Information provided by Joan Chrisler.
Connecticut College had an active AAUP Chapter for many years. The chapter designed the present system of faculty governance at the College and was instrumental in writing our faculty handbook. After its considerable success, the chapter’s activities began to wane. Members retired, and other faculty had less interest in the AAUP as the faculty governance system became fully functional. By 1990 we had ceased to meet or function as a ahapter, although some of the remaining members were active in the Connecticut State Conference and carried out some AAUP activities on campus (e.g., distributing the state conference newsletter). Faculty in trouble were able to find the AAUP members with help from the campus grapevine, and we provided what assistance we could and referred as needed to the state conference, national office, or a local attorney.
Early in the spring 2010 semester some of us decided to call a meeting of all members and kindred spirits to discuss reviving our chapter. About a dozen people attended, and we had a lively discussion about the state of affairs on campus. We were not having any serious problems on campus at the moment, but we had been through a difficult time in the 1990s, and many of us had learned hard lessons about the importance of a strong, united faculty. The group decided that we wanted an active chapter in order to be part of a national conversation about faculty rights, roles, and responsibilities and the state of higher education today. We saw our chapter as a space for substantive discussion of issues that affect the faculty and the college, as such discussions rarely take place during faculty meetings. We also saw roles for ourselves as advocates for the rights of and better integration into our community for part-time and visiting faculty, as mentors for untenured faculty, and as watchdogs who ensure that the committees of our governance system are functioning properly. We imagined that we could suggest topics for the committees to address.
Since that first meeting, we have written and approved chapter bylaws, elected officers for two-year terms, spoken about AAUP and the importance of faculty governance and academic freedom at the orientation for new faculty, met with our Faculty Steering and Conference Committee to suggest topics for them to address, led a workshop on academic freedom in the classroom, and sponsored a reception after a faculty meeting at which we distributed materials provided to us by the state conference and the national office. We thank the Connecticut State Conference for a chapter development grant that paid for the very successful and well-attended reception. In March 2011 we received a certificate from the national office that formally recognized the formation of our chapter.
This year we are planning a membership drive. We also expect to sponsor a workshop in the spring semester on civil discourse, and we are discussing some sort of activity (perhaps in conjunction with the Student Government Association) during the Campaign for Higher Education’s April 16 week of action. We are a small group, and our time is limited. Therefore, we are setting modest goals and trying to focus on meaningful activities that will educate our colleagues about AAUP’s principles and practices. Slowly, but surely, we will make progress!
Our officers are:
President - Spencer J. Pack, Professor of Economics
Vice-president – Joan C. Chrisler, Professor of Psychology
Secretary-Treasurer – Leo J. Garofalo, Associate Professor of History
Members at Large – Tek-wah King, Senior Lecturer in East Asian Languages and Cultures and Sufia Uddin, Associate Professor of Religious Studies.