Faculty members seek insurance
Stephanie Hall
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: News
While Americans debate national health insurance, Truman professors are beginning to debate another health insurance issue.
A survey distributed by the American Association of University Professors to Truman faculty found that the faculty supports health insurance benefits for gay and lesbian partners of Truman staff, said David Robsion, history professor and secretary of the Truman chapter of AAUP. He said the Truman chapter of AAUP brought up the issue at the state AAUP meeting last month, and the question got into the survey.
"Missouri State University in Springfield already has a [faculty senate] group investigating the possibility of expanding the liability for benefits this way, [as] far as I know, nothing in Missouri, no state university in Missouri, has tried to do it," Robinson said.
Robinson said that in Truman's current insurance system only faculty are covered, and they can pay to have their legally married spouse and children covered also. Robinson said an alternative plan would allow faculty to pay for whomever they wanted to be covered.
"[The] plan that has been brought up, especially in some religious schools that are neutral to the gay marriage issue, and they just call it 'faculty plus [one],' and they realize that a faculty member may have living in their home family members, and that could be a domestic partner, but that also could be a child who is somewhat older," Robinson said.
The Truman chapter of AAUP has a committee working with the issue from national and state perspectives, he said. Robinson said that every year the Board of Governors has to approve any benefits or contract revisions that the University president and his staff negotiate.
"Why can't a university, trying to teach [and] prepare our students for leadership, not also be a leader on some of these issues?" Robinson said.
Associate Sociology professor Bonnie Mitchell said she talked to Interim President Darrell Krueger last year when she was considering bringing her partner to Truman. She said she wanted to make sure she could get her partner covered.
A survey distributed by the American Association of University Professors to Truman faculty found that the faculty supports health insurance benefits for gay and lesbian partners of Truman staff, said David Robsion, history professor and secretary of the Truman chapter of AAUP. He said the Truman chapter of AAUP brought up the issue at the state AAUP meeting last month, and the question got into the survey.
"Missouri State University in Springfield already has a [faculty senate] group investigating the possibility of expanding the liability for benefits this way, [as] far as I know, nothing in Missouri, no state university in Missouri, has tried to do it," Robinson said.
Robinson said that in Truman's current insurance system only faculty are covered, and they can pay to have their legally married spouse and children covered also. Robinson said an alternative plan would allow faculty to pay for whomever they wanted to be covered.
"[The] plan that has been brought up, especially in some religious schools that are neutral to the gay marriage issue, and they just call it 'faculty plus [one],' and they realize that a faculty member may have living in their home family members, and that could be a domestic partner, but that also could be a child who is somewhat older," Robinson said.
The Truman chapter of AAUP has a committee working with the issue from national and state perspectives, he said. Robinson said that every year the Board of Governors has to approve any benefits or contract revisions that the University president and his staff negotiate.
"Why can't a university, trying to teach [and] prepare our students for leadership, not also be a leader on some of these issues?" Robinson said.
Associate Sociology professor Bonnie Mitchell said she talked to Interim President Darrell Krueger last year when she was considering bringing her partner to Truman. She said she wanted to make sure she could get her partner covered.
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