Know Your PAF!

Your PAF is your “Personnel Action File”. Your Personnel Action File lives in the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) on the fourth floor of the Student Services and Administration Building. If you are a regular faculty member, your WPAF (Working Personnel Action File) consists of both the dossier that you prepare and selected documents (such as student evaluations and previous RTP recommendations) that are provided by the Office of Academic Affairs and accompany your dossier through the RTP (Retention, Tenure, Promotion) review process.

Here are a few things that everyone should know about his/her PAF:

· You have the right to submit evidence to your PAF. How do you do this? Write a memo to your department chair with the evidence attached and specifically request that the evidence be placed in your PAF. Always keep your own copies of anything that you submit your PAF and follow up to make sure that what you put in gets to its destination.

· You have the right to do visit your PAF to see what’s in it. How do you do this? Contact the Office of Academic Affairs (usually Gina Traversa, gina.traversa@csueastbay.edu, x53711) to request an appointment to visit with your PAF. OAA likes to have at least 24 hours notice. You can also make copies of items in your PAF, but you can’t take it away from OAA.

· Evidence not in your PAF (or in your WPAF, which includes the dossier for regular faculty) cannot be used as a part of your professional review. This means that you need to be proactive in getting the good evidence into your PAF and also make sure that bad evidence is not cited in your professional review (whether RTP/ Careful Consideration, and Periodic Evaluation).

· Chairs need to send Official Student Evaluations to your PAF, but in some Colleges this is not happening! So, be sure that at least two of your official evaluations are getting into your PAF each academic year (if you work trough the whole AY), and if you visit your PAF and don’t see them, contact your chair.

· If anyone wants to put anything in your PAF, they need to share the information with you 5 days in advance. You also have recourse to try to keep documentation out of your PAF; see 11.4 and 11.5 from the CBA below:

11.4 The faculty unit employee shall be notified of the placement of any material in his/her Personnel Action File that the appropriate administrator initially considers to be accurate and relevant, and the faculty unit employee shall be provided with a copy of such material at least five (5) days prior to such placement.

11.5 Upon request, a faculty member shall be provided the opportunity to meet with the appropriate administrator regarding material to be placed in the file to which the faculty member objects. The request to meet, if any, shall be made within five (5) days of the receipt of the notification. If no meeting is requested, the material will be placed in the file. If a meeting is requested, it shall take place within ten (10) days of the request made by the faculty member.

For more information on your PAF, read Article 11 of the CBA:

http://www.calfac.org/resource/collective-bargaining-agreement-contract#article-11

Questions about your PAF or any other faculty rights issues? Contact me at jennifer.eagan@csueastbay.edu.

In Solidarity,

Jennifer Eagan, CSUEB CFA Faculty Rights Chair

Judge blocks new parking garage

Judge blocks new garage, dorms at Cal State East Bay campus

Ruling states that environmental impact report was inadequate

(This article is by Eric Kurhi and taken from the Oakland Tribune)

HAYWARD -- A planned parking garage and new student dorms at Cal State East Bay have been put on hold by a judge who ruled that the university failed to address such repercussions as increased traffic and fire services being stretched thin.

The university planned to begin construction of a five-story, 1,100-space parking garage off Harder Road and four new dormitory buildings to house 600 students south of current campus housing in the Hayward hills. After university trustees approved the environmental review of the new developments last year, a joint lawsuit by community and neighborhood groups and the city of Hayward was filed on the grounds that the school was doing little to quell adverse effects of the expansion. "We were basically pointing out problems, and they refused to address them," said Stuart Flashman, an attorney representing the community and neighborhood groups. "We were brushed aside."

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch agreed that their complaint was valid.
In an Oct. 28 ruling, he said Cal State East Bay failed to adequately evaluate the effects on fire and emergency services, traffic, air quality and nearby Garin Regional Park, nor did it look at possible mass transit-based alternatives to the parking garage.

The ruling will block construction until such matters are addressed. Michael Lawson, Hayward's city attorney, said that with regards to public safety, the university offered no guarantee that it would help provide additional services.

"They acknowledged that it would have significant impacts but did not identify how to deal with them," he said. "That could be paying for a new fire station or a mitigation fee to cover the cost and then staffing it -- that's not unusual for universities that are hosted by cities."Lawson said that the university is like any other developer and is obliged to take measures to address problems stemming from such an expansion."That's also true for traffic," he said.

Sherman Lewis of the Hayward Area Planning Association, a nonprofit group involved in the suit, said that it is critical for the university to consider options other than a huge parking garage.
"When the campus developed its master plan, one goal was to have sustainable transportation policies," he said. "But policies that involve building parking structures are the exact opposite."
Lewis said he would like to see analysis of a mass-transit system that would shuttle students between BART and the campus in a timely fashion, but he is not holding his breath.

"This was a legal victory with no policy progress," he said. "The campus is not changing how it thinks in order to solve the problem. "... It could be hypocrisy, it could be ignorance. My belief is that it's due to ignorance and a certain amount of arrogance, an inability to realize that they need to learn something."

A Cal State East Bay spokeswoman said school officials are meeting with legal counsel and still considering their options. That could be an appeal of the ruling, compliance with the decision, or possibly meeting with the city and other involved parties to come up with an agreeable plan, Lawson said.

CSUEB Financial Statements

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to make you aware that CSUEB financial statements,which are public documents, are available online at the Chancellor's Office website: http://www.calstate.edu/SFSR/GAAP/financial_statements.shtml The statements that are available are for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. Perhaps these statements can be useful to us. If anyone notices something interesting, please share, and I will do the same.
The statements are also available for the entire CSU system, including the Chancellor's Office.

Veto of SB 330

Leland Yee's Press Release
"Governor’s Legacy a “Failure” on Open Government:
Schwarzenegger Vetoes bill to expand public records law to campus auxiliaries and foundations"

SACRAMENTO – Despite bipartisan support in the Legislature and a history of rhetorically supporting open government, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Los Angeles) vetoed legislation to bring greater transparency and accountability at California’s public higher education institutions.  The bill’s author, Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), referred to the Governor’s action as “completely hypocritical” and referred to Schwarzenegger’s tenure as a “failure” on issues of open government.

SB 330 would have updated the California Public Records Act (CPRA) to include auxiliary organizations and foundations that perform government functions at the University of California, California State University, and California’s community colleges.

“For a Governor who wanted to blow up the boxes and whose rhetoric is filled with platitudes of open government, it is a disgrace and completely hypocritical to then veto legislation to bring real transparency and accountability to our public universities,” said Yee.  “The Governor, like his ivory tower counterparts within the UC and CSU administrations, failed California taxpayers and students by vetoing this sunshine legislation.  He has secured his legacy as Governor – a failure when it came to open government.”

While the community college administration was neutral on the bill, the administrations of the UC and CSU succeeded in getting a veto by falsely claiming it would result in a “chilling effect” on private donations.  In fact, the bill allows for donors to stay anonymous under all circumstances unless they receive something of value over $500 in return.  Also, another state saw significant increases in donations after a similar law was enacted.

Earlier this month, in his weekly radio address, the Governor stated, “I have always said that you cannot have efficient and effective government without transparency.” He also called on Californians to demand transparency of their institutions “at all levels of government.”

“It is appalling, especially after the recent outrage regarding the City of Bell, that the Governor would ensure that scandals continue to plague our public universities,” said Yee.  “His veto allows these public institutions to continue to hide billions of dollars without any accountability.  He ignored the facts – these auxiliaries are fully staffed by public employees; they often administer public funds; the donors were provided anonymity; and that secrecy breeds corruption, not more donations.”

“Those taking his veto message seriously would be left wondering if the Governor even bothered to read the bill, or instead took the word of an aide with poor reading skills,” said Terry Francke, General Counsel for Californians Aware (CalAware). “SB 330 allowed anyone making a true gift of money or time to do so anonymously.  Only those wanting a costly quid pro quo – purchasers, in effect – would have been named.”

The most recent scandal of an auxiliary organization involved the CSU Stanislaus Foundation.  The Foundation negotiated a speaking contract with Palin, but originally refused to disclose her compensation.  They first claimed they had no documents pertaining to her June visit.  After emails written by administrators regarding the visit were uncovered, they then claimed the Foundation was exempt from the state’s public records law despite being fully staffed by taxpayer-funded employees.

Students later found pages 4 through 9 of the Palin contract in the administration’s Dumpster, which showed her visit requirements included a hotel suite, first class airfare or a private Lear jet, pre-screened questions, and “bendable straws.”  After a lawsuit filed by CalAware, a judge ruled that the CSU acted illegally and forced them to disclose the complete contract which showed she also received $75,000 plus expenses.

“It is infuriating that the Governor has opted to side with secrecy and financial corruption rather than transparency and accountability,” said Alicia Lewis, one of the two CSU Stanislaus students who found the abbreviated version of the Palin contract.  “He has let down the students of this state and all those who have fought so hard to shed light on university finances.”

The other student Ashli Briggs said, “We finally thought we had a chance to truly change the way foundations in the CSU and UC system conduct business and how they act in the name of our state’s higher education system. SB 330 was exactly what we had been hoping for and unfortunately Governor Schwarzenegger has let us down tremendously.”

“In the wake of the Bell scandal, we are deeply disappointed that the Governor, in vetoing SB 330, has once again prevented the public from accessing information about corruption and self-dealing that is entrenched in these massive shadow governments,” said Jim Ewert, Legal Counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association. “The Governor's action also significantly diminishes his legacy of strengthening California's laws on open and transparent government.”

“We are disappointed that Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed this important legislation and chosen to rely on a misinformation campaign orchestrated by the CSU and UC administrations to avoid public scrutiny of billions of dollars in hidden funds,” said Lillian Taiz, a CSU professor and President of the California Faculty Association.  “This action will encourage our public universities to continue their misdeeds and abuses caused by a continuing lack of accountability and transparency. It is also an especially sad day for our students who we believe would have benefited most from the proper use of this money.”

“Governor Schwarzenegger's decision to veto this hugely important bill is another example of broken promises and failed policies in bringing open government and transparency to Californian's public colleges and universities,” said Lakesha Harrison, President of AFSCME 3299.

The UC and CSU have often evaded the public records act by shifting some responsibilities to foundations and other auxiliary organizations operating on campuses.  Several recent examples demonstrate the need for increased public oversight and accountability provided by SB 330:

·         At Sonoma State, a $1.25 million loan issued to a former foundation board member two days after he resigned.  Recently a bankruptcy court forced the Sonoma State Foundation to return a portion of that loan which the former board member attempted to pay outside of the bankruptcy court proceedings.  The Attorney General and the FBI are investigating a number of auxiliaries at Sonoma State.

·         At Fresno State, a no-bid managing contract was given to a trustee for a theatre complex in which he held a financial interest.  In addition, the Fresno Bee newspaper was denied information in 2001, specifically concerning the identity of individuals and companies that received luxury suites at the Save Mart Center arena.  The denial resulted in CSU v. Superior Court (McClatchy Company), in which the Court opined that although it recognized university auxiliaries ought to be covered by the CPRA and that its ruling was counter to the obvious legislative intent of the CPRA, the rewriting of the statute was a legislative responsibility.

·         At San Francisco City College, a campus executive has been indicted for using money from the San Francisco City College Foundation for personal and political purposes.  At San Jose/Evergreen Community College, the Chancellor was found to have engaged in lavish travel and other examples of financial impropriety that prompted her resignation. Since local community college campus auxiliaries are already subject to the CPRA, these instances of waste and abuse have lead to the parties being held to account.

·         Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez spent $200,000 from the campus auxiliary money to remodel his kitchen in 2007 which created “the appearance of impropriety,” according to an Attorney General audit.  Additionally at Sacramento State, $6.3 million of public funds was transferred to University Enterprises Inc. – a campus auxiliary – to backfill losses from a property acquisition, which is completely contrary to UC and CSU claims that no taxpayer dollars are used for campus auxiliary operations. 

·         Campus leadership at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo appears to be under the influence of a well-heeled donor.  In October 2009, Cal Poly eliminated a guest lecture at the request of executives from the Harris Ranch Beef Company, who threatened to withhold $500,000 in support for a new campus meat-processing center.  Emails recently obtained by the San Luis Obispo Tribune also found that Harris Ranch may have also forced the resignation of a faculty member who taught a course on sustainable farming.  Harris officials are now requesting a meeting with Cal Poly administrators to determine whether or not they will continue with their donation.

According to the CSU Chancellor’s Office, 20 percent of its $6.7 billion budget, or $1.34 billion, is held in their 87 auxiliaries and foundations, and out of public view.

“I will not give up this fight for our students and our state,” said Yee.  “Fortunately, we will soon have a new governor.”

Brian McKenzie's Introduction

On September 20, 2010, I began my service as CSUEB Chapter President of the California Faculty Association. I would like to use this blog to introduce myself.

I have spent most of my life as a working entrepreneur. My wife, Molly and I started our first business in 1971, a retail store on Robson Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. We were tea, coffee and spice merchants for 10 years, during which time we fell in love with yachting. We sold our retail store and our Vancouver home in the early eighties and moved aboard our yacht, Cresthaven. I founded a business in Sidney, British Columbia, which repaired and restored old wooden boats. I operated this business from our country home for 15 years. In 1994, I enrolled in the Masters of Business Administration at the University of Victoria MBA program. As my Master’s thesis, I wrote a curriculum in Entrepreneurship, which was successfully implemented. I was hired as a lecturer upon the completion of my MBA. I realized that I needed a PhD in order to be able obtain a tenure-track position so I could develop a significant voice in faculty affairs. I spent 5 years in PhD studies at the University of Victoria. I founded and operated a consulting business, during my graduate studies. Upon completion of my dissertation, a study of the oral histories of self identified entrepreneurs, I received my PhD in 2003. That same year, I received a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor at California State University, Hayward. I received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor at California State University, East Bay in 2009. Molly and I live in the East Bay Hills and most days I ride my bicycle to work.

I consider myself to be an economic activist. I believe that the glass is half full, but I also like to check the glass.

I have agreed to serve as Chapter President of CSUEB CFA for the academic year 2010-2011. We will be holding elections for the Executive Committee of our chapter in Spring 2011. My highest priority is to find colleagues who will compete in these elections. I hope is that, during this academic year, I can assist the CFA in building faculty community. We face a number of significant issues this year as outlined in the "day of action" in support of public education on October 7. However, we have a powerful energy as the members of faculty to overcome these issues.

Joseph Schumpeter pointed out: "It is not only objectively more difficult to do something new than what is familiar and tested by experience, but the individual feels reluctance to do it and would do so even if the objective difficulties did not exist." The San Francisco Bay community, where we live and work is embracing change as we move into an era of low cost communication. This changing environment is objectively more difficult than the familiar and trusted worldview I have come from. The advantage of being a member of a community of faculty is that I get to share my change along with some very bright people. I have faith that, by working together, we can make wise pedagogic, governance, economic and political decisions.

If you would like to become more active in California Faculty Association, please come by one of our Executive Committee Meetings. They are between 12:00 and 2:00 the first and third Mondays of every month in LI 2047A. If you would like to join the CFA list serve, send me an e-mail (brian.mckenzie@csueastbay.edu). You would like to find more information about me or if you would like to follow my personal blog: “Fieldnotes” go to my website: (http://www.brian-mckenzie.com).

October 7 is the new March 4th

UC student flyer

Student and education activists across California (and beyond) are organizing a "day of action" in support of public education on October 7.

Members of the labor council, along with CFA student interns, have been meeting this summer to plan a October 7th rally on our campus. 

Updated Info!

Thursday, October 7@ 12 NOON

Rally to Defend Public Education

Location: Meet on the steps of Meiklejohn to begin the march. 

Our march/procession will be choreographed on the spot by Eric Kupers.  Wear white if would like to participate in the performance (all welcome! no experience necessary!)

Our event will include dynamic speeches and performances, featuring State Senator Dr. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), members of the theater department, Latino/a studies students, and more!  

Please support this event and help us strengthen the bonds of solidarity on our campus. Learn about the struggles of CSUEU, APC, and SETU. They are dealing with serious issues, including the university (perhaps through the foundation?) hiring non-union contract labor to perform duties formerly performed by union labor.

As an ethnic studies professor, I teach my students about the value of social struggle and its ability to create meaningful social change. The lead film in one of my courses is Salt of the Earth (1954, dir. H. Biberman).  In this film, a group of Mexican American miners face a long and arduous strike to get fair wages and working conditions. To win the battle, the entire community must come together. One of the strongest cinematic moments in the film is when the camera pans up to the hills surrounding the mine to reveal streams of women from neighboring villages coming over the hills to join the picket line. To me, this scene is emblematic of the power of solidarity.

Our battle to defend public education is not going to be easy. But I know I want to do my part to be part of this larger movement. I don't want to look back and say that I stood by passively while our public university was sold off piece by piece. I do believe that the organizing around March 4 last year helped to change the discourse in Sacramento so that leaders felt that further cuts would lead to more vigorous protests and organizing. In short, I think the protests were effective. But that shouldn't lead us to be complacent. Rather, it should encourage us to continue organizing.

On October 7, let's stand strong in defense of public education.

CSUEB flyer

Summer 2010

Following are links to several documents relating to Summer 2010 at East Bay.

This January 10, 2010, memo gives CSU’s “interpretation of the provisions of Article 21 as they relate to self-supported summer session employment” http://www.sci.csueastbay.edu/~mkarplus/Summer2010/Summer_Programs_2010.pdf

Here is a link to the Collective Bargaining Agreement
http://www.calfac.org/resource/collective-bargaining-agreement-contract
See Article 21 Summer Term Employment and Article 40 Extension For-Credit Employment.

This May 27, 2010, email from Academic Affairs entitled “Summer Pay for Faculty” states, “[T]hose in self-support will receive 2 paychecks. One on August 1 and one on September 1” http://www.sci.csueastbay.edu/~mkarplus/Summer2010/Summer_Pay_for_Faculty.pdf
Here is the attachment to that email, a sample lecturer appointment letter http://www.sci.csueastbay.edu/~mkarplus/Summer2010/Summer_Temporary_Faculty_Appt_Letter_05-10_1.pdf

This July 6, 2010, email from CLASS provides an accounting of enrollment, revenue, and salary for Summer 2010 in CLASS broken down by department http://www.sci.csueastbay.edu/~mkarplus/Summer2010/CLASS_Summer_Self-Support.pdf

Are you a faculty member with an understanding of the numbers in this CLASS document? Do you know how “revenue” was calculated and what should become of the “remainder”? If so, please post comments or additional documents to this site. Do you have similar information from another college? If so, please share it with this site.

Feel free to contact me at mark.karplus@csueastbay.edu or karplusm@aol.com if you have any questions or if you would like help posting documents or information.

Mark Karplus