Annual Meeting Focuses on Academic Freedom

By Omonike Akinkuowo, Gwendolyn Bradley and Wendi Maloney

At a plenary luncheon, Lisa Anderson, dean of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, commended the AAUP for being the "most important voice" for academic freedom since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Still, she said, we've "barely scratch[ed] the surface of the trials we will confront in the next, say, twenty-five years or so." She said pressures on the academy include market forces, the government's "war on terror," and claims that colleges and universities have a liberal agenda. "The AAUP shows us what we might do, but we need to do more of it—openly, energetically, thoughtfully, and honestly," Anderson said.

"Challenging orthodoxy is at the core of liberal values," she asserted, noting she meant liberal not in the narrow American political sense but in the sense of not being bound by authoritarianism or traditional forms. "As scholars, we must admit that our agenda is liberal. Our failure to do so fools only us." She said that faculty members must advocate for professorial rights and responsibilities and articulate the importance of what faculty do. Moreover, these efforts must be international, she said. "We are no longer able to distance ourselves from the rest of the world," she asserted, since U.S. scholars share the problems of foreign colleagues, many of whom were educated in this country. "We need to support them when they return to Zimbabwe, Tunisia, or Singapore, and their government doesn't permit them to do what we trained them to do," she said. "I'd like to see us conceive of ourselves as part of a community of scholars who are laboring under sometimes appalling conditions."

U.S. scholars will gain increased support for academic freedom and university-based research at home if they organize internationally, she said, advocating the formation of AAUP-like groups in other countries with whom U.S. scholars can collaborate. She suggested that U.S. academics consider working with the United Nations and organizations such as the Scholars at Risk Network to do so.

Also addressing the meeting was Allan Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education (IIE). The IIE is the leading nonprofit organization in the field of international educational exchange and oversees the Fulbright grant program and many other international education programs. Goodman spoke of his conviction that academic freedom is essential to our national security and represents the best of America. He also discussed IIE's long history of assisting foreign faculty who face dangerous situations in their home countries. In 1920, IIE brought to the United States Russian scholars threatened by the Bolshevik revolution, and the organization has rescued scholars in every year since. In the 1930s, hundreds of scholars were rescued from the Nazi regime, although, Goodman said, this project was deeply unpopular in the United States and many hundreds more were left behind. Currently, IIE administers the Scholar Rescue Fund, which provides support and relocation to scholars threatened as a result of their academic work. The IIE is currently raising money for an endowment for the Scholar Rescue Fund, with a goal of $50 million, and Goodman urged AAUP members to help out by encouraging their institutions to host an endangered scholar. (For more on the Scholar Rescue Fund and the related group Scholars at Risk, see "Group Urges International Protections for Scholars." ) Goodman closed by saying that in the twenty-first century academic freedom is under assault around the world.

Islamic studies scholar Tariq Ramadan addressed the annual meeting in a prerecorded video presentation on June 11, after which he answered questions by phone from Cologne, Germany. A Swiss national, Ramadan was to have begun a tenured appointment as Henry R. Luce Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute of the University of Notre Dame in fall 2004. The U.S. State Department granted him a work visa, but the visa was revoked when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security invoked an antiterrorism law to bar Ramadan two weeks before he and his family were due to arrive in Indiana. He subsequently resigned the position when the visa was not reinstated. "Nothing in my intellectual work could be construed as supporting terrorism," Ramadan said. "I resigned as a matter of dignity." He said, however, that he had publicly condemned the war in Iraq and "U.S. unilateralism" and that his experience suggests that Muslim scholars cannot afford to criticize U.S. policy. Their choice is either to support the government or to remain silent. "The United States is at risk of being a country where you can't speak your mind anymore," he asserted, cautioning that silencing diverse views undermines democratic society. "We need to help our students listen to different voices, alternative perspectives." Like Lisa Anderson of Columbia University, Ramadan urged U.S. faculty to join scholars in other countries to develop an AAUP-like global network of scholars to advocate for academic freedom and free speech. Among other benefits, a formally organized network would "permit professors under dictatorship to be heard outside their countries," he said.

Noting that the AAUP was among the first groups to speak out on his behalf, Ramadan expressed his gratitude and said that he will never confuse the American people with the U.S. government.

Members at the annual meeting participated in two workshops. In "Lobbying Against Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: 'Academic Bills of Rights' Proposals," four panelists described different ways of working against the damaging legislative proposals introduced in fifteen states this year. The panelists described work with faculty senates, in coalitions, in the legislature, and in public media. "The Faculty Role in Accreditation" focused on increasing faculty participation in the institutional accreditation process. Faculty should take an active and leading role at their own institutions in developing self-study reports, interacting with the visiting team, and participating in any institutional response. They should also be more involved in accrediting agency activities than they currently are, by participating on visiting teams and association committees. Members also had an opportunity to discuss the work of the AAUP's national committees at informal breakout sessions organized by the committees on academic freedom and tenure, community colleges, contingent faculty, historically black institutions and scholars of color, women, and teaching, research, and publication.

A prescreening of the PBS documentary Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk, which was officially released in late June, stimulated a lively discussion with the film's producer about the role of faculty in higher education.

Censure Actions

Delegates to the annual meeting voted to place three institutions on the Association's list of censured administrations: Meharry Medical College, Virginia State University, and the University of the Cumberlands. Censure by the AAUP informs the academic community that the administration of an institution has not adhered to generally recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure.

Annual meeting delegates also voted to remove from the censure list two colleges. Wingate University (.pdf) was removed after twenty-six years on the list, and Southern Nazarene University (.pdf) after eighteen years. For additional information about Wingate College, see the investigating committee's report in May 1979 issue of Academe. For additional information about Southern Nazarene University, see the investigating committee's report in the November-December 1986 issue of Academe. Forty-seven institutions are now on the censure list. Last year, the AAUP removed four institutions from its censure list and added one.

With respect to two other institutions—the City University of New York and Medaille College—the annual meeting delegates agreed to defer action until the 2006 annual meeting.

Capitol Hill Day

About a hundred conference attendees participated in Capitol Hill Day on June 9. After an orientation session organized by the AAUP's government relations department, groups of AAUP members from different states visited their senators and representatives to discuss the importance of higher education. The meetings focused on three major issues; academic freedom, the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and improving policies for international students and scholars. The day ended with a reception in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill to honor Senator Susan Collins from Maine with the Henry T. Yost Award. The award recognized Senator Collins's leadership on higher education issues, specifically her leadership in protecting student aid programs and her strong advocacy role in championing Pell Grants, campus-based aid programs, and the TRIO educational opportunity outreach programs, which are designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In her remarks, the senator said that she was "glad to be honored by an association that stands for something" and has the students' best interest at heart. The senator told a story of how her early career at a university in Maine had revealed to her the crucial role that financial aid played in the attendance of almost "80 percent of students." It was then that she made up her mind that she wanted to do everything in her power to protect student aid programs, because she believes "every student deserves a chance at higher education." 

Honors and Awards

The Ralph S. Brown Award for Shared Governance was awarded to Phillip Dudley, Jr., president of Hastings College. The Hastings College AAUP chapter nominated Dudley to honor his successful efforts to involve faculty in shared governance after a number of years in which faculty contact with the board of trustees was limited and the administration retained tight control of the budget process. Dudley assumed his position in 2000; during his first year in office, he approved a faculty plan to restructure the governance system and was instrumental in getting it approved by the board of trustees. Putting policy into practice, Dudley shares plans and budget information with the faculty and helped install the president of the faculty senate as a non-voting member of the board of trustees. The selection committee for the Brown award expressed its respect and admiration for Dudley's collaborative efforts.

The award is given to American college or university administrators or trustees in recognition of an outstanding contribution to shared governance. It was established in 1998 in memory of Ralph S. Brown, who served as AAUP president and general counsel and headed many AAUP committees during his forty-four years of service to the Association. The award is not conferred annually; the Association reserves the distinction for those occasions when some accomplishment in the area of shared governance is identified as so outstanding as to merit being singled out.

The AAUP chapter at Benedict College received the Association's Beatrice G. Konheim Award for its work in resisting the college president's usurpation of faculty prerogatives by instituting a new grading policy and his actions against faculty members who opposed the policy. The policy, which he imposed without prior faculty knowledge or consent, mandated that all faculty would grade first- and second-year students at least as much for effort as for academic achievement. When two faculty members refused to change their grades to comply, the president of the college, which has been on the Association's censure list since 1994, dismissed them on grounds of insubordination. A reactivated AAUP chapter took strong issue with the president on this matter. After the national AAUP issued a supplemental report on the college faulting the president for punishing faculty members for meeting their obligation to "ensure that their evaluations of students reflect each student's true merit," as the Association's Statement on Professional Ethics requires, the president notified the AAUP chapter president and vice president that each was being removed from his position as department chair, resulting in significant loss of income for them. The Konheim award was established in 1975 to commend an AAUP chapter for achievement in advancing the Association's objectives in academic freedom, student rights and freedoms, the status of academic women, the elimination of discrimination against minorities, or the establishment of equal opportunity for members of college and university faculties.

Bernard Wysocki, Jr., of the Wall Street Journal accepted the Iris Molotsky Award for Excellence in Coverage of Higher Education for his series of articles illustrating the tense triangle involving university-based researchers, government funders, and corporate partners. "Research Advance: At Pitt, Scientists Decode the Secret of Getting Grants" (June 28, 2004) investigated the competition between universities for grant money. "Cutting Edge: A Laser Case Sears Universities' Right to Ignore Patents," (October 11, 2004) discussed a lawsuit over research ownership. "College Try: Columbia's Pursuit of Patent Riches Angers Companies" (December 21, 2004) investigated the tensions between traditional academic values and profitable patent ownership. In his remarks, Wysocki said that many research universities are acting like corporations in prioritizing revenue-generating research over the pure advancement of knowledge.

This year, Konheim Travel Grants went the AAUP chapters at Bainbridge College and Bascone College. The grants help chapters send delegates to the AAUP annual meeting.

State Conferences

Flo Hatcher of Connecticut State University was elected chair of the Assembly of State Conferences and Greg Scholtz of Wartburg College was elected vice chair. Martha McCaughey of Appalachian State University was elected liaison of the ASC to the AAUP's Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure.

The ASC presented its annual awards recognizing exceptional service to the AAUP and to the profession. The William Tacey Award, presented to an individual for outstanding service to a conference over a number of years, was given to David Gruber of Truman State University. The John Hopper Scholarship, awarded to individuals to facilitate their attending their first annual meeting, was presented to David Naugler from Southeast Missouri State University. The Michigan AAUP conference received the ASC Award for the Outstanding Conference Web Page. The Oklahoma conference won the ASC Award for the Outstanding Conventional-Style Conference Newsletter, and the Illinois conference received the ASC Award for the Outstanding Tabloid-Style Conference Newsletter.

Collective Bargaining

Ariel Anderson of Western Michigan University was re-elected chair of the Collective Bargaining Congress and Jeffrey Halpern of Rider University was re-elected vice chair. John Lloyd of California State Polytechnic University-Pomona was elected as at-large member and Cecilia McCall of the City University of New York Bernard Baruch College and Rudy Fichtenbaum of Wright State University were re-elected as at-large members of the Executive Committee of the Collective Bargaining Congress.

Marilyn Sternberg Awards, which are given annually to the AAUP members who best demonstrate a concern for human rights, courage, persistence, political foresight, and collective bargaining skills, went to the Rutgers Council of Chapters' Teaching and Graduate Assistants' Steering Commit-tee and to Carole O'Neill of Emerson College. The steering committee received the award in recognition of its contributions to the collective bargaining process at Rutgers University and its solidarity efforts in support of faculty and part-time lecturers at Rutgers and of graduate student employees across the country. O'Neill, the chief negotiator for the Emerson full-time faculty chapter, received the award for her tireless work in the struggle to maintain collective bargaining for Emerson faculty during extremely difficult negotiations with a hostile administration.

Resolutions

Members approved three resolutions during the annual meeting. They appear below.

Graduate Student Employee Bargaining at Columbia University and Yale University. The American Association of University Professors reaffirms its support for the right of graduate student employees to choose representation by a collective bargaining agent. Graduate student employees at Columbia University and Yale University have expressed their desire for representation respectively by GSEU/UAW (Graduate Student Employees United/United Auto Workers) and GESO/UNITE HERE (Graduate Employees and Students Organization). This annual meeting deplores the refusal of these—and any—university administrations to recognize the right of their graduate student employees to choose collective bargaining. This annual meeting also condemns the statements put forward by the Columbia University administration in a February 2005 memorandum indicating that graduate student employees could face loss of financial support and other injury were they to strike for recognition. While all campus constituencies have the right to express their opinions on such matters, threats and reprisals for union activism are unacceptable in principle, potentially censurable, and are a violation of federal labor law on any campus where it is applicable. The very act of issuing intimidating proposals such as those in the Columbia memorandum can have a serious chilling effect on both speech and action on campus. The Ninety-first Annual Meeting of the American Association of University Professors urges the administrations of Columbia University and Yale University to withdraw these damaging positions and to accept the right of their graduate student employees to bargain collectively and to negotiate in good faith with them.

Attacks on Academic Freedom and the Independence of Colleges and Universities. The Ninety-first Annual Meeting of the American Association of University Professors expresses its deep concern over increased attacks on the academic freedom of teachers and scholars across the nation and the resulting threat these attacks pose to the tradition of institutional independence in American higher education. Individuals and groups outside the academic community, among them state officials, members of Congress, and candidates for political office, are, with increasing frequency, invoking an alleged political or ideological bias within the academic profession as the rationale for involving themselves with the substance of academic decisions and with the content of curriculum and teaching that have been traditionally and appropriately determined by members of the academic community. In some instances, these attacks have been marked by reprehensible tactics of intimidation and harassment.

This meeting takes special notice of so-called academic bills of rights that have been introduced in at least one-fourth of state legislatures. These bills would, in effect, replace academic standards with political criteria for determining whether the faculty of a college or university is fostering a plurality of perspectives. Even when the pressures for them do not result in the passage of undesirable legislation, they represent a gratuitous and irresponsible disrespect for faculties in higher education and for the immense contribution they make to the betterment of our national life.

This interference in activities intrinsic to the academic community is anathema to this Association and to society at large, which can only benefit when academic freedom is preserved.

Teaching Evolution. The theory of evolution is all but universally accepted in the community of scholars and has contributed immeasurably to our understanding of the natural world. The Ninety-first Annual Meeting of the American Association of University Professors deplores efforts in local communities and by some state legislators to require teachers in public schools to treat evolution as merely a hypothesis or speculation, untested and unsubstantiated by the methods of science, and to require them to make students aware of an "intelligent-design hypothesis" to account for the origins of life. These initiatives not only violate the academic freedom of public school teachers, but can deny students an understanding of the overwhelming scientific consensus regarding evolution.

The implications of these efforts for higher education are particularly troubling to this meeting. To the degree that college and university faculty in the field of biology would be required to offer instruction about evolution and the origins of life that complied with these restrictions and was at variance with their own understanding of scientific evidence, their freedom to determine what may be taught and how would be seriously abridged.

This meeting calls on local communities and state officials to reject proposals that seek to suppress discussion of evolution in our public schools as inimical to principles of academic freedom.

Constitutional Amendments

The Ninety-first Annual Meeting amended the AAUP constitution (.pdf), incorporating the proposed changes that were published in the March-April 2005 issue of Academe. Amendments to Articles II, VI, and VII extend to graduate student members the rights to vote and hold elected office in the Association.

 Printer-Friendly Page