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NEVADA FACULTY ALLIANCE


ESTABLISHED 1983


NFA News & Opinion

  • 20 Nov 2014 3:55 PM | Deleted user

    by Rob Manis, CSN-NFA Chapter President

    The CSN Chapter of NFA is going through a period of growth and increased assertiveness. Over the last 14 months nearly 50 new members have signed up, reversing several years of attrition and neglect. Outgoing chapter president Adrian Havas did a fine job of raising morale and turning the organization around. During the last year and half we have conducted three major surveys that have helped us with that turn around by clarifying what members want.

    The first, conducted in May of 2013 of NFA members found a high level of disillusionment with NSHE, the Admin and NFA itself. The clear message was that faculty did not feel anyone was standing up for them enough, and they wanted NFA to take a stronger role in advocating for them. The follow-up survey in February 2014 found a much improved view of the new direction of NFA, where an amazing 90% of members said CSN-NFA was on the “right track”.

    We followed that up with a survey of all faculty (members and non-members alike) in June of this year. Over 200 people responded. The responses were interesting:

    The old CSN faculty evaluation system was preferred to the new one passed by Faculty Senate last year by 37%-25%

    Faculty rated the three top CSN administrators as only satisfactory (modal category). A plurality distrusted CSN administrative hiring 45-28%, and an audit of CSN finances was favored by a huge 77-6%.

    Additionally opinion was negative toward both NSHE and PEBP, while the most popular choice to fix PEBP was the state NFA proposal to expand PEBP board to include 5 employee members.

    NFA is seen by all faculty as ‘about right’ by 48%, but many more see it as too weak rather than too militant by 38%-14% . Faculty say they support collective bargaining by a surprisingly large margin. 51-17%.

    My goal as the new chapter President is to gain another 50+ members over the next year and to explore possible paths to collective bargaining, a major task in an institution of over 500 faculty.


  • 13 Nov 2014 10:38 AM | Deleted user

    by David Steel, NFA Executive Director


    NFA members have been active both before and after the November election, meeting with candidates and discussing NFA's political priorities.


    Top priorities of NFA include access to quality affordable healthcare, ensuring that furloughs are lifted, and opposing any plan that irresponsibly outsources distance education. NFA promotes quality higher education in Nevada, and we see faculty working conditions as inextricably linked to that goal, as they are students' learning conditions.



    From L to R: NFA Director David Steel, CSN-NFA President Rob Manis, CSN-NFA officer Andrea Brown, and assemblyperson Nelson Araujo



    CSN-NFA President Rob Manis and Assemblyperson Melissa Woodbury

  • 05 Jun 2014 11:09 AM | ANGELA BROMMEL

    After nearly two years of negotiations, the faculty of Western Nevada College ratified their first collective bargaining agreement by a vote of 42 yes, 2 no, with 8 not voting. The contract will significantly improve working conditions for faculty, and return faculty to the forefront of the academic decision making process at WNC.

    WNC is the second Nevada college after Truckee Meadows Community College to move to collective bargaining.

    “This is a huge step forward for WNC faculty. We will now have a much stronger voice in college decisions, and will have additional protections for academic freedom, shared governance and due process”, said James Strange, chief negotiator and Nevada Faculty Alliance Vice President.

    The Nevada Faculty Alliance represents academic and administrative faculty, and graduate students in the Nevada System of Higher Education.

    The CBA was signed by representatives of the Nevada Faculty Alliance and the WNC administration, and forwarded to the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents for final approval on the consent agenda. The Board approved the CBA unanimously at the June 5th, 2014 meeting.

    Contact: Jim Strange, NFA State Vice President
                  775-434 4842
                  strangewnc@gmail.com

  • 23 Apr 2013 1:20 PM | ANGELA BROMMEL

    Tomorrow the NSHE budget is on the work session agenda for the  4:00pm meeting of the subcommittee of the Senate Finance/Assembly Ways and Means Joint Subcommittee on K-12/Higher Education/CIPS.

  • 22 Apr 2013 10:35 PM | Deleted user

    The NFA State Board Election began today. An email has been sent to NFA members with a link to the election survey.

    Voting will end Saturday, April 27th, at 11:55p.m. Tabulation of the results will be done by the NFA legal defense chair, Professor Peter Bayer. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, April 30th.

    The following is a list of offices and the candidates who are running for each:

    NFA state board candidates:

    President, Angela Brommel NSC
    Vice president, Jim Strange WNC
    Treasurer, Shari Lyman CSN
    Secretary, Leah Wild UNR
    Adjunct Representative, Jeannine Klein NSC
  • 16 Apr 2013 7:06 PM | Deleted user

    A Message from the Past President

    State board NFA officers serve two year terms. June 30, 2013 will mark the end of the term for those officers elected in 2011. Thus, it is necessary for nominations and the election of new officers to take place soon.

    Please note that the nomination process and collection of statements from candidates will begin April 14, 2013 and end April 20th at 11:55 PM. You may nominate an individual, or self- nominate, but please confirm that the nominee accepts before forwarding any names.

    Candidate statement should be forwarded to: admin@nevadafacultyalliance.org Subject line: “Candidate Statement for State Board Officers”

    Nominations should be forwarded to: peter.bayer@unlv.edu Subject Line: “Nominations for State Board Officers”

    Candidate statements will be made available and the election will commence on April 22nd and end at 11:55 PM on April 27th.   The results will be reported on April 30, 2013.

    A link to an online survey will provide a confidential mechanism by which votes will be cast. Tabulation of the results will be done by the NFA legal defense chair, Professor Peter Bayer.

    The following officer positions are open for nomination:

    NFA state board president

    NFA state board vice president

    NFA state board treasurer

    NFA state board secretary

    NFA state board part-time faculty representative

    Thank you,

    Scott Huber, Past President
  • 28 Jan 2013 1:33 PM | Deleted user
    This week the AAUP released a statement outlining additional protections for contingent faculty, often called "adjunct" faculty. This report follows a draft that the AAUP released in June 2012.

    This report suggested expanding the voting and governance rights of tenure-track faculty to all faculty who teach and/or conduct research. With many universities moving toward a majority of faculty who fall into the contingent category, the AAUP urges greater inclusion and protections.

    The Nevada Faculty Alliance is currently looking for more adjunct/part-time members to participate in governance. If you are a part-time NFA member and would like to become more involved in your NFA, please contact NFA President Angela Brommel or your chapter president. Contact information can be found through the link below.

    The AAUP Report...

  • 21 Jan 2013 11:20 AM | Deleted user
    Governor Sandoval presented his State of the State address on Wednesday, January 15 in Carson City. In his address, he promised to restore merit and bring much needed funds into higher education in Nevada. But is his plan enough? Click on the links below to read a piece in the Review Journal. Below you will also find links to the text of both Governor Sandoval's speech and Senate Majority Leader Mo Denis' response.

    Review Journal article...

    Click here for the Governor's Speech...
    Click here for Sen. Mo Denis' Response...
  • 14 Jan 2013 8:35 PM | Deleted user

    A new book challenges what has been thought of as common knowledge: professors do not make good teachers, especially professors at research institutions.

    A qualitative study of 55 professors representing a range disciplines, teaching excellence, and demographics were interviewed in depth on their approach to teaching in higher education. Contrary to how many professors are viewed, the studied demonstrated that for those working in higher education teaching is an iterative process that one professor likened to the movie "Groundhog Day." Many professors reported a continual adjusting and improving of courses over years, while others stated their concern for teaching quality often caused them to overprepare.

    Read the full article...

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