I have to applaud Mary Lamb for her letter to the editor Jan. 23. She has managed to sum up the major problems with the administration’s counteroffer to the SIUC Faculty Association in a very tactful manner.

Unfortunately, I find myself unable to be as tactful. The administration’s counteroffer is a slap in the face to the SIUC Faculty Association, as well as a major step backward from their last and final offer for an interim contract. If you remember, that one was voted down by Faculty Association members by a very large margin.

The SIU Board of Trustees, through their negotiating team, have at this date failed to address any of the major issues that resulted in the IEA/NEA being voted in. Based on reading the administration’s counteroffer, one can conclude the Board does not wish to deal with faculty governance, desires no real faculty input on the subject of program elimination, wants the right to fire us for any cause and intends to ignore the need for real improvements in salaries on campus.

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To quote chancellor candidate Jo Ann Argersinger when questioned about the Faculty Association, The best thing the administration can do is be flexible, responsive and individually oriented. To date the administration’s negotiating team has shown little inclination to be any of this.

Time is running out for an amicable negation. The SIUC Board of Trustees needs to know this. The counteroffer placed on the table by the administration’s negotiating team is not reasonable and in fact appears to dilute faculty protections and academic freedoms. The SIUC Faculty Senate needs to closely review this counteroffer and weigh in on the discussion. Tenured faculty who are not Faculty Association members should be aware they will be affected also, if the counteroffer is allowed to stand. Student government and organizations are challenged to weigh in. What affects us will in the long run affect you.

assistant professor, electronics management