Academic Freedom

Academic Freedom in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania State Senate has unanimously passed a law requiring faculty members to choose "the least expensive, educationally sound textbooks." This vague and possibly unenforceable standard undermines the right of faculty members to select the best textbook. 

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Bethune-Cookman Report Now Online

An Association investigating committee report on Bethune-Cookman University in Florida, now published on the AAUP’s Web site, deals with the 2009 dismissal of four professors and the termination of the services of three additional faculty members. The stated reasons for these actions ranged from charges of sexual harassment of students to claims of insufficient academic credentials to the purported need to reduce the size of the faculty for financial reasons.

Defending Academic Freedom in the Age of Garcetti

As the 2006 Supreme Court decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos continues to reverberate in academe, the best way for faculty members to defend their academic freedom is not through the courts but through clear university policies.

Academic Freedom and the Corporate University

Commercial threats on campus have mounted—from industry control of research and corporate ghostwriting to restrictive sponsored-research agreements and intellectual property deals that place profits ahead of public health.

Advocacy and Faculty Rights

Update (2/1): Kristopher Petersen-Overton announced that he has been rehired. Cary Nelson called the rehiring "a victory for academic freedom and for the faculty."

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"Obvious Assault on Academic Freedom"

Update 4/12/11: At their recent meeting, the American Conference for Irish Studies passed a resolution supporting "the American Association of University Professors's efforts on behalf of academic freedom, shared governance, and tenure in Higher Education, and it endorses Chancellor Martin's affirmation of the value of academic freedom in her April 1 letter to the campus community."

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Academic Freedom In Contentious Practice

Knowledge In The Making: Academic Freedom And Free Speech in America's Schools And Universities. Joan DelFattore. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2010.

 

Censure Removals Bring Closure

 Delegates to the Ninety-seventh Annual Meeting of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) voted on June 11 to remove the University of New Orleans and Loyola University New Orleans, the city’s two universities that remained on the AAUP’s list of censured administrations from its censure list. 

Resources on Academic Freedom

AAUP Policy Statements, Reports, & Analysis 

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