Biweekly news digest from the California State University Employees Union
If you would like to receive CSUEU E-News directly via email, please sign up at the CSUEU site.
UC RIVERSIDE LEADER TO BE NEXT CSU CHANCELLOR
NEW ONLINE PLEDGE CARD FOR NOVEMBER ELECTION
JOAN KENNEDY SPEAKS AT SLO FALL CONFERENCE
CHAPTER 319 RE-LAUNCHES ITS WEBSITE
COMMITTEE ON THE FUTURE ASSISTS WITH PLANNING
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE MEMBER BENEFITS NEWSLETTER
TODAY IN HISTORY
CAMPUS PHOTO CONTEST
* * *
CSU Announces UC Riverside’s Timothy White as Next Chancellor
In a press conference this morning at 11 a.m., CSU administrators announced that UC Riverside Chancellor Timothy White has been selected to serve as the next chancellor of the CSU.
The seventh chancellor to lead the 23 campus CSU system since its founding in the early 1960s, White is expected to start in his new position at the end of December and will receive an annual salary at the same level as the current chancellor, $421,500 plus a $30,000 supplement from CSU Foundation sources.
The search for a new chancellor following Chancellor Charles Reed’s retirement announcement earlier this year was conducted largely in secret, despite many calls for a transparent process.
An external group of CSU stakeholders included a CSUEU member, Vonetta Augustine of CSU Long Beach; that group was charged with advising the CSU board and the Special Committee for the Selection of the Chancellor.
White, 63, has served as UCR Chancellor since 2008. He was president of the University of Idaho from 2004 to 2008 and also served as a dean, provost and executive vice president, and interim president at Oregon State University. He previously held positions as professor and chair of the Department of Human Biodynamics at the University of California, Berkeley, and as professor and chair of the Department of Movement Science at the University of Michigan.
Born in Argentina, White immigrated to Northern California and is a first-generation college student who has matriculated within every college system in California. After beginning at Diablo Valley Community College, he earned a bachelor's from Fresno State, a master’s degree from Cal State Hayward (East Bay), and a Ph.D. at UC Berkeley.
Early last year, White was featured on the CBS show “Undercover Boss,” working in disguise in jobs across the UCR campus to get a better idea of working conditions across the campus community. Read an in-depth article about the show from UCR Today and see a 30-second promo for the episode.
New Online Pledge Card for November Election
You can now pledge to vote in this November’s election online as a way of reinforcing your commitment to make your vote count.
The newly launched page introduces a new feature: text messaging. Sign up to receive election-related text messages, and look for other text messaging alert options in the future.
The Legislative Committee has finalized its recommendations for November candidates and ballot initiatives.Download an endorsement card listing all the recommendations (PDF). Members are scheduled to receive a hard copy of the endorsement card in the mail next week.
Here are the committee’s recommendations for ballot measures:
30 Temporary taxes to fund education
SUPPORT
31 State budget
OPPOSE
32 Political contributions by payroll deduction
OPPOSE
38 Tax to fund education and early childhood programs
OPPOSE
39 Tax treatment for multistate businesses
SUPPORT
40 Redistricting, State Senate districts
SUPPORT
Joan Kennedy Speaks at San Luis Obispo Fall Conference
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Chapter 316 President Joan Kennedy spoke eloquently on behalf of Yes on 30 and No on 32 at last month’s Fall Conference, an annual convocation welcoming new students to the campus.
Representing the campus-wide Labor Council, she stressed the idea that “we’re all in this together” as she warned about the negative impacts on the CSU and all of its union-represented employees should Prop. 30 fail to win or if Prop. 32 isn’t defeated.
See a video of Joan’s remarks (go to the 11:20 mark).
Read a transcript of Joan’s comments.
Chapter 319 Re-Launches Its Website
By Kristine Quiocho
Cal Poly Pomona Chapter 319 had been without a website going back to 2010 until volunteer Kristine Quiocho recently stepped up and rebuilt it. In this first-person account, Kristine discusses the tricky path to launching the new site. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Chapter 319's Rocky Sanchez, Lucy Breza, Kristine, and Deborah Campbell, and in the back row are Vaughn Lucas (left) and Robert Rice.
A couple of days after I joined the e-board at Cal Poly Pomona Chapter 319 last spring, I went through the CSUEU website looking for a link to the Pomona site. It wasn’t on the list of chapter links, and I soon discovered the reason: when Cal Poly Pomona’s I&IT division updated their web services in 2010, their changes took down our old website, which until then had been housed on their server, maintained by member Brad Willes. Since then, the chapter hadn’t been successful in getting the website up and running again on Pomona’s new web infrastructure.
Earlier this year, the e-board discussed rebuilding the site using CSEA’s secure server and DotNetNuke (DNN) software, and, since I had experience in that field, Chief Steward Rocky Sanchez approached me about taking the lead. I agreed but immediately found myself facing two challenges: I didn’t know how to use DNN, since I usually work with Adobe Dreamweaver, and I didn’t know what to include for content.
Luckily, I had support from the CSEA staff with the technical issues I was having as I learned the ropes. I remember a particular day when I was suddenly kicked off while editing and was unable to log back in. Fearing that I'd deleted the entire site, I contacted CSEA webmaster Steve Aunan, and he was able to log me in immediately. And, no, I hadn't deleted the entire site. Whew!
Read the entire article.
Committee on the Future Assists with Long-Term Planning
To help the CSUEU Board of Directors foster a dialogue about how the union can better fulfill its mission of protecting and enhancing the wages, hours and working conditions of our members, President Pat Gantt appointed a CSUEU Committee on the Future last spring.
Suggested by the CSUEU Finance Committee, the committee is charged with facilitating a strategic planning process that will help board members and chapter leaders shape concrete plans to tackle the challenges ahead. By developing workshops, trainings, and presentations that seek input and encourage creativity from CSUEU leaders at all levels, the committee is helping the board make critical decisions about the future of the union.
Starting in mid-June, the group has met several times, organizing a Board of Directors retreat in Sacramento in early August and a one-day Affiliates Day workshop at the CSEA General Council in Los Angeles over the Labor Day weekend.
Members are (in alphabetical order): Debbie Blair, Andrew Coile, Joseph Dobzynski, Pat Gantt, Mike Geck, Cynthia Jones-Hunter, Russell Kilday-Hicks, Kathryn Plunkett, Loretta Seva'aetasi, Sherrie Velthuysen, and Lori Williams, with John Watson as staff assigned. Helping to coordinate the group's work during this period has been consultant Michael Perri.
Sign Up to Receive the Member Benefits Newsletter
The October edition of the CSEA Member Benefits newsletter features discounts for CSUEU-represented employees on gifts, electronics, special events, travel destinations, insurance and more.
It’s easy to save money through your Member Benefits department by having the newsletter delivered directly to your email inbox once a month and taking advantage of all the discounts. Subscribe at the Member Benefits website.
Today in History
In 1927, work begins today on the carving of Mt. Rushmore, a task 400 craftsmen would eventually complete in 1941. Despite the dangerous nature of the project, not one worker died.
Campus Photo Contest
In each edition of E-News, we've been showing a photograph of a different campus and have invited readers to identify the campus. The photo in the Sept. 21 edition was from Humboldt State. Unfortunately, there were no correct entries this time around.
* * *
See back issues of CSUEU E-News, distributed every other Thursday.
— End —