Many resolutions from Eastern professors were adopted by the University Professionals of Illinois’ state-wide House of Delegates Saturday in Springfield.

Members of Eastern’s chapter of the UPI traveled to the capitol with 11 resolutions, which was more than other campus UPIs, said Eastern UPI Vice President Charles Delman, professor of mathematics.

“There were a number of resolutions offered and discussed, and most of ours were adopted,” Delman said.

One of the most important to be adopted was a resolution to establish a reasonable proportion of administrators at institutions of higher education.

The resolution calls for action from the UPI, the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the state legislature to reduce administrative waste and put more emphasis on classroom instruction, Delman said.

In 1992, the state passed a state joint resolution, SJR 141, calling for reductions in administration.

“The state called for this in 1992, but it seems the exact opposite has happened,” Delman said.

The UPI House of Delegates resolved that the administration issue be studied to determine what the appropriate ratio of administration to faculty should be.

At Eastern, the ratio of administration to faculty is 1-3.

A resolution on the appropriate delivery system of course materials, an issue involving technology and distance education, also was adopted by the UPI House of Delegates.

Delman said each faculty member should have the right to determine his or her own manner of instruction or most appropriate delivery of material.

Faculty workload was the topic of another resolution created at Eastern that was adopted by the UPI’s House of Delegates, Delman said.

The UPI plans to urge administrators to limit teaching duties to six to nine hours a week in order to facilitate student mentoring and encourage research and creative activity.

The UPI House of Delegates adopted a resolution to set criteria for appointing Board of Trustees members as well. Although Eastern’s BOT is comprised of alumni, some schools in Illinois complain of having no graduates on the board at all.

The main aspects of the resolution, Delman said, were to ensure the UPI works with both the governor and the legislature in appointing trustees who have respect for university governance and democratic principles and procedures.

“This was not drafted as a complaint to any one governing board,” Delman said. “Our intent was to work with the governor to ensure appointments were not solely political.”

Other resolutions from Eastern, such as civil liberties and academic freedom in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, and issues involving employee health insurance, were among the adopted drafts.

The resolutions will now be voted on by the UPI Executive Committee. If the resolutions become official UPI policy, they then move on to the Illinois Federation of Teachers and then possibly the National Federation of Teachers.