CAS Policy Committee Resolution on Increased TA/GA Stipends

(passed April 30, 2001; vote: 13-1-0)

Last year at this time the Policy Committee listed four areas of urgent concern in the newly formed College of Arts and Sciences. In a formal meeting of the College the list was endorsed, and in a later written ballot, the list was approved by the Faculty. The urgent problems were:

  1. The non-competitive rate of TA Stipends
  2. The two-year hiring freeze
  3. The 15-student minimum enrollment in undergraduate classes
  4. Dissatisfaction with the administration’s lack of consultation in academic and fiscal decision making

Progress has been made in most areas, and the Policy Committee commends the Provost for energetically moving to fix these areas of urgent concern. Still, a problem of first importance is the lack of progress in increasing stipends for "all" Graduate Assistants.

In the recently improved "Memo of Understanding" between the University at Buffalo and Systems Administration "key tactical steps in pursuit of UB research goals" were listed as:

  1. Improvement of quality of graduate students by raising stipends to competitive levels.
  2. Recruitment of excellent faculty in key areas.
  3. Improved research support to get information on funding opportunities to faculty more effectively, to provide better support for the work involved in grant submission, and to generate databases that will allow better access to collaborative possibilities.

With regard to the first issue listed above, the Policy Committee wants a commitment from the Dean and Provost that there will be a plan in place to reach competitive rates and workloads for Teaching/Graduate Assistants within three years, without a reduction in number of positions.