This past Friday, President Bernie Machen declared that UF needs to transform itself in order to become one of the nation's top public universities. Machen said that the plan is to "focus more on graduate education and research." As co-president of Graduate Assistants United (GAU), our graduate employee labor union, I welcome the president's new vision if - and only if - his focus on graduate education includes support for all departments, students and graduate assistants. Indeed, graduate assistants need additional help and focus these days, especially in this difficult economic climate.
As workers for the university, graduate assistants do the bulk of the teaching and research labor. Studies have shown that across the board, graduate instructors at UF score even higher on annual undergraduate student evaluations than tenure and term faculty when it comes to availability, respect, stimulation and overall performance. Graduate students work hard for UF; they believe in quality education and share in the president's desire to create a better university.
If Machen is serious about turning some of the university's focus on graduate students, we also expect him to respect the value we provide for the university. This means helping graduate assistants during these tough times. GAU has been bargaining with the administration since last May. While we were able to negotiate some important new additions to the contract for grads, the administration has been intractable when it comes to providing additional economic assistance to us when we need it the most.
Most graduate assistants have not received a stipend increase since 2006. As we are all aware, the cost of living has increased fairly dramatically since then. In addition to the increased cost of food, utilities and rent, employment fees, which graduate assistants must pay every semester in order to work, have also risen. Over the past 10 months, we have compromised again and again with administration regarding our stipends and have offered, as our final proposal, a modest one-time $400 bonus for this semester and an additional $400 bonus in the fall. This offer would cost the university less than 1 percent of the money it has on hand.
As a non-recurring expense to the university, our proposal is more than an appropriate request. While we understand that the national economic situation is troubling, we also know UF has the money to help graduate students. Last year, a report from Florida's Auditor General revealed that the university has hundreds of millions of dollars in unrestricted funds, which continue to grow each year. Additionally, Machen recently received a $275,000 bonus, and hiring continues in many areas of the university. Finally, the passage of the recent federal stimulus package, along with the approved tuition increases, will bring even more funds to the university. Clearly, the money is available to help us out.
In the face of 100 frustrated graduate students who showed up to our last bargaining session, the administration made it clear that, despite Machen's recent rhetoric, UF does not prioritize graduate student labor. I want to offer President Machen the opportunity to make good on his word. Please, Mr. President, help us out. We are not asking for much. Over the years, we have helped pave the way for UF's future success. By helping us out now when we need it the most, we will help you build UF into a sterling school for decades to come.
Aaron Cerny is the co-president of Graduate Assistants United.
