by Don Larsson, IFO State President

With only about two weeks of classes left in the fall semester, our classroom work at this time of year often seems more involved with winding down and wrapping up than with starting in on new ventures.  But at the state and national levels, we are seeing new beginnings. 

Chancellor Rosenstone has now been officially installed in office in a ceremony marked by greetings from a widely diverse group of students, often in languages other than English, from each of the system’s 31 institutions.  My own “greetings” to the Chancellor are reproduced below.  This week, the Chancellor will update the MnSCU Board of Trustees on how he is developing the “strategic framework” that he first laid out in September and referred to in his Installation speech.  At state Meet & Confer two weeks ago, he promised the IFO that the academic side of his plans—the goal of access to an “extraordinary education for all Minnesotans”—would evolve through ongoing discussions through the remainder of this academic year.  As I said at that Installation ceremony, the IFO stands ready to work with him “for the common good of our students, our universities and the state.”  We look forward to hearing what he will have to say to the Trustees this week as his plans take shape.

The Trustees are also likely to confirm another change—the appointment of two new Vice Chancellors.  Just today, MnSCU announced that the Chancellor will recommend Dr. Douglas Knowlton for the position of Vice Chancellor for Academic & Student Affairs (ASA) and Michael Dougherty as Vice Chancellor for Advancement.  Having served on the Search Committee for the ASA Vice Chancellor, I believe that Dr. Knowlton was the best choice among the candidates who were screened and interviewed.  He has been based in the upper Midwest for much of his life and has campus-level experience as a former faculty member at UM-Crookston and currently as President of Dakota State University in South Dakota.  I’ve also had the pleasure of working with him briefly on a Higher Learning Commission accreditation visit.

Having had at least a limited chance to speak to the Advancement candidates, I am pleased with the choice of Mr. Dougherty as well.  His position also represents a new beginning, since he will be taking on the roles previously played by three Vice Chancellors. If confirmed by the Trustees, he will have a big job ahead of him, overseeing MnSCU’s legislative, public relations and fundraising activities.  Both of these positions will be crucial giving new shape to MnSCU’s activities—a shape that we hope will be lean, efficient, effective, and above all respectful of our contract and input.

In the meantime, the first calls are going out for faculty volunteers for system-level committees, and more are likely to go out soon.  A new, pared-down and streamlined approach to MnSCU’s committees was developed last year by the IFO and MnSCU, and the details of that framework are finally taking shape.  Thanks go again to the IFO’s Academic Affairs Coordinators, Donna Brauer (Mankato, who first proposed the new MnSCU committee concept), and Nancy Black (Metro). Both of them have been hard at work to ensure that the new design actually works to improve communication, efficiency and effectiveness, with meaningful input from faculty.

The IFO’s Action Coordinator, Monte Bute (Metro), is filling in details on his newly-redesigned position as well.  Expect to hear much more from Monte and your campus Action Committee members in the months ahead as their plans take shape to help us all make our voices heard in our communities, in the system office, in the press, and at the Legislature.

On the national level, Jeff Kolnick (Southwest) recently returned from the second national meeting of the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education.  The CFHE is a coalition of higher education groups around the country that is seeking to advance understanding of the real issues facing higher education today and the perspective of the faculty members who actually provide that education.  Jeff will be reporting to the IFO Board of Directors this week, and we will have more to report in the December IFO Update and after.  We hope to participate and help this movement take shape.

The CFHE was formed partly in response to the negative and poltically-motivated attacks on public higher education and public employees that were recently seen across the country.  Now, though, there are signs that attitudes may be shifting.  Voters in Ohio have overwhelmingly rejected their governor’s attempt to cut collective bargaining for state employees, including state university faculty members.  Even so, the struggle to fulfill the promise that earlier generations made to our parents and to us will continue. The IFO will continue to help make your voices heard in that struggle and to help your own ideas and talents take shape.

Greetings from the Inter Faculty Organization (IFO)
For the Installation of Dr. Steven Rosenstone
as Chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System
October 19, 2011

Don Larsson, Ph.D.
President, Inter Faculty Organization (IFO)

From left to right: Governor Mark Dayton, MnSCU Board Chair Scott Thiss, Don Larsson,
MnSCU Board Clarence Hightower and Chancellor Steven Rosenstone

Dr. Rosenstone, Governor Dayton, Chair Thiss, Trustees, and Honored Guests:

Greetings on behalf of the Inter Faculty Organization, representing over three thousand faculty members at the seven state universities of the MnSCU system.  We congratulate you, Dr. Rosenstone, on your Installation as Chancellor.

The mission of the IFO has two main goals—“to improve public higher education” through shared governance with our universities and the MnSCU system and “to promote the welfare of the faculties of the Minnesota State Universities”—and those goals are inextricably linked.  Despite the complexities of modern higher education and the innovations of technology, the fundamental basis of higher education remains the same today as it was in the days of Plato and Confucius—the relationship between a teacher and a student.

Dr. Rosenstone, you have already publically described challenges that simultaneously threaten and offer new opportunities for that fundamental relationship of teacher and student.  During the last three years alone, our faculty members have repeatedly demonstrated our willingness to meet challenges—to sacrifice, to innovate, and to advocate that the state live up to its promises of supporting our universities and colleges and their teachers and students.  The IFO stands ready to work with you for the common good of our students, our universities and the state.

The state university faculty all know that the challenges we face together will not be easily solved.  We know that there may be times when our understandings of how best to meet those challenges may diverge from yours.  But rest assured that we all share the common goal of improving public higher education and providing what you have called “an extraordinary education for all Minnesotans.” To view the Installation Ceremony, click here.

by Russ Stanton, IFO Director of Government Relations

We face a tumultuous legislative session in 2012. Because of redistricting, all 201 legislators are up for reelection.   Legislators and the governor have not reached an agreement on redistricting, and the courts have said they will draw the new district lines if lawmakers cannot reach an agreement by February 21st. The redistricting will mean most legislators will be facing endorsement conventions in newly drawn districts while the legislature is still in session. In some cases, incumbents may be thrown into the same district and have to face off against each other. Political grandstanding will be intense, as the parties struggle for control of the House and Senate that are closely divided.

Further complicating the scene is the possibility of yet another revenue shortfall. The budget “solution” of the special session last summer was based on some phoney estimates of savings from “reforms” that are unlikely to be realized. On top of that, the economy may not be recovering as fast as expected—we will know with the next budget forecast a few weeks from now. We could be looking at new rounds of cuts or unallotments.

The same legislators that tried to circumvent collective bargaining and unilaterally cut public employee pay, health care and retirement benefits will be back in the 2012 session. They will probably propose a number of constitutional amendments on issues such as the “right to work”, photo ID to vote, and to require super majorities to pass tax increases. Constitutional amendments only have to pass by simple majorities in the House and Senate, and the governor cannot veto them. This a way conservatives can circumvent Governor Dayton and put proposed amendments on the ballot that will likely have the side effect of turning out conservative voters.

However, the political atmosphere in 2012 will be quite different than the 2011 session. Over the summer, Wisconsin legislators recalled two Republican legislators who support the restrictions on collective bargaining rights. Petitions to recall Governor Walker began to be circulated at 12:01 a. m. today.  In Ohio, voters repealed the law restricting collective bargaining rights by a whopping 23% margin. The Senate sponsor of the Arizona law on arresting immigrants was recalled.   Mississippi voters voted down a definition of life as beginning at conception. Maine voters voted down restrictions on same day voter registration. In Minnesota, it appears as though the proposed constitutional amendment on marriage may be having the opposite effect as some conservatives hoped it would; it appears to be mobilizing to voters who oppose the amendment.

Recent polls give Governor Dayton fairly high approval ratings, and show that voters, by wide margins, blame the legislature for the shutdown of state government. Dayton is not up for election in 2012, and does not need the legislature to pass a budget next session. But legislators will need Dayton’s signature to pass any legislation. Dayton will be in a much more powerful position relative to the legislature next session.

On even-numbered years the legislature normally passes a large bonding bill to build and maintain state buildings and infrastructure. Bonding bills require a 3/5 majority to pass, and therefore require bipartisan support. In this legislature, bipartisanship has been hard to come by; passage of a significant bonding bill may be very difficult.

What will certainly dominate much of the 2012 session are debates over a new Vikings stadium and how to pay for such a stadium.

The legislature convenes on January 24, 2012. Hopefully the session will be short.

Nominations for IFO president for the 2012 – 2014 term will be accepted from the floor at IFO Board of Directors meeting to be held at 6:30 p.m. on February 9, 2011 at the IFO Office at 490 Concordia Ave, St. Paul, MN 55103. Self nominations are permitted.

Any IFO member in good standing is eligible to nominate candidates at the nominating meeting or to run for IFO president. IFO presidents may serve no more than two consecutive two-year terms. IFO presidents may not hold FA office simultaneously.

Nominations may also be made in writing. Written nominations must be received by the IFO Nominating Committee prior to the nominating meeting on February 9, 2012.  Written nominations may be submitted in person, by e-mail or by mail to the addresses specified below. Nominations should include the name and home university of the person being nominated.

Candidates must accept nomination at the nomination meeting or, if not in attendance, submit a written acceptance to the IFO Nominating Committee by no later than February 16, 2012.  Acceptances may be submitted in person, by e-mail or by mail to the addresses specified below.

The IFO Nominating Committee encourages interested members to declare their candidacy.  We are in the process of putting together a more detailed job description to send to interested faculty members to aid them in their decision making process.  If you would like to receive the job description please contact any member of the IFO Nominating committee.  If you want to put your name forward now, please contact any member of the committee at your convenience.

E-mail to the IFO Nominating Committee should be addressed to:
           Keith Marek                
           Bruce Svingen
           Barbara Carson           

Mail to the IFO Nominating Committee should be addressed to:
            Keith Marek, Chair
            IFO Nominating Committee
            112 Stoner Ave. SE
            Bemidji, MN  56601

A secret ballot election will be held on April 10, 2012, to elect an IFO President for the term beginning July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2014. The names of qualified candidates nominated at the February 9, 2012, nominating meeting will appear on the ballot. However, votes for write-in candidates will be permitted.

by Russ Stanton, IFO Director of Government Relations

Actuarial assumptions regarding investment earnings of the state pension funds may seem like a boring subject, but changes in the interest rate assumptions that are being considered by the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement (LCPR) could take thousands of dollars out of the paychecks of faculty members and other public workers.

At issue is the assumption regarding future rates of return on pension fund assets; the higher the assumed rate of return, the less the contributions have to be to keep the fund on course to pay future benefits, and vise versa. Of course, what really matters is that the assumptions are as accurate as possible in the long run so future obligations can be met without employers and participants paying too much or too little in contributions.

Currently the Teachers Retirement Association (TRA) assumes a long term 8.5% rate of return on its $23.3 billion of assets.  This is one of the highest assumptions in the country; the most common assumption is 8%. However, TRA is quick to point out that the assumption should be based on very long term periods (30 to 50 years), and its long term rates of return have been exceeding the target. The State Board of Investment returns on pension investments have averaged 8.8% annually for the last 20 years, 8.9% annually for the last 25 years, and 10.1% annually since 1980. What is important to realize in making comparisons between funds nationally is they don’t all have the same mix of assets, and have different historical returns. The annualized returns on TRA investments have been about .4% higher than the national average.

The consequences of dropping the assumption from 8.5% to 8.0% are huge. TRAs projected liabilities would increase by $1.3 billion. Its funding ratio would drop from 78% to 73.5%. Most important to faculty and teachers, the required increase in contributions to keep the fund on course to full funding would be 3.2% of salary!  That would be on top of the 2% increase in both employer and employee contributions being phased in to cover the stabilization of the TRA fund that passed in 2010.

Public employee unions, including IFO, sent a letter to the members of the LCPR opposing the change to the interest rate assumption at this time. The unions are suspicious that the actuarial changes are being pushed by conservative groups that have an agenda of turning defined benefit pension plans into defined contribution plans. While the returns in recent years have certainly fallen short of the 8.5% target, in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, the returns far exceeded the target. The unions agree with the pension fund managers who say the assumption should based on averages over long periods, which are fairly stable and predictable. The unions are concerned that changing the interest rate assumption would cut take home pay significantly at a time when many faculty are in their third or forth straight year of a pay freeze.

Meanwhile, Rep. King Banaian (R-St. Cloud) rep.king.banaian@house.mn has introduced a bill, H.F.1507, as introduced that drops the TRA earnings assumption from 8.5% to only 7.5%. That would mean participant and employer contributions would have to increase by approximately 5.6% of pay to make up for the increased projected liability of the fund.  Even if the employer paid half of the increase, the money the employer paid would be money off the table for bargaining purposes.

At an LCPR meeting on November 9th, TRA proposed a possible comprimise solution, called the “select and ultimate assumption”, whereby the fund would use an 8.25% assumption for 10 years and an 8.5% thereafter. Such a change would add .7% of pay to the costs.

Rep. Morrie Lanning (R-Moorhead) rep.morrie.lanning@house.mn is Chair of the Legislative Commission on Employee Relations. He appears to be taking a go slow, deliberative approach to this issue. He announced that the LCPR will not be meeting again until the legislature convenes on January 24th, and then the commission will meet weekly to develop a pension bill.

by Russ Stanton, IFO Director of Government Relations

Section 403b of the IRS Code provides a special tax break for people who teach.  Faculty members under age 50 can contribute up to $16,500 in calendar 2011 year to 403b plans (commonly called Tax Sheltered Annuities or TSA’s); faculty over age 50 can contribute up to $22,000.   Starting January 1, 2012, the maximum annual contribution will be increased to $17,000 per year for faculty under age 50, and $22,500 for faculty over age 50.

The MnSCU TSA program is managed by TIAA-CREF, and offers similar investment choices at the MnSCU IRAP and Supplemental Retirement Program (www.tiaa-cref.org/mnscu/index.htm).  

MnSCU offers two kinds of TSAs—a traditional version and a Roth version. Under the traditional version, contributions to the TSA are subtracted from an employee’s taxable income the year they are made, lowering the employee's taxes. The employee does not pay taxes on the principle or interest until the money is withdrawn in retirement. Under the Roth version, an employee contributes to the TSA on an after-tax basis, but once the money is in the Roth neither the principle nor the interest earned is ever taxed.

Section 457 of the IRS Code allows a special tax break for government employees. In Minnesota the 457 plan is called the Minnesota Deferred Compensation Plan (MNDCP) http://www.mndcplan.com/. The 2011 contribution limits to the MNDCP are the same as to the TSA program--$16,500 for employees under age 50 and $22,000 for employees over age 50. Starting January 1, 2012, these limits will be increased to $17,000 for employees under age 50, and $22,500 for employee over age 50.

The MNDCP is managed by the Minnesota State Retirement System.Currently the MSRS only offers a traditional version of a 457 plan. Starting January 1, 2012, MSRS will start offering a Roth version of the 457 plan.

Because IFO members are both teachers and state employees, they qualify for both the 403b plan and the 457 plan. In 2012, between the two plans they can be sheltering up to $34,000 per year if they are under age 50 and up to $45,000 per year if they are over age 50. These are fantastic tax breaks, but of course, a faculty member needs money to live on.   Surprisingly, I found faculty members that do contribute the maximum to both the 403b and 457 programs. These faculty members tend to fall into two groups. The first group is people who have some inherited money they can live on while tax sheltering their income. The second group is married people who have spouses with high incomes; they live on the spouses income while tax sheltering their own income.

Contributions to the TSA are made through payroll deduction.You can start or stop contributions at any time, and you can contribute as much as you want within the limits. Contact your local HR office for details on how to start deductions. If you have questions about 457 plans versus 403b plans, or about the traditional versus Roth versions of these plans, contact Russ Stanton.

by Brent Jeffers, IFO Chief Negotiator

The IFO participates in a coalition of public employee unions for the negotiations of the State Employee Group Insurance Program (“SEGIP”).  In a normal contract year, this coalition bargaining would have reached a settlement before the health insurance open-enrollment period.  However, this has not been a normal biennium for the state of Minnesota and the IFO representatives on the coalition team are bargaining hard for faculty benefits. 

The on-going coalition bargaining ultimately could have an effect in two very important areas of our contract negotiations with MNSCU; 1) the health care agreement will determine the amount of money that is on the table for the IFO and; 2) if there is a change in the employee paid health care cost (premium, co-pays, etc.), our strategy in positional bargaining would need to represent such a change in benefits.  In the meantime, the negotiating team continues to negotiate in Interest Based Collective Bargaining.

The IBCB process has allowed the parties to open several articles in the contract and achieve two goals of the negotiating team.  One, we have tentative agreements (TAs) that include substantive changes that benefit faculty for example, purchases under article 19, Professional Improvement, will be expanded to include emerging technologies like kindles and iPads.  Secondly, we have been able to restructure current language in a way that is easier to understand and clarifies contractual procedures; this is an improvement for both faculty and administrators.  At the IFO Board meeting this week, I will present two additional TAs that relate to Article 22, Evaluation, and Article 25, Tenure and Promotion. In positional bargaining, it is not typical that the parties would devote this much attention to language items and therefore, the negotiating team is pleased with our progress thus far.  In fact, we have established dates for IBCB through the end of the spring semester, 2012. 

Stamina is a virtue!

by Patrice Arseneault, IFO Director of Grievances and Equity

One of the benefits the IFO negotiates on behalf of faculty is an annual tax-free contribution to a health expense reimbursement account. Since 2009, the negotiated benefit has been $800 which your employer contributes into one of two health expense reimbursement accounts. Each January, $800 is contributed to either your Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) account for paying current medical expenses with pre-tax dollars, or into a Health Care Savings Plan, which you can use to pay for medical expenses after you separate from employment.

The balance that you have remaining in your current HRA account as of December 31, 2011, will determine whether your new $800 contribution will be deposited in your HRA account or into a Health Care Savings Plan. If you have a balance of less than $700 in your HRA account as of December 31, 2011, the employer’s 2012 contribution of $800 will be added to your HRA account at the beginning of the 2012 calendar year.

If you have $700 or more in your HRA account as of December 31, 2011, the employer’s $800 contribution for 2012 will go into a Health Care Savings Plan instead of your HRA account. You will still be able to use any monies remaining in your HRA account from 2011 to pay for medical expenses incurred in 2012. Money deposited into a Health Care Savings Plan is tax free, but you cannot access the funds to pay for medical expenditures until you separate from employment.

If you desire to have your $800 contribution deposited in your HRA account in 2012, then you must have less than $700 remaining in your HRA account as of December 31, 2011.

by Patrice Arseneault, IFO Director of Grievances and Equity

The IFO Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies Issues Committee (GLBTA) is accepting nominations for the 2012 James Eric Chalgren Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Issues. The GLBTA Issues Committee is seeking to recognize an IFO member who has made significant contributions to improve the professional lives or working conditions for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender employees in the state universities or otherwise who has advocated within the IFO or the MnSCU system on issues that have substantial impact for the LGBT community.

The GLBTA committee named the award in honor of the late James Eric Chalgren, a graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a strong advocate within the Mankato community on behalf of LBGT residents. Mr. Chalgren also advocated at the Minnesota state legislature for human rights legislation to protect LGBT citizens from discrimination.

To be considered for the James Eric Chalgren Award, nominees must be IFO members. Award nomination forms and the GLBTA committee’s selection criteria are available HERE and may be submitted by email to arsen@ifo.org, or by mail to: Chalgren Award Nominations, IFO, 490 Concordia Avenue, Suite 125, St. Paul, MN 55103. Nominations must be received by the IFO by January 20, 2012.

The GLBTA Issues Committee will present the James Eric Chalgren Award at the 2012 Delegate Assembly banquet on Friday, March 23, 2012.

by Patrice Arseneault, IFO Director of Grievances and Equity

The IFO Feminist Issues Committee (FIC) announces the 2012-1014 Feminist Issues Grant of up to $3,000. The Grant is designed to promote research, projects, or creative works that contribute to the advancement of women in the IFO and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Past recipients’ projects include a survey on the tenure and promotion process, a lecture series on women’s health issues, and research on whether women in academics are affected professionally by their personal status.

The grant period extends from March 2012 to March 2014. The two-year $3,000 grant is made possible by funding from the Inter Faculty Organization through the statewide Feminist Issues Committee (FIC). A final written report will be due at the 2014 Delegate Assembly.
 
To apply for the Grant, submit your proposal by email (in Word or PDF format) no later than January 23, 2012. The successful grant applicant will be notified by March 1, 2012. For more information, please see the 2012-2014 FI Grant Announcement and Outline on the IFO webpage, or contact your local campus Feminist Issues Committee representative.

by Cindy Kellerman, IFO Membership Coordinator & Administrative Assistant

As the supreme governing body of the Inter Faculty Organization, Delegates set IFO policies, negotiations strategies, dues and budgets for the succeeding two fiscal years as well as deliberate over resolutions dealing with legislative goals. It is through the efforts of all of us working together as union members that we advance our interests and welfare in our contract, our campus governance, and our state universities’ missions. As our seven state universities, the MnSCU system, and higher education around the country face new and accelerating challenges, we need to be able to confront them with a common purpose and a united voice.

If you want to make a difference, there are many ways to be involved in the Delegate Assembly. If you are a member of the IFO, and would like to be a delegate for your campus or submit a new resolution, contact your local faculty association, Cindy Kellerman, Delegate Assembly and Membership Coordinator, or click HERE for more details. Only IFO members can become appointed Delegates. If you are not a member of the IFO and would like to become involved in shaping the future of our state universities and/or supporting those who are, please fill out a membership application and your membership card will be mailed to you shortly.

The IFO Delegate Assembly will be held at the Roseville Radisson on March 23-24, 2012. Faculty are contractually released from duty for Friday, March 23.

P.S. If you have an idea for entertainment at Friday's dinner banquet, email me your suggestions.

On November 8, Mr. Richard Walker, a volunteer with Employer Support of the Guard & Reserves (ESGR) came to the IFO headquarters in St. Paul to present a “Patriotic Employer” award to IFO President Don Larsson.  ESGR is a mostly-volunteer agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, whose role is to encourage employer support of the National Guard and Reserves and their members.  Don was nominated for this award along with St. Cloud State University Faculty Association President Mark Jaede by Polly Chappell, Faculty Association Administrative Assistant at St. Cloud.  Polly’s husband is due to return from Afghanistan this spring. Don and Mark supported her request for leave for time with her husband, SSG Paul Chappell, as he reintegrates into civilian life.  The IFO Board approved that request at its October meeting.  Don accepted his award “on behalf of the IFO Board, our staff members, and the many IFO faculty and our students who have served or do serve in the military, Guard and Reserves.”  For more about ESGR and its activities, click HERE. 

Dick Walker, representative of ESGR (right) presents a“Patriotic Employer” award to IFO President Don Larsson (left)	St. Cloud State University Faculty Association President Mark Jaede (right) and Administrative Assistant Polly Chappell (left)

by Donna Blake, IFO Controller

The IFO headquarters in St. Paul will be closed from Thursday, December 22, 2011 through Monday, January 2, 2012, in observance of the holidays.  The St. Paul office will reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.  If you have an urgent issue during this time, please contact Don Larsson, IFO President, at 651-605-5302.