Fall DA agenda to include ‘remembrances’

The agenda for the 2001 Fall Delegate Assembly — slated for Oct. 12-13 at UUP’s fall policymaking convention, scheduled for Oct. 12-13 at the Huntington Hilton on Long Island, will likely take on a somber — yet prideful — tone as delegates pay tribute to the many public employees and other union workers who have taken part in the heroic rescue efforts following the tragedies of Sept. 11.

Many of the speeches and other programs usually associated with the union’s Delegate Assemblies will be replaced with “Remembrance” opportunities for UUPers to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks, while honoring those who have courageously responded to the disaster.

There will also be a special way for the nearly 300 delegates, visitors, guests and staff to contribute to NYSUT’s 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund. For more information on the fund, go to the NYSUT Web site at www.nysut.org.

Award presentations

Four longtime UUP members will receive the union’s Nina Mitchell Award for Distinguished Service during the two-day policymaking convention.

Award recipients for 2001 are: David Kreh of SUNY Cortland, who retired in 2000 as an associate librarian; Michael Smiles, a professor in the department of biological technology at SUNY Farmingdale; Ivan Steen, an associate professor of history at SUNY Albany; and Edward Van Duzer, who retired from SUNY Brockport in 2000 as a lecturer of business and economics. The four are scheduled to receive a commemorative award and plaque.

Three SUNY undergraduates have earned this year’s Eugene P. Link College Scholarship Trust Fund scholarships, which provide $650 per semester to students who demonstrate a commitment to social issues and labor ideals. The recipients are Abayomi Ademuwagun of SUNY Maritime, Min Kuang of SUNY Plattsburgh and Joseph Storch of SUNY Oswego.

UUPer Horace Ivey, who retired from Upstate Medical University in Syracuse in 1996 as an associate professor of social services, was chosen unanimously to receive the 2001 Outstanding Active Retiree Award by the union’s statewide Committee on Active Retired Membership.

A story about Ivey’s distinguished work on behalf of the union, the University and the community was published in last month’s Voice and can be found on the UUP Web site at www.uupinfo.org. Click on The Voice directly from the home page.

Special events

As The Voice went to press, a roundtable was being assembled to discuss the use and abuse of Internet resources by students. The tentative event is scheduled to take place during the Academic Delegates Meeting on Friday afternoon.

A presentation on the Family and Medical Leave Act is tentatively slated for the Professional Delegates Meeting.

Constitutional amendment

Delegates will have an opportunity to cast their ballots for a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate term limits for statewide officers. Currently, elected officers are eligible to serve five consecutive two-year terms. The proposed amendment was submitted by the Albany, Binghamton, Brooklyn HSC, Farmingdale, New Paltz, Old Westbury, Oneonta, Plattsburgh and Upstate Medical University chapters.

Proponents and opponents of the proposed amendment were given an opportunity to share their views in the September 2001 issue of The Voice. Full texts of the “Point/Counterpoint” feature can be found on the Web at http://www.uupinfo.org.