Janet Stemwedel for Vice President

I’m running for Vice President of our CFA chapter.  I’m a Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy, where I have been a faculty member since Fall 2002.  I’ve been a proud CFA member since I arrived here, and have spent the last two years as the University Council of Chairs and Directors (UCCD) representative to our CFA Chapter Executive Board, a role in which I have kept chapter leadership appraised about things like how budget cuts from on high are being implemented in departments.  More recently, I have been serving on the Faculty Rights Committee, where among other things I have provided faculty with feedback on RTP rebuttals.

My nine years as Chair of my department have given me loads of experience with faculty hiring and evaluation, understanding the Order of Work, reading policies closely and interpreting them carefully, mounting arguments against unreasonable directives, building consensus among people with distinct goals and interests, and finding “win-win” scenarios in situations where “lose-lose” seemed a more likely outcome.  I have a track record of arguing successfully in matters of policy, but I’m not afraid to remind administrators of their ethical obligations that go beyond what policy requires.  While I can speak persuasively to administrators, I also know in my bones that department chairs are unit 3 faculty members whose wellbeing is tightly tied to the wellbeing of the faculty they lead. As a Chair, I know first-hand how faculty working conditions impact student learning conditions – which means that improving faculty working conditions is not only a matter of just treatment for faculty, but is vital to support the educational mission of SJSU.

If elected Vice President, I will endeavor to revitalize the Membership & Organizing committee in a way that brings more members into the day-to-day work and vibrant community of our CFA chapter.  This will be especially important as we start the process of bargaining our next contract, both to ensure that the full range of members’ perspectives are heard and taken seriously, but also to make the labor required for our labor organizing manageable in an environment where we are already stretched thin from the jump.

Please vote for me so I can put the wonky skills and people skills I have developed chairing my department to work for you and for our union!

I welcome your questions or comments.

Janet Stemwedel
dr.freeride@gmail.com