Excerpt from WDTN
Wright State’s faculty union and the administration have reached a tentative agreement which could be approved at a Board of Trustees meeting Monday night. The agreement did allow professors to return to the classroom.
Students returned to class Monday, seeing the professors they had three weeks ago before the strike started.
The faculty union says the whole situation could have been avoided, had the administration never imposed earlier contracts on faculty.
"All we ever wanted to do was negotiate. We ended up solving this by negotiating," says Rudy Fichtenbaum, Chief Negotiatior for AAUP-WSU.
The union was dead-set on retaining their legal right to bargain over healthcare. After making millions of dollars in concessions, they got their deal.
Wright State President Cheryl Schrader saying in a statement:
"This agreement serves Wright State University and our students well. Both parties made substantial concessions to help move the university forward together."
The later portion of that statement might be easier said than done.
"There are so many classes that need fixed for everyone. Frankly, we are all in chaos. We don't know what to do," says psychology major Crystal Lafrance.
Wright State says students that dropped classes late last week will be able to re-register with permission from department heads. No late fees will be applied to class changes prior to February 18.
Meanwhile, professors are back in the mix with some coming to a class that was never taught. Others are picking up where a temp left off.
"It's really unclear. It's up to the administration to ensure this process is smooth. Frankly, we've been very disappointed, and in some cases, heartbroken," says Siri Sheneidu, Associate Professor of Economics.
The Board of Trustees will meet once more around 5:30 on Monday.
