Moving Forward Together

"Someone asked me on Friday if I was celebrating the vote," said Mark Fischler, the Chair of the Criminal Justice Department and an Associate Professor. "I said sincerely, 'No.'"

On Thurs., Oct. 10, 2013, the votes for the proposed tenured and tenure-track faculty union at Plymouth State University were tallied, and by a count 93-75, the potential union was voted down. In the aftermath of the vote, faculty members see this as neither a time for celebration or grief. Time doesn't stop, and all know that they must continue moving forward.

The proposed union created a riff between tenured and tenure-track faculty members, that the vote showed split the faculty almost in half. The two sides, which for almost three years have been pitted against one another, now have to move forward and try to bridge the gap the proposed union created. Whatever ill will might have been felt, both sides understand that to fix their issues they will need to work together.

Both sides have no doubt they can accomplish this. "Many of us on opposite sides of this issue have worked closely together in the past and I expect this will continue in the future," said Gary McCool, the Coordinator of Reference Services. "The faculty has always shared a common goal of wanting what is best for the students of PSU, and that hasn't changed."

The faculty understands that their opinions differed, but have confidence in each other to work together to accomplish their goals. "It's my belief that the faculty will continue to come together in this process of shared governance," said Stephanie Halter, an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice. "[We will] be able to work together to achieve our common goal of excellence in education."

Even though the result of the vote means there will be no faculty union at PSU, that doesn't mean nothing will change. "There were a lot of legitimate concerns raised by those in favor of unionization," said Fischler. "We need to work together to make our current form of governance a better one."

The faculty knows that there are issues that need to be addressed, and even though the vote is over, those issues didn't disappear. "Regardless of how the vote turned out, both groups of faculty need to come together to listen to each other and to truly hear about all the issues that started these discussions in the first place," said Linda Levy, the Chair of the Department of Health Performance and the Athletic Training Program Director.

Though the two sides have been in heavy debate, there is no disrespect or grudges felt by either side. "I don't feel "pitted against" anyone," said Cathie LeBlanc, the Chair of the Department of Communication and Media Studies and a professor of Digital Media. "Intellectual disagreements are healthy for an intellectual community." 

For the almost three years, the faculty was split and focused on something they disagreed on. With that in the rear-view mirror, they can come together and now focus on something they all agree on:

"While we may have had differences of opinion....[We] have never doubted the commitment of everyone on all sides to try to achieve the best for PSU students, faculty, staff, and administration," said McCool.

"Transcending our differences for the greater good of our university is priority number one in my book," said Fischler.

"I hope people will...be willing and able to continue to work for what we each believe are the best interests of the University. That's what I plan to do," said LeBlanc.

"I do believe we share the same goal-to provide excellent educational opportunities for our students... we can continue to pave the road for PSU's future," said Halter.

"Our students need to be the focal point of every conversation; every effort needs to underscore their needs and what we need to do to ensure their success," said Levy. "Together, we can collectively and positively affect change."