The ballot for the election of councilors to the Executive Council of PSU-AAUP will open Wednesday March 1, 2017 at 8am. A link to the online ballot will be sent to you by electionbuddy.com. As required by PSU-AAUP bylaws, the ballot shall be open for 15 days and will close on Wednesday March 15 at 5pm.
The nominees for election are as follows:
Vice President for Grievances (vote for one)
- Amanda Byron (incumbent) (candidate statement below)
Secretary (vote for one)
- Ted Donlan (incumbent) (candidate statement below)
Treasurer (vote for one)
- Eva Nunez (incumbent) (candidate statement below)
Councilors at Large (vote for three)
(Listed in alphabetical order)
- Mauryn Q Cisneros (candidate statement below)
- Emily Ford (candidate statement below)
- Kellie Gallagher (candidate statement below)
- Aleksandar Jokic (candidate statement below)
- Tracy Williams-Murphy (candidate statement below)
CANDIDATE STATEMENTS
Vice President for Grievances (1 candidate. Vote for 1)
- Amanda Byron (incumbent)
PSU-AAUP Incumbent Vice President Grievances 2015-present; Unit Representative 2013-2015
Assistant Professor. Conflict Resolution. NTTF.
Please consider my candidacy as the AAUP Vice President of Academic Freedom and Grievances in the May 2017 election. Since April of 1999, I have taught a wide range of peace and justice courses as a fixed-term faculty in the Conflict Resolution Program at PSU, and have been the Director of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Project at PSU since 2016. For the past year I have served as the Vice President of Academic Freedom and Grievances, and for two years I served as a Unit Rep and a Grievance Officer with PSU AAUP. This background has provided opportunities to support members in informal and formal grievance proceedings, support members in responding to allegations of discrimination and/or harassment from PSU’s office of Diversity and Inclusion, and advocate for members’ rights throughout PSU.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
Secretary (1 candidate. Vote for 1)
- Ted Donlan (incumbent)
PSU-AAUP Secretary 2013-present. PSU-AAUP Legislative Committee 2012-present. AAUP-Oregon Vice President Political Action (VP-PA) 2013- present. PSU-AAUP Unit Rep SSW 2010 to present. AAUP-Oregon Vice President Political Action 2013-present
Associate Professor. SSW. Tenured
I arrived at PSU in 2006, and am currently Associate Professor in the School of Social Work. During these years I have learned how important our union is for our collective well-being. I began my union involvement as a unit representative for the SSW (2009-current), and then as a member of our Legislative Committee (2011-current). In 2013, I began serving as Secretary on our Executive Council, and I served as VP for Political Action on our AAUP Oregon Executive Committee from 2014-2016.
Our members report increasing workload expectations, salary compression/inversion, and the decreasing role of shared governance. We can address these and other important issues by growing a stronger union, and if reelected, I will continue working towards increasing the number of active, engaged members in our union and developing a closer working relationship with the Associated Students of PSU, as well as with our colleagues in other PSU unions.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
Treasurer (1 candidate. Vote for 1)
- Eva Nunez
PSU-AAUP Treasurer 2013-present
Professor. WLL. Tenured
Eva Núñez is a full professor of Spanish Linguistics in the Dept. of World Languages and Literatures. She came to PSU in 2002 as an assistant professor. In her 15 years at the institution, she has served in numerous committees such as the Internationalization Council, Latino Task Force Advisory Board, WLL Promotion/Tenure, WLL Advisory Council, WLL Public Relations/Outreach and Fulbright Interviewing Committee. She has been a selected member in the Faculty Senate Budget C. (since 2011). Within her department, she served as section head (Spanish, biggest in the Dept. of WLL) for two years (2009-11). She has been AAUP Treasurer and member of the AAUP Executive Council since 2013. She believes that the best way for her to serve the union is as treasurer due to her interests as well as her previous experience in academia and outside academia in budget related responsibilities.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
Councilors At Large (5 candidates. Vote for 3 positions)
(Listed in alphabetical order)
- Mauryn Q Cisneros
Program Administrator I. SSW. Academic Professional.
My involvement within the university as a student, as a professional staff member, and as a volunteer together provide me with a broad-based perspective that would prove most beneficial in fulfilling this position. Currently, I am chairperson of the university’s Diversity Action Council subcommittee of retention and recruitment of staff. This allows me to positively influence, develop, and implement equitable initiatives. I am a passionately involved minority woman who views my position at the university as an opportunity to broaden the channels of communication in the interest of all diverse and relevant parties. I look forward to working alongside council members to maintain the ethical and intellectual integrity of the university, a university that I have personally chosen to advance my own postgraduate education in the future. Should you select me as a council member, I will strive to provide compassionate yet considered guidance, recommendations, and suggestions to the council.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
- Emily Ford
PSU-AAUP Communications Committee Co-Chair 2014-2015; Unit Representative 2012-present
Assistant Professor. LIB. Tenure Track.
For the past 5 years I have been serving as a Unit Rep and have been an active member in our union, organizing colleagues in my unit and beyond when action was needed. During this time I have worked with colleagues to provide and disseminate effective communications from AAUP, as well as providing necessary input to the Collective Bargaining Team from members on topics and articles important to them in the bargaining process. I believe firmly that members and members’ concerns are what make AAUP. Without member voices and member engagement, our chapter cannot continue to effectively advocate for our concerns. In the role of Councilor-at-Large I would like to expand my efforts to represent members and continue serving an organization to which I’m proud to belong.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
- Kellie Gallagher
PSU-AAUP Vice President Membership & Organizing 2015-2016; CORE/Action Team Member Fall 2013-Spring 2016
Senior Instructor II. IELP. NTTF CA.
I have been working in the Intensive English Language Program at PSU since 2006, through the NTTF ranks of Adjunct to Senior Instructor II. I have also been an active member of the AAUP since 2007, a CORE/Action Team member since 2013, and AAUP VP of Membership and Organizing from Spring to Fall 2016. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to resign my Vice Presidency, but wish to remain actively engaged with PSU AAUP. As a result of my experience throughout the NTTF ranks and my involvement with the AAUP, I believe I have a sound perspective regarding the NTTF experience at PSU and the importance of an active Union presence here on campus. I firmly support the AAUP’s mission to advocate for fair and equitable working conditions for Faculty and APs, and I recognize that the strength of the AAUP depends on the efforts of its actively engaged membership.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
- Aleksandar Jokic
PSU-AAUP Executive Councilor At Large 2014-2016; Contract Action CORE/Action Team 2014; Unit Representative 2007-2013
Professor. PHL. Tenured.
Energized by the vigorous and successful bargaining 2014 campaign that saw faculty, students, and academic professionals join forces in an unprecedented way I was motivated to serve on a previous PSU-AAUP Executive Council. With the inside view of the importance of the work by the EC, and the dedication of all its members I would be happy to return as Councilor at Large. Many, and increasingly more serious challenges remain, not just for our union, but also nationally; arguably we are entering a period of particularly hard times for the unions. This will mean working tirelessly to strengthen our union and having it operate in solidarity with other organizations that have similar interests. Serving on the EC has thought me the importance of intersectionality. I am interested in joining the next EC that will have to take on some interesting and demanding tasks.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
- Tracy Williams-Murphy
Program Administrator II. GSE. Academic Professional
I am running for the Executive Council At-Large position because I have been positively affected by the hard work of the bargaining team and Executive Council. AAUP’s capacity to organize the membership in calls to action and its support of all levels of faculty (tenure, non-tenure track and Academic Professionals) while concurrently prioritizing students’ needs, is what motivates me to want to serve the union in a greater capacity. As an African-America woman, I know that a diverse Executive Council is imperative and fundamentally necessary. The voices and stories, sharing the myriad beliefs, values and needs of culturally, linguistically, and spiritually diverse people at PSU must be an integral part of the dialogue. Serving on the Executive Council will allow me to support and raise concerns of faculty and students of color who have felt disregarded or disrespected so that solutions-based bargaining promote positive outcomes for the entire “PSU-collective.”
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
END OF BALLOT