Highlights from the Annual Meeting, 2014

 

The Louisiana Conference of the American Association of University Professors was held on the Tulane University campus on April 5. Members from LSU-Baton Rouge, LSU Health Sciences Center, University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Southeastern Louisiana University, and Tulane University attended to discuss various topics related to higher education and academic research.
The conference served as a platform for professors to exchange ideas, present their latest research findings, and engage in fruitful discussions. Several insightful presentations were delivered, covering a wide range of subjects such as curriculum development, faculty governance, student engagement, and the future of academia. Additionally, many attendees took the opportunity to showcase their skills write my capstone paper, highlighting the culmination of their academic journeys and showcasing their expertise in their respective fields. The conference proved to be a valuable experience for all participants, fostering collaboration and intellectual growth within the Louisiana academic community.

 

Elections for Conference offices were held, with the following result:

 

President: Ravi Rau, LSU Baton Rouge

Vice-President: Sudhir Trivedi, Southern Baton Rouge

Secretary: Linda Carroll, Tulane University

Treasurer: Michael Homan, Xavier

At-Large: Leslie Bary, University of Louisiana Lafayette

 

President Ellwood reported that he had contacted the presidents of nearby conferences with the goal of meeting with them to discuss common issues and approaches. The presidents contacted were those of the Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas Conferences. All of the presidents with the exception of the president of the Texas Conference will meet on April 26.

 

The Conference received the message of April 3 from Jordan Kurland of the national office concerning the efforts being undertaken by the national office to work with the affected administrations of most of the censured Louisiana systems/institutions (three in the University of Louisiana System and one at Nicholls State) to achieve the improvements necessary to the lifting of censure. Because a Conference resolution addressed to systems and administrations urging them to resolve the issues leading to censure is a matter of serious and pressing concern to the Conference membership, a working group consisting of Dayne Sherman (Southeastern Louisiana University), Linda Carroll (Tulane University), Sudhir Trivedi (Southern University, Baton Rouge), George Wooddell (University of Louisiana, Lafayette) was constituted to formulate the resolution which, after it is approved by the executive committee, will be distributed to the appropriate administrations and systems, as well as to the Conference membership.

 

A motion opposing HB 244, which would permit the sale of firearms on campuses was passed.

 

The J. Thomas Hamrick Award for Contributions to Academic Freedom was conferred upon Past President Alvin Burstein for his extraordinary service to the Conference and to the profession.