from the president

From the President: Whose Academic Freedom?

Thirty years ago, as a recently tenured associate professor, I was one of the first beneficiaries of a new department rule—that all faculty members would periodically teach first-year composition. The guidelines for the course had changed quite a bit over the years, but two that were in place at the time presented me with problems: that I had to choose one of five textbooks that had been selected and that I had to assign ten papers over the course of the fifteen-week semester. Invoking academic freedom, I informed the course chairperson that I would do neither.

From the President: Dues Reform

Those of you who were at the AAUP’s annual meeting this year had the opportunity to attend our immensely successful international conference on academic freedom. From an experience that has often mixed moments of inspiration with the rhythms of an annual death march, the annual meeting overnight was transformed into a major intellectual event. The Chronicle of Higher Education alone carried nine separate stories about the conference. People enjoyed themselves. We will expand the conference next year.

From The President: Bad-Faith Bargaining

As the AAUP moves toward implementation of its restructuring plan and the creation of a traditional 501c(5) labor union, we should ask ourselves how we can further enhance the effectiveness and visibility of those parts of our organization that are involved in  collective bargaining.

From the President: Ethics and Corporatization

Almost every institutional problem we confront in higher education today situates us at the intersection of ethics and corporatization. Should we protect our lower-paid colleagues from pay cuts and furloughs? Should higher-paid faculty and administrators make sacrifices for community members living on the margins? Which is more important—a new campus building or free health care for all employees?

From the President: Why We Need Dues Reform

In fall 2007, the AAUP began sending out twice-monthly emails to nearly 400,000 faculty members nationwide. About 350,000 of those were nonmembers. We called attention to our key policy statements and reports, alerted people to emerging higher education issues, and publicized AAUP initiatives. As a result, many faculty members are better informed about what the AAUP is and what it does. Tens of thousands now have an intellectual, philosophical, political, and professional relationship with the AAUP that they did not have before.

From the President: Collaborative Budgeting

The AAUP has long been on the record about the importance of the faculty’s participation in budgetary decisions. The organization gave specific emphasis to the issue in its 1972 statement The Role of the Faculty in Budgetary and Salary Matters. Yet it is no secret that the recession has led a number of administrations to undermine this principle, either imposing actions without sufficient consultation or denying faculty members access to the financial information they need to make well-informed recommendations.

From the President: Will Any Good Come of It?

At its June meeting, the AAUP’s national Council opted for a one-year experiment in open nominations for the 2011 Council races. As in the recent rerun of the election for the chair of the Assembly of State Conferences, any member in good standing will be able to run for a Council position, either in his or her own district or for a nationwide seat. The only additional requirement is that each candidate submit a petition signed by at least six current AAUP members.

From the President: Corporate-Funded Research

Shortly after the news broke that BP was issuing research contracts with unusually restrictive provisions to scientists doing research on the Gulf oil spill, I published a statement of concern in Inside Higher Ed.

From the President: The Last Chance

Incremental state funding of public higher education is over. The annual legislative battle for a percentage increase in higher education budgets is now a losing proposition. That is one cold lesson of the last two years. The era of the state funding budget cycle for higher education has, for all practical purposes, come to an end. Public funding is being inexorably replaced by incremental cost shifting from states to students, with tuition revenue and student debt replacing tax dollars.

From the President: Reforming Faculty Identity

Last year the AAUP’s Committee on Contingency and the Profession issued an important report titled Tenure and Teaching-Intensive Appointments. I have repeatedly endorsed its recommendation that all long-term college teachers be granted tenure at the percentage appointments they currently have. I always point out that the proposal is budget-neutral. It doesn’t make institutions give contingent faculty members a living wage; it just gives them job security, though of course they’d be better able to agitate for improved working conditions if they were tenured.

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