Administrator

Food Pantry Needs Volunteers before Spring Semester

Local 965 has been a supporter of the Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry on campus. It is closed for winter break and expects to be short-staffed when it opens Monday, Jan. 9, needing volunteers to help staff it through the first week of Spring Semester.

“Full Circle Food Pantry is led by nine student leaders and over 60 volunteers a semester. We are looking for extra hands during the weeks of Jan. 9 and Jan. 17 to help as students transition back to Fayetteville and full-time volunteers begin their semester-long commitment,” according to their announcement.

To help out in the next couple of weeks, sign up for 1- to 2-hour shifts online at the pantry’s GivePulse page. If this is your first time, staff will provide newcomers with a detailed PowerPoint with everything they need to know then do in-person training upon arrival.

Also, to volunteer during the semester, please email pantry3@uark.edu or go to Full Circle’s HogSync page for an application.

Full Circle serves the UA community. Surprising numbers of students and employees use its services. Some 1,200 household members a month get food assistance here.

Congratulations, Chancellor Robinson

UA-Fayetteville Education Association / Local 965, the labor union of the University of Arkansas, congratulates Charles F. Robinson, Ph.D., for his Nov. 16, 2022, appointment to chancellor of our campus.

Chancellor Charles F. Robinson, Ph.D., of the University of Arkansas. Photo by Russell Cothren

Some members of the Local 965 have known him since he was hired in 1999 as an assistant professor of history in the Fulbright School of Arts & Sciences. His academic achievements include honors for teaching, authoring books on the Black experience, and leading the African and African American Studies Program, helping prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the university. The last post led to successive administrative roles — vice provost, vice chancellor, provost and executive vice chancellor. The UA System named him interim chancellor starting Aug. 16, 2021, exactly 15 months before UA System trustees elected him unanimously.

Local 965, the sole higher education chapter of the Arkansas Education Association/National Education Association, looks forward to working with Chancellor Robinson to continue UA improvements in meeting staff and faculty needs and rights.

Local 965 Secretary Ben Pollock greets interim University of Arkansas Chancellor Charles F. Robinson Aug. 24 at the 2022 Razorbash on the Fayetteville campus as 965 Vice President Mike Pierce listens. — Local 965 Secretary Ben Pollock greets then-interim University of Arkansas Chancellor Charles F. Robinson Aug. 24 at the 2022 Razorbash on the Fayetteville campus as 965 Vice President Mike Pierce looks on.

Higher Ed Union Endorses 2 Local Candidates

For the first time in several years, the labor union of the University of Arkansas is endorsing candidates in the 2022 general election.

Sloan Scroggin, a candidate for Ward 3, Position 1, of the Fayetteville City Council, has received the endorsement of UA-Fayetteville Education Association / Local 965. At its October meeting, members agreed he is the best candidate to represent University of Arkansas employees as well as residents of his ward and indeed the city. Scroggin is a Local 965 member.

Sloan, an instructor in Fulbright College’s Department of Mathematical Sciences has served as a council member since 2019. The other candidate for Ward 3 is funeral home owner Scott Berna, whom Local 965 opposes in this race.

Josh Moody, Democratic nominee for county judge of Washington County, has been endorsed by UA-Fayetteville Education Association / Local 965. Union members at their meeting Thursday, Oct. 20, called Moody the superior candidate to manage government operations as well as work for the best interests of residents throughout the county.

Josh has been a teacher in the Fayetteville School District and Washington County Juvenile Detention Center. The other candidate for county judge is District 5 Justice of the Peace Patrick Deakins, whom Local 965 opposes in this race.

Local 965’s “Area Voting Info for 2022” can help you locate your municipal and legislative wards and districts, polling places and related information.

Specialists Discuss Local Impact of Dobbs Ruling that Ended Roe

Almost 200 people attended the Sept. 6, 2022, panel discussion on “The Fight for the Future of Reproductive Health at the University of Arkansas,” either in person at the Fayetteville Public Library or streamed virtually on YouTube Live.

UA-Fayetteville Education Association / Local 965, a chapter of the Arkansas Education Association and National Education Association, hosted the 90-minute program.

Local 965 hosts University of Arkansas specialists discussing the local impact of the Dobbs Supreme Court ruling that ended Roe at the Fayetteville Public Library on Sept. 6, 2022.

“I was riveted by what everyone had to say — the politics, the medicine, the legal aspects — going far deeper than I knew,” said Local 965 President Bret Schulte. “The conversation was raw and sophisticated, and it created a safe space for audience members to share their fears and to ask important questions that the UA has ignored.

“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude to everyone who participated and organized, and I am proud of what we accomplished.”

Local 965 began organizing the program within one day of the 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, handed down June 24, 2022. Its news release details panelist biographies with highlights of the union’s resolution.

Panelists included state Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-District 86, UA Law Professor Jill Wieber Lens, J.D., and Kathleen Paulson, M.D. Moderator was UA Political Science Professor Karen Sebold, Ph.D. UA History Professor Michael C. Pierce, vice president of Local 965, welcomed the panel.

We are pleased to present this video of the program for all who couldn’t have been there Tuesday. The library’s skilled tech staff produced the multicamera recording. About 70 people attended the program in the library’s new main auditorium, the Event Center. More than 100 viewed the stream on YouTube Live or watched later Tuesday night when it transitioned into a recorded video.

Local Welcomes Students at Razorbash

Local 965 responded to dozens of queries Aug. 24 at the 2022 Razorbash outside Arkansas Union on Aug. 24, visiting with students, staff and faculty members and a couple of parents of students.

Local 965 President Bret Schulte explains the union's Sept. 6 public discussion "The Fight for the Future of Reproductive Health at the University of Arkansas" to undergraduates Aug. 24 at the 2022 Razorbash community fair on the Fayetteville campus.

Local 965 Secretary Ben Pollock makes personal contact as President Bret Schulte and Vice President Mike Pierce talk with other University of Arkansas employees and graduate students Aug. 24 at the 2022 Razorbash community fair on the Fayetteville campus.

Local 965 Secretary Ben Pollock, UniServ Director Renee Johnson of the Arkansas Education Association and AEA President Carol B. Fleming are ready Aug. 24 to greet the first employees and students at the 2022 Razorbash on the Fayetteville campus.

Local 965 Vice President Mike Pierce (left) and President Bret Schulte explain its plans and goals to a graduate teaching assistant Aug. 24 at the 2022 Razorbash community fair on the Fayetteville campus.

Visitors to the booth picked up information about UA-Fayetteville Education Association/Local 965, a chapter of the Arkansas Education Association, a division of the National Education Association, as well as logo pens, highlighters and other reading material, including a flyer for the Local’s Sept. 6 public panel discussion “The Fight for the Future of Reproductive Health at the University of Arkansas.”

Its table was run by 965 officers as well as AEA President Carol Fleming and AEA UniServ Director Renee Johnson.

Local 965 Vice President Mike Pierce talks Aug. 24 with interim University of Arkansas Chancellor Charles F. Robinson at the 2022 Razorbash on the Fayetteville campus. — Interim University of Arkansas Chancellor Charles F. Robinson stopped at the table of Local 965 Aug. 24 during the 2022 Razorbash community fair on the Fayetteville campus. 965 Vice President Mike Pierce, left photo, talks with his fellow history professor. 965 Secretary Ben Pollock meets him, center. Arkansas Education Association Carol B. Fleming poses with him. Left and middle photos by Fleming, right by Renee Johnson.

The annual Razorbash fair web page states it “features booths from local businesses, community groups and non-profit organizations, that will provide free food, giveaways, and information. Razorbash 2022 offers students an opportunity to connect with the local community.”