The ballot for the election of councilors to the Executive Council of PSU-AAUP will open Sunday March 1, 2015 at 9am. A link to the online ballot will be sent to you by electionbuddy.com on March 1. As required by PSU-AAUP bylaws, the ballot shall be open for 15 days and will close on Sunday March 15 at 5pm.
All ballot will be sent to member's PSU email address. If you do not get an email from the electionbuddy.com system inviting you to vote, please contact Phil Lesch immediately.
The nominees for election are as follows:
Vice President for Grievances (vote for one)
Jose Padin (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)
Gary Brodowicz (candidate statement below)
Karen Kennedy (incumbent) (candidate statement below)
Ramin Farahmandpur (candidate statement below)
Ron Narode (candidate statement below)
CANDIDATE STATEMENTS
Vice President for Grievances (1 candidate. Vote for 1)
Jose Padin (incumbent)
PSU-AAUP Incumbent Vice President Grievances 2014-present; Chair CORE 2014 Contract Action Face to Face Campaign, Executive Councilor At Large 2004-06, AAUP-Oregon President 2013- present
Professor, Sociology. Tenured.
Mid-year last year, Judy Patton, who was then VP for Grievances, asked me to run for her position. Her term was only half over, but she was retiring. I was honored. PSU Faculty and APs were fighting so hard against an administration that was attacking with determination: to weaken tenure and promotion protections, to make conditions worse for colleagues without tenure, and to make it easier for an Academic Professional to be capriciously “restructured” and replaced with cheaper labor. We prevailed! But a contract we fight for is only as strong as our ability to see it respected. Serving our Association as VP for Grievances over the last 9 months in the wake of our contract campaign has been exceedingly gratifying. I have acquired significant experience through specialized training and long hours of service and nothing would honor me more than putting these at your service for a full term.
[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 in 2014 I became the Vice President for Political Action on our AAUP Oregon Executive Committee.
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 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 professor of Spanish Linguistics (Dept. WLL). She came to PSU in 2002. In her 13 years at PSU, she has served in numerous committees: Latino Task Force, Internationalization Action Council, WLL Advisory Council, and WLL Public Relations C. She is currently serving her fourth year with the Faculty Senate Budget C. In 2008, she received PSU “Las mujeres” award for her outstanding positive impact in the community. Within WLL, she served as section head (for Spanish), which is the biggest at WLL (2nd largest dept. at PSU), for 2009-11. Outside PSU, as a volunteer, she served as secretary (2010-13) in her HOA community in Beaverton, Briargate Village, with 44 households. This responsibility included overseeing the annual budget as well as comparing the actual revenues and expenses incurred against the budget, altogether with the observation of the HOA financial policies. Núñez is interested in continuing serving on the AAUP Executive Council as Treasurer.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
Councilors At Large (4 candidates. Vote for 3 positions)
(Listed in alphabetical order)
Gary Brodowicz
PSU-AAUP President 2002-2004, 2006-2008; PSU-AAUP Contract Action Face to Face Campaign (CORE member) 2013-2015; Interim President 1997; Vice President Collective Bargaining 1998-2000; Executive Councilor At Large 1996-1997, 2006-2006, 2009-2010; Unit Representative 1996-present
Professor, School of Community Health. Tenured.
I’ve nominated myself for one of the open councilor-at-large positions on the PSU-AAUP Executive Council because I believe that our campus professional faculty organization works best when we participate. This critically important organization provides each of us with numerous opportunities to have an impact in matters that ultimately affect the welfare of the university, including academic freedom, shared governance, due process, employee compensation, and working conditions. I continue trying to “pay back” the organization that helped me decades ago (when I lost my job because my unit was eliminated, it was PSU-AAUP that fiercely fought for me). The PSU-AAUP community has been an inspiration to me, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with this great group in the future.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
Ramin Farahmandpur
PSU-AAUP delegate to National Campaign for the Future of Higher Education (CFHE) 2014- present, Organizer 2013-15 Face to Face Campaign; Executive Councilor At Large 2006-2008, Unit Representative 2002-present
Professor, GSE. Tenured.
I am keenly interested in fighting the privatization of public education, as well as other aspects of corporate education “deform”. I have published four recent articles on related topics in the Oregonian, the Eugene Register-Guard, and TruthOut Magazine. I have begun to develop relationships with members of the Oregon Legislature and would be interested in carrying our concerns to that body in testimony before committees during their sessions. Some of the topics I would be willing to address include: outcomes-based budgeting, 40-40-20, and academic program prioritization.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
Karen Kennedy
PSU-AAUP Incumbent Executive Councilor-At-Large 2013-15, 2011-13. Contract Action Face to Face Campaign (CORE member) 2013-2015, Unit Representative 2009 to present. AAUP-Oregon statewide advocate for Academic Professionals 2012 to present
Academic Advisor, ASC. Academic Professional
I would be honored and excited to serve a third term with the AAUP Executive Council. I am an Academic Professional at PSU and work as an Academic Adviser/International Student Liaison in the Office of Advising and Career Services. Besides serving on the Executive Council, I have been the AP Caucus co-chair, have served on the Grievance Committee, and have attended the yearly Oregon Labor Law Conference. I was an organizer and member of CORE during collective bargaining this past year, which culminated in our first ever strike vote.
I truly believe that our working conditions are students' learning conditions. We must continue to fight to maintain and improve academic quality for our students, address our low salaries and increasing workloads, and other important issues. I look forward to continuing my work with the Executive Council on these important issues.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
Ron Narode
PSU-AAUP Past Vice President Collective Bargaining 2012-2013. PSU-AAUP Collective Bargaining Team 2008-2012. PSU-AAUP Councilor-At-Large 2008-Incumbent Executive Councilor-at-Large 2009-11, PSU-AAUP Unit Rep
Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction GSE, Tenured
I have been an active member and strong advocate for AAUP at PSU since I arrived in 1990. It has been my privilege to serve several terms on the Executive Council and the Collective Bargaining Team. If elected to the Executive Council, I will continue to work for better working conditions for our membership and better learning conditions for our students. Thank you for your support.
[This statement was submitted by the nominee]
If you do not get an email from the electionbuddy.com system on Sunday March 1 inviting you to vote, please contact Phil Lesch immediately.