[Listed in order received.]

If elected, I would be happy to serve as the Faculty Representative of the University Senate on the Rutgers Board of Governors. I am very interested in increasing the constructive role of the faculty and the University Senate in the governance and affairs of the University.  I would pledge to do my best to represent and present the actions of the Senate before the Board of Governors, and to report back to the Senate on the actions and considerations of the Board of Governors, as well as any issues of seeming importance that I learn are coming before the University.

For the past several years, it has been my pleasure as co-chair of the Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs and Personnel Procedures to have successfully brought before the Senate such issues as policies on the regular review of academic administrators, health care coverage for graduate students on fellowships, the handling of workplace violence, and best practices for the assessment of teaching.  I have also enjoyed working on the Executive Committee to bring important issues before the Senate. In addition, for the past several years I have been Chair of the Research Committee and an active member of the New Brunswick Faculty Council.  Since 1995, I have been Chair of the FAS Department of Physics and Astronomy.  Previously, as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs in the Sciences (1978-1987), and Provost (1987-1992) of the New Brunswick Campus, I had much experience interacting with the University Board of Governors and several of its committees as important changes were taking place in the University.

My Fellow Senators,

I can do more to represent your and the faculties interest than any other Senator.  This is a historical consequence of my lawyers having organized the Govenors campaign finances.  I will ask for faculty salary increases and a cap on tuition.  I will make sure that the Bond issues are re-financed at very reasonable rates to lower the debt that is being carried by the University and alleviate the pressure on faculty salaries and tuition.  I will make sure that the BOG will examine all student groups to see that they are legitimate and not "ad hoc" fronts for law students, lawyers and law firms with hidden agenda's that are not in the student's or Rutger's faculty interest.

I will poll the Senate for their opinion and I will also represent the individual Senator who may have a perspective of interest to the BOG.

Sincerely yours,
Senator Jorge Pieczenik

Members of the University Senate,

The Faculty Representative of the Senate to the Board of Governors is one of the most important governance positions at Rutgers. My experience, my values, and my deep commitment to Rutgers make me especially qualified to hold this position and to use it to benefit the three major constituencies of the University Senate, and more generally the University as a whole.

During my very long career as a faculty member at Rutgers, I have always committed a substantial portion of my time and effort to the advancement of Rutgers and the members of its community, through service and participation in governance.

As chairperson of the FAS Chemistry Department for 9 years and the Douglass College Chemistry Department for 5 years before that, I led the effort by my colleagues that moved the Chemistry Department into the top rank of academic departments at Rutgers and chemistry departments at public universities nationally.

• As chairperson of several committees focused on Facilities, I worked hard to assure that the organization became one that was committed to providing the support needed to maintain the highest quality of classrooms, residence halls, and research facilities.
• As chairperson of a committee that addressed Title IX compliance in the intercollegiate athletic program, and as a chairperson or member of many other committees associated with intercollegiate athletics, I have always sought to ensure that our athletic programs are consistent with the ideals of the Rutgers community.
• As an AAUP activist, I have always believed that the welfare of the university is bound to the welfare of the faculty and TAs and GAs and I have done whatever I could to improve their working environment.
• As a long time fellow of Rutgers College and Douglass College, I have devoted myself to addressing the needs  of the Colleges and their students.
• As a former Faculty Representative from the Senate to the Board of Trustees and in many of the other capacities listed, I have had occasion to establish relationships with several members of the Board of Governors and to work effectively with them on a number of issues.

• We must recruit and support a high quality and diverse faculty and graduate and undergraduate student body.
• We must provide students with outstanding classroom instruction and mentoring, to the fullest possible extent by full-time faculty members, and we must provide first-class facilities, infrastructure, and staff support for teaching, research, and service to the citizens of New Jersey.
• We must uphold, by all our actions, the core academic values of academic freedom and due process, intellectual honesty, shared governance, and respect for the rights and opinions of others.
• We must foster an atmosphere of openness, collegiality, and trust in which all members of the university community work together to do whatever we can to move Rutgers to the next level of excellence.

Bob Boikess
Professor of Chemistry
Senator, Rutgers College (F)

I have been on 3 different Senate subcommittees, including Instruction, Curricula and Advising; Faculty Affairs and Personnel, and, most recently, the University Structure and Governance Committee.

I will work for restructuring the University in order to advance Rutgers to the top tier of public Universities in the nation. Although I am coming from the biomedical research field, I will equally represent the faculty of all three campuses including those in the arts, the humanities and the social sciences. I stand for academic freedom, autonomy of the university, shared
university governance, and for sustained long-term public support for higher education.