2024 AAUP Updates

The AAUP has received a grant from the Mellon Foundation to establish a Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, with the aim of examining and confronting the recent surge of political and ideological attacks on American higher education.

The AAUP released a statement today commenting on the recent US House Committee on Education and the Workforce demand for documents and information from the University of Pennsylvania on attempts to curb antisemitism. The statement calls on administrators, faculties, trustees, and all who care about higher education as a public good in a democracy to resist political interference and reaffirm their commitments to academic freedom, freedom of expression, shared governance, and institutional autonomy.

New guidance is out from the AAUP and AFT to help our members navigate campus free speech and academic freedom in politically charged contexts.

After identifying four trends in political interference in higher education, a new statement on political interference suggests practical ways faculty members can counteract legislative interference and includes a sample resolution faculty members can adopt to call upon university administration to safeguard AAUP-supported principles and standards of academic freedom, tenure, and governance.

The statement appears at a time when fierce assaults on higher education are threatening the progress made on racial and gender equality. Discriminatory attacks on efforts to advance knowledge about race, gender, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability are inseparable from a larger and even more dangerous campaign against core academic values—including shared governance, academic freedom, and tenure—and learning itself.

The AAUP is seeking qualified candidates for the position of executive director in our Washington, DC, office. Application packets and resumes for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Screening will continue until the position is filled. This position requires a commitment to racial equity and involves working with diverse individuals both inside and outside of the AAUP office.

Learn more.