On the Road
*with Christine Maitland

We held the annual NEA statewide higher education presidents' meeting in Minneapolis last month to bring these leaders up to date on NEA's higher education activities and to find out what was on their minds.

Merger was a major topic of discussion at the meeting. Three states—Montana, Minnesota, and Florida-have mergers between AFT—and NEA-affiliated organizations.

In all instances, leaders from each of the merged states noted, the mergers have strengthened higher education programs.

Faculty in Montana have new strength in their statewide negotiations, thanks to their combined organization. In Minnesota, higher ed leaders plan to take merger to the next step by consolidating two of the higher education units: the technical and community college systems.

In Florida, the merger between the AFT and NEA is moving ahead-and just in time because the legislature is dividing the Florida State University system into separate campus units.

A group of local campus presidents from Minnesota and surrounding states joined the statewide presidents meeting on Friday.

These faculty leaders were anxious to talk with their colleagues about common issues such as how technology is changing their jobs and the increasing influence of business groups on campuses.

What impressed me about the presidents was their commitment to bettering the working lives of our members and the education of their students.

These presidents share the belief that, with collective bargaining and collective action, faculty can make a major difference on our campuses.

* —Christine Maitland coordinates NEA higher ed activities.