Letters to the Chronicle

AFRs offer a tool for faculty protest

Imagine my disgust at learning that the faculty contract is up in smoke on the same day that I learned of the administration's cave-in on unionization of undergraduate resident assistants. Some "industrial action" is called for. But I do not support calls for faculty to reduce their student contact hours, withhold grades, or engage in any other action that harms students. No, I prefer a gesture that harms only myself, and I suggest other tenured faculty follow my lead.

Namely, I am contemplating withholding my Annual Faculty Report. These reports are essential for getting merit raises (under the evaporated union contract) and to let our colleagues know how productive we've been. They're a major investment in time by preparers and the handful of faculty who are suppose to read them. For me, the Annual Faculty Report reaffirms my right to tenure and the perks that go with it, just as it did last year and for my entire four-decade stint as a faculty member. The only folks who might miss my Annual Faculty Report are members of the administration, who have to justify their existence, too.

JOHN MOORE
professor,
Psychology Department