VIDEO: IFO Legislative Update

Welcome Back - Important COVID & IFO Updates

Welcome back, faculty. I am compelled to begin this message with some comments related to the events that transpired at the U.S. Capitol last week. At a time when our democracy was validating the Presidential election and we are preparing for a peaceful transfer of power, it was horrifying to observe sedition and the insurrection that followed. I am sure many of you have spent time this week helping our students understand the actions of these extremists and the profound impact they will have in defining our history. Our collective response as a society will also have a defining effect on our nation; violence can never be tolerated and as a union of university faculty we strongly condemn the images, motives, incitement, and conduct of the actions of January 6.

The IFO has made an unwavering commitment to equity and inclusion, promoting a high-quality liberal arts education, and developing our students into active and engaged members of society. Now more than ever, we need higher education to address the issues that divide us. The role of faculty and systems of higher education is essential in helping our country deal with the normalization of rampant misinformation, the need to continue to teach students critical thinking skills as they engage with current events and how to navigate complicated historical contexts, including how to engage our national history of structural racism and white supremacy has never been more urgent. We are uniquely positioned and qualified to find the strategies to move our communities forward.

Faculty have worked harder than ever in the face of compounding tragedies and challenges. We understand this has taken a toll and have worked hard to address the mental health issues that have arisen since March. I am so proud of the work faculty, coaches, and counselors do every day and the profound role our institutions have in making our communities better.

COVID Vaccine Update
On January 7, the IFO sent a letter urging for the inclusion of higher education faculty and staff to Gov. Walz and the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Advisory Group. This group provides recommendations to Gov. Walz. You can read the letter here. In addition, IFO Leaders are meeting with Gov. Walz on Friday, January 22 to discuss campus budgets and other legislative objectives.

COVID Higher Education Financial Support
The federal government passed a COVID relief package in December 2020. The package included funding for higher education institutions. There are still many questions to be answered for how these resources may be rolled out on our campuses, we’re incredibly thankful for the support and hope it helps our campus communities through these challenging times. Click here to read an FAQ sheet with more information about the financial support guidelines.

Estimates for COVID relief, by campus (click here to check other campuses):

• Bemidji State - $5M

• Metro State - $10.3M

• MSU-Moorhead - $5.9M

• MSU, Mankato - $14.6M

• Southwest MN State - $3.6M

• St. Cloud State - $13.8M

• Winona State - $8.9M

MinnState Total: $185M

We will continue to advocate our federal lawmakers for additional funding to help protect access, affordability, and quality. President-Elect Biden has made it clear he intends to push for a robust COVID relief package after being sworn in next week.

COVID Leave Policy Update
Starting January 1 and continuing until the end of the Governor’s Peacetime Emergency Order ends, MinnState employees continue to be eligible for up to 80 hours of paid Health, Care, and School Leave for full-time appointments, and a pro-rated amount for those in part-time appointments, when teleworking is not possible.

In addition to the 80 hours of paid COVID leave, MinnState employees may take up to 10 weeks of partially paid Extended School Leave to care for a child whose school or place of care is closed or whose childcare provider is unavailable due to COVID-19, if the employee is not able to telework. Click here for more information on the new COVID Leave Policy.

IFO Delegate Assembly Scheduled
The 2020 IFO Delegate Assembly has been rescheduled and will be held using a virtual format on April 16-17, 2021. More details will be released soon.

Conclusion
Thank you for your trust and support over the last few years, and especially the last 9 months. I’m proud and thankful for all the work our faculty, coaches, and counselors have done to help students. I’m also proud of our team for the work they have done to navigate the really important decisions being made to address the pandemic, structural racism, political division, and the many other challenges we’ve encountered.

IFO response to police shooting of Jacob Blake

Sadly, this week we face another violent attack by the police against a Black man – Jacob Blake – who was shot seven times in his back as he tried to get into his car with three of his children inside. The system-sanctioned violence against Black men, women, and children is not new. We applaud the wildcat strikes in protest to continuing police violence against Black bodies within the NBA, the WNBA, MLB, and MLS – sparking the question for all of us: What can we do individually and as organizations to dismantle structural racism?

For the IFO, affirming that Black Lives Matter is a commitment supporting Black members of our union, institutions, and communities and to undoing the harm of systemic racism to work towards transformational change. We acknowledge and must continue to address the unique challenges faced by Black faculty, students, and staff in the Minnesota State System, in our State, and in our country. We acknowledge that MinnState campuses do not exist in racial vacuums. Black faculty, students, and staff are unjustly criminalized both on MinnState campuses and in our communities. We remain committed to pushing the Minnesota State College and University System and our elected leaders to affirm that Black Lives Matter and to take substantial steps to protect and empower Black lives, futures, and opportunities.

The Inter Faculty Organization responds to the Minneapolis Police killing of George Floyd

The Inter Faculty Organization condemns the brutal killing of George Floyd by officers of the Minneapolis Police Department. We share the pain and trauma that this horrific tragedy has inflicted on people of color in particular and on our community in general. The institutionalized racism resulting in such callous disregard of a Black man’s life, and impenetrable disregard of the pleas from Mr. Floyd and from bystanders – is a haunting but clear signal of the MPD’s destructive culture that must be rooted out. It is a tragic reminder that, without profound cultural change in institutions, violence and injustice against people of color will not be curtailed.

We are determined to do what we can where we are: to ever more steadfastly renew our own commitment – each of us – to respect the lives of those historically marginalized, to empower them and the bystanders who stand with them as allies for justice and equity, and to build a transformed culture of inclusion and equity that will endure.

2020 James Chalgren Award Presented to St. Cloud State University library faculty member Rachel Wexelbaum

St. Cloud State University library faculty member Rachel Wexelbaum was awarded the Inter Faculty Organization’s (IFO) 2020 James Eric Chalgren Award. The James Eric Chalgren Award recognizes an IFO member who has improved the professional lives of LGBTQ+ faculty through leadership and activism at the campus and statewide level.

Rachel has advocated for inclusive work environments for LGBTQ+ faculty, staff, and students, not only on her campus but across the state system by serving as a representative on the Inter Faculty Organization LGBTQ+ Caucus. She has been a part of implementing the preferred name policy and creating campus caucuses to offer support for LGBTQ+ faculty, faculty of color, and women faculty. In order to build an LGBTQ+ inclusive environment, she has served as co-chair for the President’s Advisory Council, and she has led the council in strategic planning for diversity, equity and inclusion on campus.

In her position as a librarian, Rachel has integrated the LGBTQ+ collection into programming tied to the grant funded National Library Medicine’s “Surviving and Thirving: AIDS, Politics and Culture” which she sponsored with the University Library, LGBT Resources Center, the Art Department, the Film Studies Department, School of Health and Human Services, the peer to peer sex education student group, and local HIV/AIDS organizations. Rachel’s commitment to this work has provided access for people in other countries where LGBTQ+ information is restricted or even illegal. She has provided access to information and resources that extends beyond her campus population and community.

Rachel’s work with the Wikimedia Foundation and as a Wikipedian have been instrumental in helping a larger project of “queering Wikipedia.” Rachel’s Wikipedia work is focused on LGBTQ+ individuals and topics, and the intersections between LGBTQ+ identity and other identities. She also “queers” articles that should address LGBTQ+ issues. In 2017, Rachel became the Twitter administrator for Wikimedia LGBT+’s Twitter account @wikilgbt. As Rachel notes in an interview about her work: “I use @wikilgbt to promote LGBTQ+ focused edit-a-thons and Wiki Loves Pride photo shoots at Pride festivals, as well as any intersectional Wikimedia events that would include LGBTQ+ content creation. @Wikilgbt promotes those Wikipedia editors doing great LGBTQ+ work, and followers use @wikilgbt to collaborate on translation of articles, to ask for Creative Commons licensed photos or other media to enhance entries, or to share photos of their edit-a-thons. We have grown the followers to 600 in less than a year, from all over the world. Followers include Wikipedians librarians–LGBTQ+ and otherwise–and LGBTQ+ organizations in addition to Wikimedia Foundation chapters and employees. This community builds trust among LGBTQ+ Wikipedians from different countries, working across languages and cultures.”

In addition, Rachel has served on the local human rights commission as a liaison to St. Cloud State University, where she educates the campus about the St. Cloud Human Rights Office, state anti-discrimination laws and how to file discrimination claims. As a volunteer for human rights commissioner, Rachel initiates difficult dialogues with the purpose of action and for an affirmative work, living, and learning environments in St. Cloud.

Rachel has provided significant service to the IFO LGBTQ+ Statewide Committee, her institution and campus community. Her commitment and work to create equity and opportunities for LGBTQ+ faculty, staff and students, exemplifies being a recipient of the James Eric Chalgren Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues.