Meet the Candidates for President!
Please come to the Membership mtg tomorrow, 12-1pm (lunch at 11:30am) at Hilberry C in the Student Center, RSVP not needed but helpful.
Here are the current candidates for President (see special election announcement and nominations form):
Jamie McQuaid
My name is Jamie (James R) McQuaid, and I am running for President of the Wayne Academic Union. I am running because we’re facing a moment where the rights, dignity, and voice of workers and students are under attack. Recently, we’ve seen increasingly hostile administrations opposed to employment security, free speech, and the rule of law ratchet up pressure on working people. This has happened across institutions, from campuses nationwide to within the halls of our own federal government.
We have seen deputized gangs abduct workers off streets in our local communities; at the same time, campus administrators have hired private armies to crush student protest and silence voices demanding an end to university complicity in genocide.
We have watched our government strip federal workers of bargaining rights, and even their employment, all while university leaders engage in backroom deals, working around regular processes to silence or eliminate their most informed critics.
We have witnessed a gang of ambitious authoritarians appropriate national tragedies to strip people of their right to free speech while, locally, campus leadership has invaded office space to remove union signage and banish union leaders to inaccessible locations on university grounds.
I believe in the power of mutually respective collective bargaining, but I also believe that if such an approach is to be effective, we must first build up a united, militant union that is not afraid of confrontation to challenge injustice and hold corruption to account. As President, I will help our union meet this moment by working to strengthen ties between faculty, staff, students, and community members to bring social justice organizing and bargaining for the common good to the forefront at Wayne State. Together, we can defend the free speech, employment rights, and dignity of all working people on campus, regardless of whether attacks on such basic rights come from the President of the University or the federal government of the United States.
Nashat Imran
We have all probably thought to ourselves, the university could be a better place if academic staff and faculty were heard more often.
Just last month, we demonstrated this at my school, the School of Medicine.
My name is Nashat Imran, a WSU faculty member since 2013, and I am running to be your next WAU President because I want to see more success stories like these.
I am a Professor of Medicine, the Division Chief of Nephrology, and the Renal Section Chief at Karmanos Cancer Institute. My past and current experiences include serving as the President of the Executive Committee of the WSU School of Medicine, the President of WSUSOM Faculty Senate, the Program Director of the Nephrology Fellowship program, the Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency, the Medical Director of multiple dialysis units, and a member of numerous local, regional, national, and international committees in Professional Nephrology and Medical Societies. I am also the recipient of multiple teaching awards over the years; the one dearest to me is the Excellence in Clinical Science Teaching Award, which is awarded annually to one recipient in the School of Medicine. I have drawn many lessons from these experiences, among them are to remain cordially principled, maintain bridges while allowing other viewpoints to evolve, and to elevate junior academic staff and faculty to unlock their true potential. I plan to continue building consensus, consulting, and collaborating with our union members. I promise an open-door policy, transparency, and principled leadership. My goals as the President are to strengthen the engagement of current members and to expand the union family with new members. I plan to protect our interests as a collective bargaining unit, amplify your voices to the administrators, and leave the union stronger and more resilient.
Our university is more than just legacy buildings, updated logos, and professional photo-ops. We are a collection of hard-working talents that serve our community and propel the next generation of leaders forward.
Hayg Oshagan
I am Hayg Oshagan, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication.
Higher education is being targeted by manipulators of fear and division, and we are seeing the consequences in the elimination of positions, higher workloads and greater insecurity. In times like these, we must stand together not only to protect what we have fought for and represent, but also to build on our hard-won gains, strengthen our position, and shape our future.
Over the years I have acquired extensive experience by serving on WAU’s executive board for 10 years, and as a member of our last two contract negotiating teams. I also serve on WSU’s Coalition of Unions, and represent WAU on the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO. Recent activism outside WSU includes service on the Governor-appointed Genocide and Holocaust Education Committee, Michigan Census Complete Count Committee, current vice-chair on Michigan Immigrants and Refugees Council. I co-chair the Detroit City Council’s Immigration Task Force. I have worked on Detroit’s charter revision for the Detroiters’ Bill of Rights, and advised the Redistricting Commission and the State census efforts for Michigan’s minority communities. I am the founder of New Michigan Media, a national model of collaboration bringing together the region’s largest minority newspaper publishers (Arab, Latino, Bangladeshi, Jewish, Asian and African-American), for a unified effort to fight for the civil and human rights of minorities.
I am running for WAU president to deepen our internal power and to lead our union, students, and wider community, in solidarity and strength. My work has prepared me to lead us during this critical period.