November 23, 2020
Dear Adjunct Faculty:
The last few months have been difficult ones as we have navigated working under new conditions during a global pandemic, a period of heightened racism, and a polarizing election. Many of us are feeling the strain of learning new technologies at work, while managing the shifting terrain of home life, including care-giving responsibilities, isolation, and fear for our own health and economic security.
We want to acknowledge this challenging period by listening to your experiences, particularly your needs and concerns. We hope that by listening to each other as a community, we can focus on life outside of our students, teaching, and paperwork and focus more on supporting one another to begin restoring balance to our lives.
Come and join in the community discussion scheduled for 4pm on Tuesday, December 1st; use this as a time check in and talk with your colleagues and friends. This time is for adjunct faculty members only and members of the College’s administration will be there as listeners. You can access the meeting with the following link:
[Zoom Link Omitted For Security reasons–email oaktonafa@gmail.com or check Oakton email for link]
If you need assistance with a specific concern see the resources listed in the attachment, drop us an email, or come to the listening session. Starting in the Spring semester, the AFA will be holding regular drop-in office hours for informal conversation.
We thank you for your dedicated work during these incredible difficult months. We need each other to continue the work ahead for our students and for our own well-being, the well-being of our families, and the College community. We hope you can participate in this listening opportunity to support each other.
Sincerely,
Ileo Lott, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Ruth Williams, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of Curriculum and Instruction
Cheryl Thayer, Ph.D, President, Adjunct Faculty Association
November 19, 2020
Dear Members,
The 2021 Illinois Education Association Representative Assembly, otherwise known as the IEA R.A will be held on March 11-13th 2021. At this time, the IEA R.A.is scheduled to be held in-person in Rosemont, Illinois. The Oakton AFA will send elected representatives to the IEA-RA as we have every year. Please consider nominating yourself or another member of the AFA to attend this meeting.
Nominations received after 11:00 pm on November 20, 2020 cannot be included on the ballot.
To be included on the ballot, all nomination information must be sent to the AFA Elections Committee via email at oaktonafaelections@gmail.com
Nomination forms are attached to this email.
IEA R.A. delegates will be responsible for approving the IEA budget, establishing a dues amount, modifying the Legislative Platform and Bylaws and conducting other business of the Association.
A member may either nominate a colleague or himself/herself for this position by providing the information on the attached form. Required information includes: Nominee’s name, address, phone, and a non-Oakton email address.
The Elections Committee recommends that if you choose to nominate someone else, please make sure he/she wants to be nominated and can attend this Assembly. Our delegates will need to be present at all meetings to represent the AFA. Remember, the 2021 IEA R.A, will be held on March 11-13th 2021 in Rosemont, Illinois.
Again, nominations received after 11:00 pm on November 20, 2020 cannot be included on the ballot.
The election for IEA-RA delegates will be online from Saturday, December 5th – Friday, December 11th, 2020. You will receive an email with a link to your ballot.
The AFA needs your nominations, your votes, and welcomes your participation.
Nelson Wainwright
Election Chair, Oakton Adjunct Faculty Association
November 10, 2020
1. Compliance Trainings: There are several mandatory trainings that all Oakton employees are required to complete by November 16th. Please see the attached FAQ for more information. Yes, we are asking the college to compensate adjunct faculty for the hours required to complete these trainings, but in the meantime you must get them done. FAQ
- Memorandums of Understanding on Faculty Observations: Please got to the AFA website to check out the full text. AFA Website
- Election Information: The 2021 Illinois Education Association Representative Assembly, otherwise known as the IEA R.A will be held on March 11-13th2021. At this time, the IEA R.A. is scheduled to be held in-person in Rosemont, Illinois. The Oakton AFA will send elected representatives to the IEA-RA as we have every year. Please consider nominating yourself or another member of the AFA to attend this meeting.
IEA R.A. delegates will be responsible for approving the IEA budget, establishing a dues amount, modifying the Legislative Platform and Bylaws and conducting other business of the Association.
A member may either nominate a colleague or himself/herself for this position by providing the information on the attached form. Required information includes: Nominee’s name, address, phone, and a non-Oakton email address.
The Elections Committee recommends that if you choose to nominate someone else, please make sure he/she wants to be nominated and can attend this Assembly. Our delegates will need to be present at all meetings to represent the AFA. Remember, the 2021 IEA R.A, will be held on March 11-13th 2021 in Rosemont, Illinois.
To be included on the ballot, all nomination information must be sent to the AFA Elections Committee via email at oaktonafaelections@gmail.com
IEA-RA ETHNIC MINORITY REP NOMINATION FORM 2020
Nominations received after 11:00 pm on November 20, 2020 cannot be included on the ballot.
The election for IEA-RA delegates will be online from Saturday, December 5th – Friday, December 11th, 2020. You will receive an email with a link to your ballot.
The AFA needs your nominations, your votes, and welcomes your participation.
Nelson Wainwright
Election Chair, Oakton Adjunct Faculty Association
October 29, 2020
Dear Adjunct Faculty,
Oakton’s newish adjunct mentorship program is a success. Our current Facilitator of the Program, Cari Paterno, will be stepping out of this role at the end of the spring term. We are seeking applications for a new facilitator for 21-22. The new facilitator will be onboarded by Adjunct Professor Paterno this spring. The new mentor will receive 0.25 LHEs for onboarding and 0.65LHEs for the fall and 0.65 LHEs for the spring term for their role as facilitator.
The official call letter is attached with a description of the responsibilities. Adjunct Professor Paterno and her predecessor, Adjunct Professor Barbara Cohen, have created the resources and D2L shell for this program.
If you are interested please complete the attached application by Friday, November 20, 2020 by 5pm. Submit to Ruth Williams, rwilliam@oakton.edu, Cari Paterno, cpaterno@oakton.edu, and Mary Hope Griffin, mgriffin@oakton.edu
Sincerely, Ruth Ruth Williams Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction
Documents
September 9, 2020
2020 AFA Board Officer Elections Results
In the 2020 AFA Board Officer Elections, there were 69 total ballots cast. Here are the results:
For President
- Cheryl Thayer wins with 67 votes
- 2 write-in votes for Mary Hope Griffin
For Vice-President
- Mary Hope Griffin wins with 67 votes
- 1 write-in vote for Nelson Wainwright
- 1 ballot left blank
For Secretary
- Linda Berendsen wins with 67 votes
- 2 ballots left blank
For Treasurer
- Cindy Del Medico wins with 68 votes
- 1 ballot left blank
If you have any questions about the election, please email oaktonAFAelections@gmail.com.
On Tuesday, September 8th at 2 pm Central the Elections Committee will count the votes and ballots in a live Zoom session. All members are welcome to connect and attend the counting. Information on joining the Zoom session will be sent to the email you registered with the AFA. Email oaktonafaelections@gmail.com if you have any questions or have not received the Zoom meeting information by Tuesday morning.
August 12, 2020
AFA MEETING AGENDA August 19 2020
All Member Meeting, Wednesday, August 19th, 4-5:50pm via Zoom.
Advanced registration is required. Please use Zoom to Register. **Three free prizes (gift certificates!) will be awarded randomly to attendees.
Elections Elections will be held electronically via Survey Monkey August 30th-September 7th. Please watch your email for the link. See the AFA Website for more information about the candidates for the Executive Board and election details. https://oaktonadjuncts.com/elections/
Orientation Week Workshops Many adjunct faculty asked for evening sessions during
Orientation Week. Please note that on Thursday evening there are many valuable sessions scheduled. Take advantage of this timing designed just for you!
Return to Campus Orientation 2020 D2L Module Completion
The AFA negotiated with the College that adjunct faculty members who are not physically returning to campus, do not need to complete until the D2L Module until August 31st. You may use your Office Hours to review this important information.
Concerns about Course Assignments? Please reach out and let us know if you
have questions or concerns about your course assignments for the fall. Rules of seniority still apply. Email us at: afaoakton@gmail.com
Contract Negotiations Our current contract expires in a year, so know that we will be
asking for your input about framing our next contract.
Employee Assistance Program ALL Oakton Employees are able to utilize this free
service offered by the College. This program provides confidential, professional services to address a variety of person, family, life and work-related issues. For more information: EAP_and_Work-Life_Benefits
Unemployment Please contact AFA President, Cheryl Thayer at clthayer001@yahoo.com if you received Unemployment Insurance over the summer. She has important information to share with you.
Health Insurance The IEA and the Higher Education Council have made little headway in finding health insurance for contingent faculty. We did find The Chicago Music Society and its insurance offers health care insurance for individuals/families and you do not need to be a musician. They have 2 or 3 options to select from. Click Here to Visit the Website.
Please contact AFA President, Cheryl Thayer at clthayer001@yahoo.com with
questions.
Your Covid-19 & Oakton Story Linda Berendsen is collecting stories and images
(300 words or fewer) for our next newsletter. Please send submissions to
laberendsen@gmail.com.
Read Past Emails from the AFA Here.
WELCOME
Welcome to the Oakton Community College Adjunct Faculty Association (OCC AFA), which represents all part-time faculty in the bargaining unit at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines and Skokie,IL. The Oakton Community College Adjunct Faculty Association is affiliated with the IEA-NEA (Illinois Education Association-National Education Association).
We hope you find this Website helpful. As you navigate the pages and the links, you will find access to the current contract and forms, member and general resources, negotiation updates, as well as general information about the union and its history. Please scroll though each page to find what you need. We encourage you to contact us with your questions.
Contact Information:
AFA Office DP Room 2470
Voicemail: 847-635-2193
Email: afaoakton@gmail.com
Web site: oaktonadjuncts.com
