Questions remain about sabbaticals for state college faculty

By David Karas/The Times

EWING — Although a tentative agreement was drafted last week between the state and the bargaining agent for faculty at New Jersey’s nine state colleges and universities, questions remain about the issue of sabbaticals.

A freeze was put on sabbaticals for all state colleges and universities during the past academic year as faculty members worked without a contract, according to Steve Young, president of the Council of New Jersey State College Locals-American Federation of Teachers.
Under the tentative agreement, which members will vote on in September, college and university presidents would be able to determine how many sabbaticals are awarded and set guidelines for the process, Young said.
At TCNJ, Ralph Edelbach, president of AFT Local 2364, said campus leaders — particularly President R. Barbara Gitenstein — will not set up a sabbatical program before the contract is voted on, and thus, will not be able to award any for the fall semester.
“Nobody has been notified for sure, which has a lot of people stressed out,” said Edelbach, who added that some faculty members who applied for sabbaticals felt they had a strong chance of being recommended by a committee, and some had made arrangements for research travel or programming. “That leaves people hanging.”

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