Due to a resignation, there is a vacancy in the Vice President for Legislative and Political Action (VP-LEG) position. The term of office is from when the election closes and the oath of office is administered until approximately May 1, 2023.
The PSU-AAUP Bylaws require the Executive Council to hold a special election to fill the position. The nominations window period is 5 days, from Monday July 19, 2021 8:00 AM until Friday July 23, 2021 5 PM. The special election for the position will be held in August.
Background
Office of Vice President for Legislative and Political Action (VP-LEG)
The VP-LEG is a new VP position, created in 2020 as the successor position to the chairperson of the Legislative and Political Action Committee. The VP-LEG works closely with its counterparts at the other AAUP Collective Bargaining Chapters on the AAUP-Oregon Legislative committee on matters of public policy that impact higher education faculty members in Oregon. Most activity in the position is concentrated to those periods when the Oregon legislature is in session; the upcoming sessions are approximately 2/1/22 - 2/28/22, and approximately 1/15/23 - 6/30/23. PSU-AAUP leadership has plans to provide for course releases in Winter 2022, Winter 2023 and Spring 2023 to enable the VP-LEG to actively participate in the legislative session and work with the AAUP-Oregon lobbyist. There is some activity between legislative sessions, but historically the work has been relatively limited.
The position is defined in the PSU-AAUP Constitution as follows:
"Vice President for Legislative and Political Action (VP-LEG) shall be responsible for the promotion of the chapter’s mission and objectives through legislative and political action. The Vice President shall recommend the appointment of the Legislative and Political Action Committee to the Executive Council and shall preside over the activities of the committee. The Vice President shall represent the chapter on legislative and political action with our affiliates and ensure our agreements with affiliates about legislative and political action are upheld. The Vice President shall make recommendations to the Executive Council on Association policies and strategies for legislative and political action, candidate endorsement, and government policy regarding higher education and faculty. The Vice President shall make recommendations to the Executive Council on positions for legislation and initiatives, endorsements on legislation, initiatives, and candidates, and shall ensure that the Executive Councils adopted positions and endorsements are communicated, as necessary. The Vice President shall organize lobbying efforts for chapter membership in concert with coalition partners and other organizations to support legislation and initiatives and candidates. The Vice President shall negotiate with government leaders about pending legislation as necessary based on Association positions and endorsements. The Vice President shall testify at public hearings and be available as a key resource to government bodies regarding higher education and faculty issues."
The VP-LEG is expected to attend all Executive Council meetings. The Executive Council meets Thursdays during the academic year from 12:00 to 1:30 PM, once per month during the summer, and in addition, there may be executive council retreats, or executive council trainings. The VP-LEG is also expected to attend all AAUP Leadership meetings, which occur approximately once per week.
The new Vice President for Legislative and Political Action will assume the duties of the office as soon as elected and as soon after that the Executive Council can administer the oath of office. The term of office will expire May 1, 2023.
If you are interested in the position, you can nominate yourself or a colleague by contacting the Nominations Officer for this election, Aaron Roussell, at roussellaaron@gmail.com.
Aaron Roussell can also answer any questions you have about the role, or the election.
Phil Lesch
Executive Director