• 2013 Annual Conference on the State of Higher Education in Review

    From June 12 to 16, 2013, the AAUP hosted the Ninety-ninth Annual Meeting and the AAUP Conference on the State of Higher Education. See our highlights.

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  • AAUP-CBC Fall Regional Meeting

    Fall is a beautiful time of year in New England. Mark your calendars for some of the country's best training and education on academic unionism. The AAUP-CBC Fall Regional Meeting will be on October 19 at the University of New Hampshire. Don't miss out! Register today.

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  • Join the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education

    AAUP leaders have joined with faculty leaders from across the country and from many different organizations, in the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education, an initiative that will work to ensure the long-term survival of quality higher education.

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  • AAUP-CBC Summer Institute

    The 2013 Summer Institute was held July 25–28 in Seattle, Washington. This was an extensive four-day series of workshops and seminars that helped to prepare the 230 attendees to organize their colleagues, stand up for academic freedom, and advocate for research and teaching as the core priority of higher education. 

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  • May-June Issue of Academe

    From a narrow, legalistic standpoint, it may be true that boards of trustees have all the power in American universities. But that ignores the real necessity of shared governance and raises questions about the connection between power and competence.

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Academic Freedom

The Role of the Faculty in Conditions of Financial Exigency

Recent years have witnessed massive closings of academic programs that are basic to a college or university’s curriculum, with a resulting erosion in the number and the authority of the tenured faculty.  The AAUP responded last month when its Council adopted as official policy the final text of a major report, The Role of the Faculty in Conditions of Financial Exigency.  

The subcommittee report makes recommendations designed to strengthen shared governance and faculty consultation when program closures are threatened, and it provides a more detailed and specific definition of “financial exigency.”  As to governance and consultation, it insists that faculty be involved in every stage of the process, beginning with the determination of whether the institution is indeed financially exigent.  As to defining financial exigency, the report extends the definition to situations not previously covered but only to those which jeopardize an institution’s academic integrity and core educational mission.

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Shared Governance

Faculty Communication with Governing Boards: Best Practices

From its initial statement of principles in 1915 and its earliest investigations into violations of academic freedom, the AAUP has emphasized the necessity of effective communication among those who participate in academic governance. Based on a consideration of relevant AAUP documents and in view of the current climate in higher education, this new draft statement urges greater communication between faculties and governing boards in colleges and universities.

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Community Colleges

Support for CCSF

On July 3, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges announced that it was revoking its accreditation of City College of San Francisco (CCSF), a two-year institution, effective July 2014.

In response, on Monday, July 8, the AAUP's Executive Committee issued a statement expressing its support urging the ACCJC to reconsider its revocation of CCSF's accreditation and to meaningfully and publicly address the complaints lodged by faculty and others about its functioning.

On Tuesday, a group of about 200 City College of San Francisco students, teachers, staff and supporters held a downtown rally. The group was organized by the SaveCCSF Coalition.

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Resources

University of California Affirms Faculty Free Speech Rights

The University of California Board of Regents has affirmed the right of faculty to speak out about institutional matters without fear of reprisal.

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The Role of the Faculty in Conditions of Financial Exigency

Recent years have witnessed massive closings of academic programs that are basic to a college or university’s curriculum, with a resulting erosion in the number and the authority of the tenured faculty.  The AAUP responded last month when its Council adopted as official policy the final text of a major report, The Role of the Faculty in Conditions of Financial Exigency.  

 

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Indiana AAUP Conference Statement & Open Letter from 90 Professors

"In those emails, you criticized the historian Howard Zinn and his work, and you sought to find ways to “get rid of” Zinn’s ideas in Indiana schools."

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AAUP Urges SLU President to Take Corrective Action

The AAUP's letter reminds Saint Louis University President Biondi that,"The protection of the academic freedom of faculty members in addressing issues of institutional governance is a prerequisite for the practice of governance unhampered by fear of retribution."

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Rutgers Sticking it to Students... Again



According to a statement by the Rutgers AAUP-AFT chapter, increasing "tuition by 3.5 percent and fees by another 2.5 percent adds insult to injury for our students already struggling with mounting student debt and our faculty and staff struggling to maintain a decent standard of living."

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SLU Criticized for Reduced Faculty Raises

"Citing AAUP policy statements on freedom of expression, Kreiser said that it is 'essential that faculty members have the academic freedom to express their professional opinions without fear of reprisal.'”  Read the rest of the article and the AAUP's letter to learn more.

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Shortchanging Teachers -- and Students -- at Community Colleges

"The 4,000 adjunct faculty teaching in Colorado's community colleges are 70 percent of the total faculty. We teach 85 percent of all classes offered, while earning wages below poverty level, and working without health care, sick leave and opportunities for advancement," Front Range Community College AAUP Chapter president Caprice Lawless tells readers.

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Weygand’s Windfall

"The average faculty salary at URI is $83,456, according to Frank Annunziato, executive director of the URI/AAUP," states this editorial as contrast to "Weygand's windfall."

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Executive Committee Retreat
August 16, 2013

A meeting of the AAUP's Executive Committee

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AAUP-CBC Fall Regional Meeting
October 19, 2013

Mark your calendars for some of the country's best training and education on academic unionism. The AAUP-CBC Fall Regional meeting will be on October 19 at the University of New Hampshire.

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Committee A Meeting
November 1, 2013

A meeting of the AAUP's Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure.

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Executive Committee Meeting
November 15, 2013

A meeting of the AAUP's Executive Committee

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2013 Annual Meeting Resolutions

On Saturday, June 15, 2013,  the AAUP's Ninety-ninth Annual Meeting passed the following three resolutions: Resolution Supporting The Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, Resolution in Support of Faculty Control of the Curriculum at the City University of New York, and a resolution on “Profile for a Twenty-First-Century President”

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Career Center

Did you know that AAUP has an online career center to help colleges and universities connect with qualified applicants? 

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Officers & Council

During its June meeting, the AAUP's Council elected three new Council members to fill mid-term vacancies. The newly elected Council members are: Angela Brommel (District I), Dan Murphy (At-large), and Mehmet Yaya (District III). See the full list of council members.

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AAUP Constitution

The Ninety-Ninth Annual Meeting of the Association amended the constitution of the AAUP.

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