Kean Local Standing Strong for Academics and Tenure

The Kean Federation of Teachers local is mobilizing to defend the integrity of academics and tenure at the embattled university. Kean full-time faculty, professional staff and librarian local President James Castiglione is calling on his fellow faculty members, unionists and students to take action to support a fair tenure process, job security and academic integrity.

Nine of ten qualified colleagues up for tenure were not recommended for tenure by management this month, despite support of their departmental peers and the university-wide faculty, according to Castiglione. In the vast majority of cases, the votes in support of the faculty up for tenure were unanimous. Appeals have been filed and members of the local are calling on the Kean University President Dawood Farahi to “reverse the unjust, inhumane and unilateral denial of tenure,” said Castiglione.

Further, two local tenured members face retrenchment and possible layoff in the Graphic Communications program via elimination of that program. Both faculty previously taught in other departments and are well-qualified to transition elsewhere within the university, according to Castiglione.

With the hiring of more lecturers and adjuncts at Kean, the university has by far the lowest ratio of tenured faculty to students of any school within the state system.

In response, members are attending the December Board of Trustees meeting to protest the attack on tenure, which Castiglione said weakens the overall quality of academics at Kean.

Local members are being asked to participate in a unit-wide vote of no-confidence in the leadership of Vice President of Academic Affairs Jeff Toney. Toney’s decision to give negative tenure recommendations to faculty despite overwhelmingly positive recommendations from their departments and the university-wide faculty is indicative of the lack of vital shared governance at Kean, according to Castiglione.

AFTNJ leaders have pledged to support the Kean local’s efforts. State Council AFT President Tim Haresign from Richard Stockton College termed the university’s attack on tenure “outrageous” and spoke to the local about the importance of Union solidarity. AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera is a Kean University graduate and expressed her continued gratitude to the faculty along with concern for current students denied the rich experience she found in the graduate education program.

“Unless these destructive actions at Kean University are reversed, Kean students will suffer immediately and the higher education system in New Jersey will lose an opportunity to move forward,” said Castiglione.

KFT Resolution in Support of Non-Recommended 5th Year Faculty

Whereas the Executive Committee of the Kean University Faculty Senate has approved sending a proposed resolution to the full Faculty Senate in support of our untenured colleagues unjustly being denied tenure; and

Resolved that the membership of the Kean Federation of Teachers calls upon the President to reverse the VPAA’s unjust, inhumane and unilateral recommendations, lacking academic credibility and integrity, in denying tenure to those whose colleagues have deemed them worthy.

Petition to the Kean University Board of Trustees

In view of the resolutions in support of tenure-track faculty at Kean University as proposed by the Kean Federation of Teachers and the Kean University Faculty Senate,
and
in view of the dire need for full-time tenured faculty to maintain and support the viability and integrity of existing academic programs as outlined in the MSCHE and Strategic Planning documents, we the undersigned petition the Kean University Board of Trustees to:

(1) ensure the reassignment of the highly qualified faculty, Dr. Cyril Nwako and Dr. Greg D’Amico, who are proven scholars, teachers and academic professionals,
and
(2) ensure the reappointment with tenure of faculty who received unanimous or near-unanimous votes of support from their Departments and Colleges.