statement of concern over processes and policies that resulted in the formalization of that plan.
    • (Select chapter members) initiated a successful motion to amend the Faculty Code to prevent retaliative administrative action against faculty who do not advise over the summer.
    • Turned our focus to rebuilding faculty power in light of the “financial sustainability review,” results from the external financial analysis, and the change in the college president. Specifically, we aim to:
        • Advance the teacher-scholar model at Whitman (by advocating for practices, policies, and programs that sustain it);
        • Organize for appropriate faculty compensation (knowledgeably, broadly, and equitably defined).

External Financial Analysis of Whitman College (February, 2022)

The external financial analysis (Download the FAQ here) took place in response to the 2020-2021 “financial sustainability review” and subsequent changes to the college’s budgets. Faculty, staff, alumni, students, and community members funded the external analysis. Dr. Howard Bunsis, Professor of Accounting at Eastern Michigan University, and certified public accountant, conducted it. Some key findings from the analysis were that:

  • Between 2020-2021 alone, there was an astonishing increase in Whitman College’s endowment.
  • Whitman’s credit rating was ranked as “Excellent” by Moody’s credit agency, very close to meeting the criteria for “Exceptional.”
  • Whitman received $3.9M in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds. $2.2M of this amount was fully discretionary. $1.7M went to Student Aid.
  • “The cuts that were made in 2021 fell most heavily on instruction, and most lightly on administration (institutional support).”
  • Since 2017, Whitman has seen a dramatic drop in the salaries of its faculty at all ranks relative to the Panel of 13 [comparison peer institutions]. No comparable data about staff salaries (not in administrative positions) are available.

Chapter Officers for 2022-2024

As of June, 2022, the president of the chapter is Lisa Uddin (Associate Professor of Art History and Visual Culture Studies, and Paul Garett Fellow), the vice president is Jack Jackson (Associate Professor of Politics), and the Secretary-Treasurer is Pavel Blagov (Associate Professor of Psychology).