DCFA Annual Convention 2021 – Proposed Agenda and Key Information

Friday is our Dallas College Faculty Association annual convention. The proposed agenda has been posted in the DCFA SharePoint site. Please review the agenda and all of the proposed motions to amend the constitution, motions to amend the bylaws, and resolutions, before Friday’s convention begins.

WHAT IS THE CONVENTION? The DCFA is required to host one annual convention every year in early November. This is where the entire members (the “legislative body”) makes decisions about the DCFA for the year, including approving the budget and deciding whether to change our constitution or bylaws, etc.  This year, there are major changes to our structure and constitution and bylaws under consideration, so it is more important than ever that faculty members participate and vote.  If you have questions about any of the proposals, feel free to reach out directly to the authors listed as offering that proposed amendment or resolution. Take the time to read all the proposals and consider them carefully yourself before the convention begins.  No additional motions to amend the constitution or to amend the bylaws can be proposed at the convention, but resolutions can still be offered from the floor.

 

Please note: The DCFA Council plans to offer one resolution from the floor, time permitting, to extend the membership deadline December 3.  This is the language of that resolution:

 

Whereas, ongoing confusion with regards to the campus assignments of some faculty, particularly new faculty, complicated membership recruitment efforts by the Membership Committee and the Council;

 

Be It Resolved, this Convention votes to extend the 2021-2022 membership drive through December 3, 2021.

 

Be It Further Resolved, the DCFA MembershipWorks web site will be reactivated to allow faculty to join or renew their membership through Dec. 3, 2021.

 

 

If any members plan to offer a resolution from the floor during the convention, it must be submitted it in writing to the DCFA Secretary (Peggy Mason) and DCFA President (Tommy Thompson) before it is presented at the Convention in order for it to be considered.  We strongly recommend you submit your resolution from the floor by email to dccfa@dcccd.edu prior to the start of the convention to ensure it is received.

 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: The DCFA Convention will be live, virtually, from 1:30 to ~5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 12 on Zoom. You can use this Zoom meeting link to join us or if you need the full Zoom information to call in or the password, that information is available in the DCFA Convention Invitation.  You do not need to attend the Zoom meeting to vote, but there may be early decisions made by unanimous consent (such as approving the agenda) that will only be made by those in virtual attendance through Zoom.  Additionally, if any motions, such as the agenda or new resolutions, or any motions to amend the current motions are made, an interim ballot may be required if those motions are not passed by unanimous consent. This may affect the timing of the entire convention, so I encourage you to at least log into the Zoom meeting for the afternoon so you can hear what is happening, even if you are working in the background.

 

HOW TO VOTE: The primary vote will be conducted in a single ballot through Microsoft Forms that will be sent out just prior to or at the start of the convention but will not become active until near the end of the convention when vote is opened by the chair. We anticipate the voting will begin around 4:00 or possibly as late as 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon. All active members (voting eligible) for the 2021-2022 AY should receive a ballot by email on Friday afternoon, but you can reach out to your campus president or to your Convention Planning Committee representative for assistance if you do not receive or can’t find your ballot on Friday afternoon. Once it begins, the voting ballot will only be open for 45-60 minutes, so please be paying attention on Friday afternoon to ensure that you do not miss your opportunity to vote! If you are not in attendance on Zoom, please check in every 10-15 minutes from 3:30 p.m. onward until the ballot opens or ask a friend who is attending to let you know when the ballot opens.

 

WHAT IF YOU WANT TO VOTE, BUT CAN’T BE ONLINE ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON? You must designate your proxy in writing to the DCFA Secretary at least one hour prior to the start of the convention.  The DCFA Secretary, Peggy Mason, will accept proxies via a Microsoft Form beginning 48 hours prior to the start of the convention (so Wednesday, November 10, 1:30 p.m.) until 1 hour prior to the start of the convention (form closes at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, November 12). The full announcement and the form were posted in the preceding Advance Blog post.  Please note: If you can get online on Friday afternoon, you can cast your own vote – a proxy is NOT necessary unless you cannot get into your Microsoft account and cast your own vote on Friday afternoon when the vote opens around 4:00 or 4:30 p.m.  You do NOT need to be in the Zoom meeting to vote.

 

DCFA Standing Committee Reports Available to Review in Advance of Nov. 12 Convention

DCFA Standing Committee Reports are in the process of being posted to the appropriate Committee Report folders on the DCFA SharePoint site.

Here in the link to the Budget and Finance Committee report. Keith Baker is the ex officio chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.

Here is the link to the Membership Committee report. Tommy Thompson is the ex officio chair of the Membership Committee.

This folder contains minutes of several meetings of the Convention Planning Committee. Jennifer Baggett is the chair of the Convention Planning Committee.

Here is the link to the Political Information Committee report. Matt Hinckley is the ex officio chair of the Political Information Committee.

Additional links to the reports from the Welfare and Benefits Committee, the Instructional Goals and Academic Freedom Committee, and the Communications Committee, will be added to this blog post when they are available.

Procedure for Designating a Proxy for the November 12 Convention

The August 2021 convention created a bylaw change that allows members to designate an individual to cast a proxy vote on their behalf. However, you must designate your proxy in writing to the DCFA Secretary at least one hour prior to the start of the convention. If you can get online on Friday afternoon, you can cast your own vote – a proxy is NOT necessary unless you cannot get into your Microsoft account and cast your own vote on Friday afternoon.  You do NOT need to be in the Zoom meeting to vote.
 
If you cannot go online on Friday afternoon to vote and need to use the proxy option, you must ASK SOMEONE who is already an active member to accept your proxy before filling out the form. No member can hold more than 4 proxies, so ask them if they plan to vote, how they plan to vote (to ensure they are voting for/against the issue as you would) and whether they are willing to serve as your proxy.  Make sure they have not accepted more than 3 other proxies – no more than 4 can be held by any one person. After confirming the person who will accept your proxy, fill out the form below, and then let that person know you have successfully submitted your proxy designation, so they know to indicate that when they vote.
 
The DCFA Secretary, Peggy Mason, will accept proxies via this Microsoft Form beginning 48 hours prior to the start of the convention. This form will open on Wednesday, November 10, 1:30 p.m. It will remain open until 1 hour prior to the start of the convention, so the form closes automatically at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, November 12).  
 
One last note: If you change your mind and attend/vote anyway on Friday afternoon, your proxy will be voided by casting of your vote. However, this makes a ton of extra work for the auditing team who will be counting the vote, so please don’t fill out the proxy form unless you are certain you need someone to vote for you.

Language of Proposed Amendments to DCFA Constitution and Bylaws Now Available, Meeting Requirement for At Least 14 Days Advance Publication Prior to Nov. 12 Convention

The motions to amend the DCFA constitution, motions to amend the DCFA bylaws and resolutions submitted by the 30-day advance deadline for consideration at the DCFA Annual Convention on Friday, November 12, 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. can be accessed in this PDF file.  

This posting meets the requirements for public posting at least 14 days before the start of the Convention.  If you have not already seen it, here is the official invitation with Zoom meeting link to the 2021 Annual Convention. We hope you have joined the association (deadline is this Monday, November 1) and made plans to participate and vote on where you want the DCFA to go in the future.

Please review the motions and resolutions carefully before the Convention begins and feel free to reach out directly to the authors if you have questions about the content within them. We will also be scheduling virtual RoundTable discussions if the authors of each submission are available and willing to host a session, and we will post those dates here on the Advance Blog when they are scheduled.

Please note that there are two remaining issues with this set of motions:

• The first is how to resolve competing constitutional amendments if both were to pass (which requires a 2/3 or greater margin achieved by both motions). Although unlikely, we want to be prepared, so this issue is being discussed with the parliamentarian and other experts. There is one resolution currently included in the provided PDF file above that may be considered. However, if a solution is identified by the parliamentarian, additional resolutions “from the floor” or simple discussions of the suggested outcome (if a resolution is not required to enact it) may also be offered to address this issue. Although resolutions do not require the 14-day advance notice, the Council will post a resolution to the Advance Blog as soon as possible if a potential solution is identified that can be enacted through resolution so members have time to consider it in advance. 
  
  
• The second is the question is whether either or both of these constitutional amendments, if accepted by the membership, would affect our non-profit (tax-exempt) status and if so, how.  A tax attorney is consulting with the Council on this question and we will share that information as soon as we have it.

 

Invitation to Join DCFA Regular Monthly Business Meeting on Oct. 22, 2021

Tommy Thompson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Tommy Thompson's Zoom Meeting

Time: Oct 22, 2021 03:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 928 7251 2939

Passcode: 946339

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Convention Planning Committee Seeks Volunteers to Help Ensure Online Voting is Secure

Due to the need to allow online voting and the success of using an auditing team in the August 18-20 convention, this is a call for volunteers for anyone interested in serving as an auditor for the 2021 Annual Convention of the DCFA.  Please read the requirements below and if you are interested in volunteering, complete the volunteer form using the link at the end of this post by Friday, October 29, 5:00 p.m.  The DCFA Council and Convention Planning Team will notify those volunteers who are selected to serve within one week of the form closure to schedule training dates and provide further instructions as described below.

Below are the requirements to participate as a Faculty Association vote auditor for online voting. Please read all requirements carefully before completing this form:

• The auditing team will consist of 3 volunteer faculty who are active members (FT faculty who paid dues by November 1, 2021, for the 2021-2022 AY) plus one 3rd party observer paid by the DCFA primarily to observe but may assist with counting/comparison as well.
• Auditors must agree to relinquish their right to vote in all convention matters for the Convention for which they serve as an auditor, including the right to use a proxy.
• Auditors must agree to be present in person together at one location, likely in the Garland/Richardson areas, with no private outside communication for the duration of the convention voting period and until counting and verification of the vote is complete.  The time commitment is estimated to be 12:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 12, 2021, for this year’s annual convention. 
• Auditors who need to communicate with anyone outside the room must be willing to put their phone on speaker so all auditors can hear what is said on both sides and/or show their phone screen or computer screen if it is necessary to message someone outside the room so that all others present can verify that none of the communication is about the vote.
• Auditors should be detail-oriented, technologically capable and experienced with Microsoft Forms and Microsoft Excel worksheets (sorting, filtering, data analysis, etc.) and comfortable learning enough to operate a back-up software program (TBD) in advance just in case it is needed.
• Auditors will load the ballot, distribute it to all active members of the DCFA at the appropriate time and with the necessary settings, close the vote and then conduct a verification of the votes in comparison to the membership roster and adjusting for proxy votes before sharing the results with the DCFA Council.

This is the form to volunteer as an auditor for the November 12, 2021 Annual Convention.  Please submit your form by Friday, October 29 to be considered. Thank you!

 

Questions? Reach out to Jennifer Baggett, DCFA Convention Planning Committee Chair, JenniferBaggett@dcccd.edu

Minutes of Faculty Council "Schedule Improvement" Reps with Provost and AST Now Available

The Faculty Council recently agreed that Jennifer Baggett (Richland), Keith Baker (North Lake), and Tommy Thompson (Cedar Valley) would engage on behalf of the Council with Provost Shawnda Floyd and Academic Scheduling Team Director Nicole Mabine, to discuss ongoing faculty concerns with the overall Dallas College schedule build process, and to work toward solutions.

The group met Thursday, Oct. 7, and the minutes of that meeting are now available in this folder on the DCFA SharePoint site.

DCFA Treasurer Posts Proposed 2021-2022 DCFA Budget

DCFA Treasurer has posted the proposed 2021-2022 fiscal year budget to this folder on the DCFA SharePoint site.

Thanks to the DCFA Budget and Finance Committee, and the Membership Committee, for their help in preparing the proposed budget.

Members will have an opportunity to vote to approve the proposed budget at the November 12, 2021 DCFA Convention.

Updated Copies of DCFA Constitution and Bylaws Now Posted in SharePoint

The DCFA Constitution and Bylaws documents were amended during the August 2021 special convention.

The amended documents are now available in the appropriate folder on the DCFA SharePoint site.

The MS Word files are posted so as to allow ease of future amendments, without the entire document having to be re-typed.

The PDF files are the official documents.

Previous versions of the DCFA Constitution and Bylaws are now also located in a separate folder on the DCFA SharePoint site. This folder does not contain every previous version of the Constitution and Bylaws - only those version available to the current Council.

If any member has older previous versions of the Constitution and/or Bylaws, they may send them to Matt Hinckley to be filed into the appropriate folder of former Constitutions and Bylaws on the DCFA SharePoint site.

Official Statement of DCFA on Recent “No Confidence” Vote

This statement was adopted by the DCFA Faculty Council and sent to the Board of Trustees on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021.

Dear Dr. May and Honorable Dallas College Trustees: 

We were all surprised to read the email signed by Richard Menchaca calling for a faculty vote of no confidence. The Faculty Council was not consulted on this action, nor has the Council ever suggested such an action. 

 

As you have often stated, our recent transition into a new, unified institution to better serve our students and the greater community has had challenges. Also, as you know, we don’t always agree with some of this transition’s resulting procedures and managerial decisions, particularly when we see directly how those changes negatively impact the students in our classrooms. Nevertheless, we share your desire to work toward achieving the long-term success of Dallas College and our students. We value our continued ability to discuss these matters with the Chancellor to work together to improve learning and the lives of our students in our community. 

 

As always, feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions, need any additional information regarding this matter, or have any other thoughts or concerns. 

 

Tommy Thompson – Cedar Valley Campus 

DCFA President 

 

Margo Silva – Mountain View Campus 

DCFA Vice President 

 

Peggy Mason – Brookhaven Campus 

DCFA Secretary 

 

Keith Baker – North Lake Campus 

DCFA Treasurer 

 

Jennifer Baggett – Richland Campus 

DCFA Member 

 

Matt Hinckley – Eastfield Campus 

DCFA Member 

 

Wade Hyde – El Centro Campus 

DCFA Member 

DCFA Announces Annual Convention on November 12, 2021

The DCFA 2021 Annual Convention will be on Friday, November 12, beginning at 1:30 p.m. as a 100% online event due to the ongoing and unpredictable COVID-19 conditions. Additionally, there will be no post-convention reception. We hope to return to an in-person component of the annual convention and a resumption of the post-convention reception next year.  

An invitation to join us for the Annual Convention will be posted at least 2 weeks prior to the event, but we encourage you to block out the afternoon on your calendar now to ensure you are able to attend and participate fully.  Per the change to the bylaws through the August 2021 convention, voting will be allowed online and by proxy (with strict rules for designating a proxy) and the details for how voting will be conducted will be shared in the invitation along with the agenda. 

Per the DCFA Constitution and bylaws, if you have a proposal to amend the constitution or bylaws that you would like considered at the 2021 Annual Convention, that proposal must be received by the DCFA Council Secretary and President at least 1 month prior to the scheduled convention. This means any proposals to amend the constitution or bylaws must be submitted in writing to both the secretary, Peggy Mason, and the president, Tommy Thompson, by Tuesday, October 12.  It is strongly recommended that any resolutions to be considered also be submitted by this date. For simplicity, you are welcome to email your proposed motions to amend or resolutions to dccfa@dcccd.edu (which sends a copy to all DCFA Council members). 

Following submission, the DCFA Council will review the submissions with the parliamentarian and contact the authors if any changes are suggested before posting all proposed motions to amend by the required deadline of Friday, October 29 (2 weeks prior to the Convention).  

 

CDC Director Recommends COVID-19 Booster for Anyone with "Occupational Exposure," Including Teachers (and Faculty)

Patrick Moore (School of Law and Public Service, Richland Campus), shared the following information:

The Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recommended that anyone with "occupational exposure" to the COVID-19 virus should receive a booster shot of the vaccine, six months after receiving the initial vaccination. Those covered by "occupational exposure" include teachers (and by extension faculty).

The FDA had recommended booster shots for people age 65 or older, for age 18-64 with high risk because of underlying health conditions, and for 18-64 because of potential occupational exposure, including health-care workers, grocery store employees, and teachers.

A CDC advisory panel agreed, except for the recommendation regarding people with high potential of occupational exposure, for whom it did not recommend the booster.

 

Today, though, the Director of the CDC overrode the CDC advisory panel and recommended boosters for all three groups: 65 and over, underlying health conditions, and occupational exposure.

 

Here is a link to the CDC release: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0924-booster-recommendations-.html.

 

Here is a link to the CDC’s main vaccine booster shot page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html. The main text of this page recommends an 8-month time gap between initial vaccination and booster, but the final recommendation says 6 months.

 

This recommendation relates to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The Washington Post reports that “the vaccine advisory panel reviewed data only for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the CDC ‘will address, with the same sense of urgency, recommendations for the Moderna and J & J vaccines as soon as those data are available.’ “  https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/09/23/covid-booster-shots-cdc/

Information to Join, or Renew Your Membership in, the Dallas College Faculty Association

Welcome to the 2021-2022 Dallas College Academic Year, and the Dallas College Faculty Association (DCFA) Fall 2021 Membership Drive! 

Many faculty have begun asking how to pay their Faculty Association membership dues. To a member or join new member must:

STEP 1: Use this link and log in with the email address you used when paying your dues last year. You can use the “request password” option if you don’t remember your password. If you don’t remember which email address you used last year and the first one you tried didn’t work, email your campus FA president to ask them to check their membership roster and let you know: https://www.dccfa.org/#myaccount 

STEP 2: Choose your faculty status and click the appropriate "Join Here" button (Full-time, Part-time, Emeritus/Reserve).

STEP 3: Select your campus location by clicking the appropriate link.

STEP 4: Complete the information (including your School of) and secure payment form on this page and click the "Click here to submit payment" button.

STEP 5: (Optional) Complete the additional information for your profile.

 

If you did not join last year (2020-2021), and have not previously used the online dues payment system (Fall 2020 was the first time this online dues payment system was used), please send an email to Keith Baker at KBaker1@dcccd.edu. Your email should say:

 

I need a new account in DCFA.

Name: _____________

Email Address to be used for account: ______________

DCCCD Email Address: ______________

Status: FT or Adjunct

Members will receive two emails.  One is the receipt for payment that identifies the type of membership and the campus.  The other is a welcome email that contains their username and temporary password for the DCCFA website.  This log in information will allow faculty to go in and update their information and payment method periodically as needed.  The log in area is in the middle of the Home page.

The system will allow you to renew automatically, if you want to rejoin manually each year you should not select the automatic option, rather the manual option.

Regards,

Keith Baker, DCFA Treasurer

 

 

 

 

Information to Join DCFA Faculty Council Monthly Business Meeting, 11:15 a.m. Friday, Sept. 3, via ZOOM

DCFA Monthly Business Meeting

 9/3/2021. 11:15AM -1:30 PM

 

Tommy Thompson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Tommy Thompson's Zoom Meeting
Time: Sep 3, 2021 11:15 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/3238716564?pwd=cGR4NW9BSmlhSHFuNlBlTzNJQWRxZz09

Meeting ID: 323 871 6564
Passcode: YBygj8
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Dial by your location
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Tommy Thompson, Ph.D.

Professor of Mathematics

DCCFA President 2021-2022

Faculty President