UP teachers’ groups demand justice, tenure for Prof. Sarah Raymundo

N.B. – This is a press release for the forum scheduled on July 9 (Thursday), 1 p.m. at the Recto Hall, Faculty Center, UP Diliman. Hope you can make it. Thanks!

References:
Prof. Rommel Rodriquez, CONTEND-UP, rommelrdrgz[at]gmail[dot]com, 09152922616
Dr. Ramon Guillermo, AUPAEU President, ramon.guillermo[at]gmail[dot]com, 09299514734

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA COVERAGE OF JULY 9 FORUM IS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED

UP teachers’ groups demand justice, tenure for Prof. Sarah Raymundo
Acad union calls for transparency in tenure process

The Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy-UP (CONTEND) and the All UP Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU) are holding a forum titled “Striking a Balance: Excellence, Autonomy, and Freedom in the Academe” tomorrow, July 9, 2009, 1-3 pm at the Claro M. Recto Hall, Faculty Center building, University of the Philippines , Diliman.

Speakers of the forum include Party List Representative Hon. Walden Bello, UP Faculty Regent Judy Taguiwalo, AUPAEU-Diliman President Dr. Ramon Guillermo, and sociology Prof. Sarah Raymundo. The forum will tackle the issue of academic excellence, faculty tenure and university processes with the case of Prof. Sarah Raymundo as the main case study.

Last June 2, 2009, the start of the current semester, sociology department chair Prof. Randy David verbally informed Prof. Raymundo that she is no longer a member of the sociology department as her contract ended last May 31, 2009. However, Prof. Raymundo’s request for tenure has been with the Sociology Department since February 2008. Almost one year and six months since that application, the Department of Sociology has not officially clarified to Prof. Raymundo the reason for the failure of the department to arrive at a clear decision on her application. Her status remains unclear as she waits for the decision from the Office of the Chancellor.

In an open letter, the AUPAEU called for transparency on the case of Prof. Raymundo: “In a bewildering turn of events, confounding the principles of transparency and fairness and frustrating the most basic notions of academic freedom, Prof. Raymundo continues to be kept in the dark regarding the bases used by the Dept. of Sociology in its most recent decision against granting her tenure.”

CONTEND-UP revealed that the only apparent reason for the sociology department’s refusal to grant Prof. Raymundo’s tenure is her progressive affiliations, as she is currently the Secretary-General of CONTEND-UP and is an national officer of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers of the Philippines (ACT).

CONTEND-UP and AUPAEU are challenging Chancellor Cao, Prof. David and the sociology department to uphold the principles of academic freedom, transparency, and fairness in the tenure case of Prof. Sarah Raymundo.

For more information, visit http://tenureforsarahraymundo.blogspot.com.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.