BY KELLY HAND
We are delighted to announce that three faculty activists will be honored for their extraordinary dedication and accomplishments at the AAUP’s Annual Conference on the State of Higher Education in June.
The Georgina M. Smith Award will go to Deborah Smith of Kent State University on Saturday, June 16, at an awards and recognition luncheon. The award is presented to a person who has provided exceptional leadership in the past year in improving the status of academic women or in advancing collective bargaining, thereby improving the profession in general. Smith was chosen for the award in recognition of her admirable leadership in collective bargaining; success as chief negotiator during her chapter’s contract negotiations, deploying an excellent understanding of the university’s finances and securing paid parental-leave rights; and her efforts to implement a meaningful system of faculty evaluation.
The Outstanding Achievement Award will go to Alexander Zukas of National University at the Saturday, June 16, awards and recognition luncheon. The award is presented to an individual AAUP member for outstanding chapter- or conference-level work in advancing academic freedom or shared governance; promoting the economic security of academics; helping the higher education community organize; or ensuring higher education’s contribution to the common good. Zukas was chosen for the award in recognition of his tireless organizing work at National University, forming an AAUP chapter despite opposition from the administration, and his work on behalf of the California state AAUP conference to build solidarity within AAUP chapters.
The Marilyn Sternberg Award will go to Martin Kich of Wright State University at the AAUP-CBC Regular Meeting, held on June 15 in conjunction with the AAUP’s annual conference. The award is presented to an AAUP member who demonstrates concern for human rights, courage, persistence, political foresight, imagination, and collective bargaining skills. Kich was chosen for the award in recognition of his years of outstanding service to Wright State’s AAUP chapter, as an elected leader and a critical member of the chapter’s negotiating team in a difficult financial and political environment for collective bargaining; to the Ohio state AAUP conference; and to the national AAUP and AAUP-CBC. He is familiar to many Academe Blog readers as one of its editors and a frequent contributor.
