I am sorry to say that it has been a while since we last published The Professional but am delighted that we now have a new editor, Christine Gerstein, and are planning to publish two issues per semester.
 
I feel it is essential that we communicate with our members - even in years when we are not negotiating - and, toward that end, we will not only be publishing The Professional on a regular basis but have also formed a Communications Committee, chaired by Robert Lazow, who will be sending e-mail messages at least once a month during the academic year.  We will also be posting important information and links to other relevant sites on our website.  Please visit it at www.aaup-hofstra.org. 
 
I would like to thank all those who have volunteered their time in assisting in the effort to better our communication with the membership.  This is your union and, to best serve our membership, we need you to become involved in our work.  The union is not the few faculty who are negotiating or handling grievances – the union is the membership.  There is a committee sign-up form elsewhere in this issue and I encourage you to join an AAUP committee.

Each spring we also become involved in elections – both national AAUP elections and chapter elections.  By the time you read this you should have received a nominating form for chapter elections.  All AAUP members who are members of the bargaining unit are eligible to run and self-nominations as well as nominations of your colleagues are welcome.  The election will be held in April and, at that time, there will also be other items on which you will be asked to vote: these include changes in the constitution that are described elsewhere in this issue and a change in the review schedule for first reappointments that is in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.   By this time, you should also have received a ballot for the national AAUP election of officers and National Council representatives and I urge you to vote. 

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