Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

April 6, 2004

Senate to hear about UNI faculty union

by Linda Charles
The Faculty Senate will learn about the union representing faculty at the University of Northern Iowa during its meeting April 13.

Charles Quirk, professor emeritus of history and executive director of United Faculty (the UNI union), and Barbara Roumsberry, distinguished professor of English and past chair of both the faculty senate and the United Faculty, will discuss how the union works at UNI.

ISU senate president Jack Girton said he arranged the talk because of the role the union plays in negotiating faculty salaries and because few ISU faculty know much about the union.

"I'm not calling on Iowa State faculty to consider unionization," Girton said, "but this is an opportunity to learn about an important aspect of the regents' institutions."

The UNI union is a branch of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), an organization primarily dedicated to protecting academic freedom of professors. Iowa State follows AAUP guidelines, Girton added.

The UNI faculty will speak near the beginning of the meeting, Girton said.

The meeting will begin a 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 13, in The Hotel at Gateway Center. All faculty are invited.