In memory of Henry "Hank" Sosnowski 

Hank Sosnowski, 1948 - 2023

Seven years ago, the TMCC community heard the devastating news that Hank Sonowski, one of our own, had been attacked in Reno and was in the hospital fighting for his life. The attack happened when Hank bravely stood up to a vandal who was defacing a historical landmark near the Pioneer Theater, and it tragically ended his career as a TMCC English professor.

Hank was an incredibly well-rounded individual who was beloved by his colleagues. He was a poet, musician, and philosopher, and was an incredibly kind-hearted person with a sharp wit. He lived his remaining years with traumatic brain injuries that required round the clock care. 

Despite it all, he and his life partner, Ivy Antonowitsch, were forgiving of his assailant, maintaining their focus on recovery and the future, refusing to let his disabilities interfere with his joy of life. 

Hank passed away on November 4 at the age of 75. We encourage the campus community to celebrate Hank's life and attend the New Orleans Jazz Funeral at 5:00 on Monday, November 27th, at the Riverside in Sierra Arts Gallery, 17 South Virginia street.

 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 

The current TMCC-NFA contract, which became effective on December 16, 2022, is set to expire on June 30, 2025. Previous NFA negotiators, including most of the current officers, will either be retired or approaching retirement by that time. It is necessary for younger chapter members to step in and lead the negotiations. In response to an NFA inquiry, the administration has signaled a willingness to extend the contract until 2026.

We are seeking input from members on this proposal, and will conduct a vote on a memorandum of understanding with the administration to enact the extension, if approved. Please share your thoughts by completing this Google form.

 ADVOCACY 

The TMCC-NFA collective bargaining agreement allows faculty to have control over their annual plans and the flexibility to respond to events such as Library After Dark without the need for administrative approval. Participation is encouraged and credit may be given in annual performance reviews. However, faculty are not obligated to participate.

For more information, please read Addressing concerns about faculty obligations.

 ACADEMIC FREEDOM 

Despite attempts to clarify our position at the Planning Council last May, the issue was referred to an ad hoc subcommittee, but on November 14 the members of that subcommittee received a Google Calendar cancellation notice for their November 15 meeting with the following message: "Message forthcoming shortly from Dr. Alexander to address Online Course Access, so our work is done." So much for shared governance.  

While the administration's original proposal did not take exception to limiting course-level access, the subcommittee's discussions appear to have moved in the opposite direction. Academic deans on the subcommittee are apparently arguing that they must have unlimited access to Canvas courses because emergencies may occur that demand their immediate response, such as one student threatening another. They claim they cannot wait for Web College to give them access in such circumstances, ignoring the fact that Canvas is primarily an asynchronous environment where the offensive behavior may have occurred hours before the dean even learns about it. Their rationalizations usually overlook the role of the faculty member who can also grant access and may be best suited to resolve the situation.

In response to the looming stalemate, TMCC-NFA invites academic faculty members to add their names to our petition insisting that the administration honor the intent of the Faculty Senate motion that they already approved, and striking the phrase "when and to the extent permissible" from the procedure. 

Please join the petition here >>

 DUE PROCESS 

In the last year, the tenure processes for two separate faculty members at TMCC were derailed at the last possible moments. Such occurrences are not only devastating for the tenure candidate, but extremely stressful for the tenure committee members, as well. Both instances also raised serious concerns for diverging from the established procedures. 

As written, tenure policies and procedures outlined in the Board of Regents Handbook, TMCC Tenure Guidelines, and the TMCC-NFA Contract are designed to systematically and objectively evaluate an individual’s performance and progress toward satisfying established criteria. When applied as intended, these steps should guarantee that no tenure candidate is surprised by the outcome at the end of the process. TMCC-NFA vigorously defends tenure rights of all faculty. We encourage tenure-track faculty and tenure committee members to contact us if they have questions or concerns about the process.

Read A Failure of the Tenure Process >>

Watch your email for more details about our 2nd Annual Holiday Happy Hour on December 1.

TMCC-NFA Officers

Jim New, President

Amy Cavanaugh, Vice President

Julia Hammett, Secretary

Lars Jensen, Treasurer

Cheryl Cardoza, Past President