Joshua Smith elected next Faculty Association president

Joshua Smith, associate professor of philosophy and religion, was named president-elect of the Central Michigan University Faculty Association after a Sept. 27 election.

Being the FA president involves a three-year contract: the faculty member serves one year as president-elect, one year as president and one year as past-president. Smith’s term as president will last from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014.

For the one year a faculty member serves as president, he receives the same salary, but is released from teaching half of their classes, he said.

Smith said FA bylaws outline the duties of the president, and his general role will be to see that certain standards are met regarding FA functions. He said he doesn’t have any specific goals other than to make sure the faculty are well-represented.

“I want to make sure that the FA is functioning properly so that CMU can be as good a school as possible,” he said.

The FA ratified its 2011-14 contract in January after more than seven months of bargaining with the university. Smith said he is not concerned about taking on the role as FA president after the contract negotiations last year.

“There are always challenges, but I don’t think there are any special challenges,” he said.

As president, Smith said he will be preparing the FA for the next round of bargaining in two years, and “fortunately it won’t be while I’m president,” he said.

Smith said FA President Laura Frey and Past-President Tim Connors were good models for the role. He said as president-elect, he wants to learn as much as he can from them so he can handle issues as well as they did.

“If I’m not yet well-prepared, I will be,” he said.

Frey will take on the role of past-president once Smith becomes president.  She said Smith is a valued member of the FA and will be a valuable member of the leadership. She said she has no concerns about him moving into the role as president.

“I am thrilled to be able to work with him in a leadership capacity with the association and appreciative of his willingness to serve,” she said.

Guy Newland, philosophy and religion chair, said the department has a lot of confidence in Smith. He said Smith was very involved in FA last year, and he tried to do what he could to find solutions to the problems that faculty were having.

“Josh is very well-respected in the department, and we’re very excited to have him in this leadership role,” he said.