President

Dr. Roberta Kaufman, Associate Professor, School of Education

I am seeking the position of NFA president at Nevada State College for a number of reasons. Higher education in Nevada needs strong faculty voices on campus and across the state who are committed to being present at the table and advocating for members and non-members at Executive Committee meetings, Provost Council, Executive Budget Committee meetings, advisory at Faculty Senate meetings and other such state-wide meetings as appropriate with colleagues considering policies and practices of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) that impact academic or administrative faculty.

As past chair for NSC's Faculty Senate, I am aware of the various concerns faculty face on campus and in the state. In this capacity, I served as a spokesperson on campus seeking to listen first and negotiate effectively in the ongoing attempt to navigate faculty concerns. Additionally, I was able to develop a working relationship with other faculty senate chairs, NFA officers, institutional administrators and faculty. My background, including knowledge of NSC’s policies on workload, promotion and tenure; Board of Regents focus on efficiency and effectiveness; and equity issues across university, state college and community colleges is a conduit to NFA presidential responsibilities.

It is vital to have faculty leadership positions staffed by representatives of the various schools and units on campus in order to get multiple perspectives. This helps to strengthen and ensure the success of the organization. I am an active member of NFA at Nevada State College recruiting members, attending meetings and social events sponsored jointly by NFA and Faculty Senate. As a recently tenured School of Education faculty it is my desire to engage with and encourage new faculty to become involved in all facets of the campus community which includes building capacity through governance.

Thank you for your consideration.

Roberta

Dr. Leila Pazargadi, Assistant Professor of English

Dear NFA members,

Since joining the Nevada Faculty Alliance in 2012, I have enjoyed serving you as an NFA member, Vice President of Membership, and Member-at-Large of the American Association of University Professors. I wholeheartedly believe in the philosophy, strength, and power of academic unions and their advocacy work, which is why I wish to run for NFA President for the upcoming 2017-2019 term. As President, I hope to strengthen the power of our chapter’s advocacy by:

·      further developing policies and protocols for faculty advocacy during grievances and disputes

·      streamlining an efficient response from NFA to assist faculty during grievances and disputes

·      promoting the formation of a Collective Bargaining Chapter, which would allow us to consult CBC lawyers to create and better negotiate our contracts, challenge “at will” termination clauses, and confront salary/equity issues

·      providing workshops and hang-out opportunities to strengthen our camaraderie and advocacy presence

·      increasing chapter lobbying of NSHE, the governor, and state legislators to push for pre-determined objectives, such as better healthcare coverage, retention of COLA, and reinstatement of merit pay, to name a few

I appreciate your consideration.

Thank you,
Leila

VP of Communications

Laura Decker, Lecturer of English Composition

My name is Laura Decker, and I am in my second full-time year of teaching at NSC. Previous to NSC, I taught part-time at CSN and worked full-time as Learning Specialist for the TRIO Student Support Services Grant Team there, where I worked to support first-generation college students. As evidence of my dedication to a population, I have also taught for two years for NSC's Nepantla program, which is also geared toward first-generation students. In total, I have 6 years of full-time experience as a college faculty member between Texas and Nevada, across two-year and four-year institutions. I am interested in serving as the NSC-NFA VP of Communications for a few reasons. First, I have been an active union member in the past, helping with basic organization for the Culinary 226 union. I really enjoyed learning about the issues that culinary members face in their positions within the hospitality sector as well as assisting in their efforts for fair pay, equitable working conditions, and a viable presence in the negotiating process. Second, as a faculty member myself, I care about working for positive faculty relations and understand that faculty can be most effective when their voices are acknowledged. Finally, one of my strongest skills is writing and specifically disseminating information to large groups, which makes me a strong candidate for your next NSC-NFA VP of Communications

VP of Membership

Vikash Patel, Lecturer of Biological Sciences

I accept the nomination of Vice President of Membership for NSC NFA chapter. It is an honor to be part of this alliance and to actively take on a significant role that can assist in building a strong alliance in both quantity and quality. I believe that this platform can nurture a sustainable level of employee/employer relationship with accountability. I would make a strong candidate for this position because I truly care about our work environment. When we harness a great working community, we can synergistically create qualitative efficiencies, productivity, and well-being that benefits both the individual and institution. Working at Nevada State College since January 2012, I have continuously built rapport with staff, faculty, and administrative leaders. From the facilities personnel to the Dean, I consider all employees as team members. My goal is to continue to build more and better relationships with all team members, serve our alliance to increase membership, and to increase involvement of current members.