Censure

Censure List

This list is published for the purpose of informing Association members, the profession at large, and the public that unsatisfactory conditions of academic freedom and tenure have been found to prevail at these institutions.

CAUT Censures University

The AAUP’s list of censured administrations is published regularly by the Canadian Association of University Teachers in its CAUT Bulletin, and we in turn have agreed to inform the AAUP membership of CAUT’s censure actions.

Tulane Censure Removed

A series of favorable developments at Tulane University led the Association’s 2009 annual meeting to delegate authority to Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure to remove Tulane from the censure list once the university administration provided assurance that it would not cite the removal as a defense in any litigation. Having received a response that it deemed suitable, the committee at its November meeting acted to lift the Tulane University censure.

Canadian Censures

The council of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) at its April 2010 meeting acted to remove the censure of the administration of First Nations University. The censure, imposed in November 2008, was based on concerns over governance issues that had led to attacks on academic freedom. CAUT executive director James Turk reported that the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations approved substantial changes in the university’s structure that satisfactorily addressed these concerns.

Developments Relating to Association Censure

The Association’s staff has prepared the following brief accounts of significant developments during the past year at institutions that appear on the AAUP’s list of administrations censured for serious departures from AAUP-supported standards of academic freedom and tenure. The staff has no significant developments this past year to report regarding institutions on the AAUP’s list of institutions sanctioned for infringing AAUP-supported governance standards.

Developments Relating to Censure by the Association

Acting on behalf of Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, members of the Association’s staff communicate during the course of each year with administrations under censure. The staff offers its assistance and that of Committee A in bringing about changes at the institutions that would enable the committee to recommend to the annual meeting that the censure be removed.

Developments Relating to Association Censure and Sanction

The following are brief accounts by the Association’s staff of significant developments over the past year involving administrations censured by the AAUP (for not observing principles of academic freedom and tenure) and institutions sanctioned by the AAUP (for infringement of governance standards). The accounts are in chronological order, according to the date of imposition of the censure or sanction.

Developments Relating to Association Censure and Sanction

The Association’s staff has prepared the following brief accounts of favorable developments during the past year at institutions whose administrations have incurred AAUP censure (for departures from principles of academic freedom and tenure) or at institutions that are under sanction (for infringement of governance standards). For information about the current status of other censures or sanctions (listed respectively on pages 46 and 54), please contact the Association’s Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Governance.


 

Censure

Developments Relating to Association Censure and Sanction

The Association’s staff has prepared the following brief accounts of significant developments during the past year at institutions whose administrations have incurred AAUP censure (for departures from principles of academic freedom and tenure) or at institutions that are under AAUP sanction (for infringement of academic governance standards).

The AAUP, Academic Freedom, and the Cold War

The Cold War was a tough time for the American Association of University Professors. Unlike today, its dual roles of white-collar union and professional association did not comfortably coexist. Indeed, at key moments, the AAUP’s readiness to defend members’ interests was noticeably absent. This paper will examine one instance when academic freedom was breached, but the organization remained silent. It will focus less on the AAUP than on the academic freedom case itself; the AAUP entered the story, and partially redeemed itself, five years later when it commenced an investigation, issued a report, and subsequently imposed a censure.

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