Rutgers University’s Bob Barchi says he has no regrets. Here’s how the school has grown

Catherine Carrera, North Jersey Record

‘Antagonistic’ to the faculty?
On the academic side, Barchi has seen pressure mount to a near-strike from his unionized faculty.

Faculty and students stormed in on Board of Governors meetings throughout the past year demanding that Barchi meet their requests as contract negotiations ensued. In the spring, the largest union, representing 8,000 faculty members, threatened to strike if an agreement wasn’t reached by a certain date.…

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Critics again blast Rutgers over football program in wake of head coach’s ouster

Santana, NJTVNews

Among the biggest critics is the faculty union, claiming Rutgers — which spends $94 million a year on sports — has lost $200 million since joining the NCAA conference in 2014.

“Once again, we’re faced with a huge bill for someone to not work for Rutgers,” the union said in a joint statement with administrators at the school.…

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Sen Booker Introduced Legislation to Increase Teacher Compensation

Black Star News

Through refundable tax credits, the Respect, Advancement, and Increasing Support for Educators (RAISE) Act will help boost the compensation of early childhood, elementary, and secondary school teachers. Depending on the level of poverty in their school, public school teachers would be eligible for a tax credit up to $10,000. The bill would also double the educator tax credit, which teachers can use to offset the cost of school supplies.…

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Rutgers staff shut out of presidential search committee, union says

Star-Ledger Guest Columnist, Kathryn Neal

The search for the next Rutgers University president is underway. There is only one problem: 13,000 unionized staff have been shut out of the 23-member search committee. Executives from Rutgers governing boards and management have 10 seats; faculty have 11; and students have two. The exclusion is deliberate and part of a long-term pattern of Rutgers management disregarding staff.…

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Who Should Be Rutgers Next President? Someone Who Prioritizes Carbon Neutrality, Staff Say

Catherine Carrera, North Jersey Record

The next president of Rutgers University should be someone willing to commit the school to carbon neutrality, according to staff and faculty who spoke at two recent town hall sessions that were part of the university’s process to choose a new leader.

“The number one priority for the next president of Rutgers is going to be to make Rutgers carbon neutral,” said Robert Scott, an associate professor in the anthropology department.…

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For one Newark charter school not in session, the clock is ticking

Briana Vannozzi, NJTV News

The struggling charter failed to open on time for the 2019-2020 school year, and now its students are being bussed out to various community centers throughout the state. While the school is asking for parents’ patience and understanding as the situation is dealt with, the president of Newark’s teachers union is calling for an investigation, claiming a lack of oversight for charter schools is an ongoing issue in the state.…

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Longtime Kean president to step down. Dawood Farahi clashed with unions and oversaw massive campus expansion.

Rebecca Panico, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Kean University President Dawood Farahi announced he will step down next year, leading to calls for an open and transparent selection for his successor from faculty union leaders.

[…]

Although Farahi started out as a professor, he’s often clashed with the faculty union on campus, the Kean Federation of Teachers.…

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Raritan Valley Community College Faculty Union Disappointed With No New Contract

Mike Deak, Bridgewater Courier News

BRANCHBURG – With only a week to go before the start of classes, Raritan Valley Community College has not reached a settlement on a new contract with its faculty union.

The contract expired on June 30 but, according to a statement from Pattiann Kletz, the union president, negotiations have been continuing for nine months and a mediation session has been held to bring the two sides together.…

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Merit pay was the heart of a ‘revolutionary’ teachers contract in Newark. Now the Cory Booker-era policy is disappearing.

Wall, Chalkbeat
[…]

Last week, negotiators for the Newark Teachers Union and the district struck a deal for a new contract that scraps the bonuses for top-rated teachers, allows low-rated teachers to earn raises, and gives teachers with advanced degrees more pay. It also eliminates other provisions of the 2012 contract, which were continued in a follow-up agreement in 2017, including longer hours for low-performing schools.…

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N.J. college wants to go to war over a bad review. The faculty say it’s a big mistake.

Adam Clark, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A New Jersey college’s threat to sue an accrediting group that criticized one of its master’s degree programs amounts to an ill-conceived waste of time and money, its faculty union says.

A week after Kean University said it’s “standing up for what is right,” union leaders lashed out at the university for its reaction to losing an accreditation for its master’s of public affairs program.…

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Kean University Should Quit Costly Legal Attacks and Fix Failing Department

Beleaguered president of New Jersey public college would rather waste taxpayers’ money fighting accreditors than working with them to clean up his mess

UNION, N.J.—Kean Federation of Teachers President James Castiglione, AFT New Jersey President Donna M. Chiera and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statements after embattled Kean University President Dawood Farahi threatened to sue evaluators that de-accredited his master’s program in public affairs:

The KFT’s Castiglione said: “Instead of wasting money on legal challenges, Kean University management should address glaring deficiencies by hiring full-time faculty and staff to teach, counsel and eventually help public administration students find employment.…

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Gov. Murphy Signs Legislation Requiring Mental Health Ed & Establishing Program Testing Later Start Times

TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy today signed legislation that will require all New Jersey public schools to include mental health instruction in K through 12 health curriculums. The bill (S2861) aims to enhance student understanding, attitudes, and behaviors related to mental health to promote well-being. Governor Murphy also took action on legislation (S3160) that will require the Department of Education to establish a four-year pilot program testing later school start times for high school students.…

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Rutgers President Robert Barchi Stepping Down After School Year

NJ 101.5

[…]

“We look forward to welcoming a new President who shares our commitment to a diverse, equitable Rutgers that serves the people of New Jersey. We hope the Board of Governors will prioritize faculty, student and staff engagement in the search for a new president who is committed to our values. We expect that President Barchi will complete his unfinished business, including finally settling the contract and equalizing policies for the hundreds of unionized medical school faculty on the Biomedical and Health Sciences campuses who have been working without a contract for over a year now,” Todd Wolfson, president of faculty labor union, Rutgers AAUP-AFT, said in a written statement.…

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Op-Ed: More Accountability Should Be Endgame For Charter Schools

Chiera, NJ Spotlight

Illegally or not, charter schools take money for schools and students out of the very communities where it is most needed
donna m chiera spotlight
While “Avengers: Endgame” is smashing records at the box office, the hundreds of millions in precious public dollars that flowed to for-profit management companies and real estate concerns associated with charter schools — as the NorthJersey.com…

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Rutgers Gives Itself Great Report Card, Leader Of Faculty Union Differs

Sitrin, NJ Spotlight

Five-year report celebrates achievements in funding, construction and diversity; union official takes issue, particularly on tuition

[…]

“It’s a mixed bag,” David Hughes, professor of anthropology and vice president of the Rutgers American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers faculty union said. “There are bright spots for which President [Robert] Barchi should take credit, but those are overwhelmed by his failures and his misunderstanding of public higher education.”…

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