EMU students will be greeted by Faculty pickets from 10 a.m to 12 p.m on Aug. 26 outside thedormitories.
With a new contract being "highly unlikely" by Aug.31 deadline, over 500+ faculty members will be affected.
Tenure-track and tenure faculty members of the EMU- American Association of University Professors (EMU-AAUP) will carry out the informational picket.
"We want to make sure students are fully informed," Matt Kirkpatrick, associate professor of English and Literature, and chair of EMU-AAUP negotiation team said.
Following the continuing pandemic, colleges, students included, have been heavily affected.
"After more than two years of living with COVID, this absolutely is the wrong time for administration to bring the uncertainty into the lives of our students," Kirkpatrick said. "The EMU administration is stalling our contract talks, and not responding to proposals from faculty that are intended to give our students more options and make it easier for them to graduate on time."
EMU administration have yet to respond to EMU-AAUP's latest economic proposal and little progress in contract negotiations have been made due to this.
The EMU negotiation team proposed a new flexible method for scheduling summer classes that would result in more course offerings for students, ensuring that required classes are available for more students.
EMU administration has rejected the summer schedule proposal as other issues are being brought forth by faculty such as faculty compensation, health care coverage, and full inclusion of faculty in university decision-making.
The EMU-AAUP is ready to negotiate at anytime to avoid any delay or disruption of the fall semester.
