1. WHY SO GRUMPY?

WE THE FACULTY AT BGSU HAVE FORMED A UNION AND ARE CURRENTLY NEGOTIATING OUR FIRST CONTRACT. HERE'S WHY WE FELT THE NEED TO DO THIS:

• BGSU IS USED AS A STEPPING STONE BY ADMINISTRATORS WHO PASS THROUGH ON THEIR WAY UP THE PROFESSIONAL LADDER. BGSU FACULTY ARE HERE LONG-TERM, AND CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THIS UNIVERSITY, YET WE HAVE BEEN INCREASINGLY SHUT OUT THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS ON MOST ASPECTS OF UNIVERSITY LIFE, EVEN  ACADEMIC DECISIONS. FACULTY ARE THE HEART OF UNIVERSITIES. LEARNING IS WHAT UNIVERSITIES ARE FOR, AND TEACHING IS WHAT WE DO. UNIVERSITIES USED TO BE AND SHOULD BE RUN BY FACULTY, THE EXPERTS ON TEACHING AND LEARNING.

• INSTEAD OF RUNNING BGSU AS AN ACADEMIC INSTITUTION, IN RECENT YEARS THE POWERS THAT BE HAVE TRIED TO RUN THE UNIVERSITY LIKE A FOR-PROFIT BUSINESS. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN OVERRUN BY IDEOLOGUES WHO HAVE LITTLE UNDERSTANDING OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND HAVE THEIR OWN SELF-INTERESTED AGENDAS (I HEAR COLUMBUS CALLING). THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WAYS TO SQUEEZE EVEN MORE PROFIT OUT OF STUDENTS AND FACULTY, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE ROUGHLY $200 MILLION SITTING IN THEIR COFFERS TODAY. SEE "WHY TUITION IS SO HIGH" TO LEARN HOW THEIR BAD CHOICES AFFECTS STUDENTS. SEE "WHY FALCON / PHOENIX" TO LEARN WHY FOR-PROFIT EDUCATION DOES NOT WORK.

• DESPITE HUNDRED$ OF MILLION$ OF DOLLAR$ OF EXCE$$ FUND$, BGSU'S FACULTY ARE AMONG THE LOWEST-PAID FACULTY IN THE  UNITED STATES -- WE ARE IN THE BOTTOM 10%, AND IN SOME CATEGORIES, IN THE BOTTOM 4%. MANY OF US HAVE TAUGHT HERE FOR SEVERAL DECADES, YET WE ARE CATEGORIZED AS "TEMPORARY" FACULTY, SO WE CAN BE PAID LESS. SEE "WHY TEACH IS STRESSY, AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE" TO LEARN HOW LOW SALARIES AND THE LACK OF JOB SECURITY AFFECT THE CLASSROOM.

THEREFORE WE ARE NOW QUITE GRUMPY:

LOOK AROUND THIS SITE TO SEE HOW THE ADMINISTRATION'S FASTFOODIFICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AFFECTS STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND ALUMNI OF BGSU.