Committees

AAUP standing committees work on a variety of topics of importance to higher education and to faculty. Special committees are occasionally appointed to address a specific issue. The president of the Association serves as an ex officio member of all committees. In addition to topical standing and special committees, listed below, the AAUP has the following leadership committees:

A description of each standing committee follows, along with a list of committee members. Members are appointed to committees by the president of the Association. The date of appointment expiration is given after each name. Members of the national AAUP staff are assigned to assist the committees in their work. The Constitution provides that the president shall be ex officio a member of all committees except the Nominating Committee, the Election Committee, and the Election Appeals Committee.

Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure
Committee on Academic Professionals
Committee on College and University Governance
Committee on Community Colleges
Committee on Contingency and the Profession
Committee on the Economic Status of the Profession
Committee on Gender and Sexuality in the Academic Profession
Committee on Government Relations
Committee on Graduate and Professional Students
Committee on Historically Black Institutions and Scholars of Color
Committee on Professional Ethics
Committee on Teaching, Research, and Publication

Academic Freedom and Tenure (Committee A)

Promotes principles of academic freedom, tenure, and due process in higher education through the development of policy documents and reports relating to these subjects and the application of those principles to particular situations that are brought to its attention. The staff is authorized to receive, on behalf of the committee, complaints of departures from these standards and, where appropriate, to undertake formal investigations. Such investigations may lead to a recommendation from the committee to the Association’s national council and annual meeting that the administration of an institution be censured for failure to adhere to the principles of academic freedom and tenure as endorsed by the AAUP and hundreds of other professional and educational organizations. Read Committee A reports or investigative reports.

Committee A Members
Henry Reichman (History)
California State University, East Bay, chair, 2021

Jeffrey R. Halpern (Anthropology)
Rider University, 2021

Emily M. S. Houh (Law)
University of Cincinnati, 2021

Ibram X. Kendi (History and International Relations)
American University, 2020

Michael E. Mann (Meteorology)
Pennsylvania State University, 2021

Michael Meranze (History)
University of California, Los Angeles, 2021

Walter Benn Michaels (English)
University of Illinois at Chicago, 2022

Irene T. Mulvey (Mathematics)
Fairfield University, 2022

Robert C. Post (Law)
Yale University, 2020

Jennifer H. Ruth (Film Studies)
Portland State University, 2021

Joan Wallach Scott (History)
Institute for Advanced Study, 2022

Donna Young (Law)
Albany Law School, 2021

Risa L. Lieberwitz (Law), ex officio as general counsel
Cornell University, 2020

Julie M. Schmid, ex officio as executive director

Gregory F. Scholtz, staff

Academic Professionals

Deals with issues involving college and university professionals who work in positions other than faculty appointments. Such issues include recruitment and appointment, compensation, job security, and protection of professional autonomy and responsibility. The committee also promotes the inclusion of academic professionals in the AAUP.

Members

Courtney Bailey (Advising)
Portland State University, 2021

Jim Bakken, staff

College and University Governance

Promotes meaningful faculty participation in institutional governance through the development of policy statements and reports related to shared governance and application of those principles to particular situations that are brought to its attention.  The staff is authorized to receive, on behalf of the committee, complaints of departures from these standards and, where appropriate, to undertake formal investigations. Such cases may lead to a recommendation from the committee to the Association’s national council and annual meeting that an institution be sanctioned for "substantial noncompliance with standards of academic governance."

Members

Michael DeCesare (Sociology)
Merrimack College, chair, 2020
 
Rachel Ida Buff (History)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2022
 
Allison Buskirk-Cohen (Psychology)
Delaware Valley University, 2020

Bethany Carson (English)
Santa Fe Community College, 2022
 
Philip Cole (Physics)
Lamar University, 2020
 
Ruben Garcia (Law)
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2021

Pippa Holloway (History)
Middle Tennessee State University, 2021
 
Susan Jarosi (Art History and Women's and Gender Studies)
Hamilton College, 2022

Julia Schleck (English)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2022

Noeleen McIlvenna (History)
Wright State University, liaison from the AAUP-CBC, 2020 

Brian Turner (Political Science)
Randolph-Macon College, liaison from the ASC, 2020
 
Hans-Joerg Tiede, staff

Community Colleges

Deals with issues of concern to faculty in the nation’s community colleges.  Advances AAUP principles on community college campuses in such matters as faculty workload, shared governance, academic freedom, and the over-reliance on contingent academic labor.

Members

Kimberley Reiser (Biology)
Nassau Community College, chair, 2021

Hollis Glaser (Speech, Communications, and Theatre Arts)
City University of New York Borough of Manhattan Community College, 2022

James Klein (History)
Del Mar College, 2022

Caprice Lawless (English)
Front Range Community College, 2020

Glynn Wolar (History)
Mid-Plains Community College, 2020

Jason Elias, Staff

Contingency and the Profession 

Deals with issues related to contingent faculty appointments.  Works to improve conditions for contingent faculty members and to reverse the trend towards part-time and non-tenure-track appointments.

Members

Caprice Lawless (English)
Front Range Community College, 2022 chair

Carolyn Betensky (English)
University of Rhode Island, 2021

Gretchen McNamara (Music)
Wright State University, 2020

Catherine Moran (Sociology)
University of New Hampshire, 2022

Chris Nagel (Philosophy)
California State University, Stanislaus, 2022

Joel O'Dorisio (Art)
Bowling Green State University, 2021

Margaret Stein (Writing Studies)
Hofstra University, 2020

David Kociemba, staff

Economic Status of the Profession

In collaboration with the Association’s research office, prepares the annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, using data collected in the AAUP’s annual faculty compensation survey. The report describes national trends in faculty compensation, as well as issues in the financial organization and condition of higher education, and is a valued resource throughout the higher education community.

Members

Oskar Harmon (Economics)
University of Connecticut, chair, 2020

Whitney DeCamp (Sociology)
Western Michigan University, 2022

Barbara Hopkins (Economics)
Wright State University, 2021

Robert Kelchen (Higher Education)
Seton Hall University, 2021

Vacant, staff

Gender and Sexuality in the Academic Profession

In June 2019 the AAUP Council, acting on the recommendation of members of the affected committees, voted to merge the Committee on Women in the Academic Profession and the Committee on Sexual Diversity and Gender Identity into the new Committee on Gender and Sexuality in the Academic Profession.

The committee will formulate policy statements, provides resources, and reports on matters of interest to all those who identify as women, femme, and nonbinary, and the academic community, addressing such issues as equity in pay, work/family balance, sexual harassment and discrimination, Title IX, and the role of gender and sexuality in rank and tenure.

Members

Rana Jaleel (Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies)
University of California, Davis, chair, 2021

Sally Dear-Healey (Sociology and Anthropology)
State University of New York College at Cortland, 2020

Kelly Dennis (Art and Art History)
University of Connecticut, 2022

Tina Kelleher (English)
Towson University, 2020

Maura Kelly (Sociology)
Portland State University, 2021

Kathryn Kuhn (Sociology and Anthropology)
Saint Louis University, 2021

Anita Levy, staff

Government Relations

Works on government relations at all levels of government, advocating positions that are beneficial to the higher education community. Members of the committee analyze bills before Congress and state legislatures, recommend Association policy with regard to proposed legislation, and, on occasion, testify at legislative and executive hearings on mattes of concern to higher education.

Members
John T. McNay (History),
University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash College, chair, 2021

Natalio Avani (Education),
San Francisco State University, 2022

Michael Behrent (History),
Appalachian State University, 2020

Rachel Ida Buff (History)
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, 2021

Kevin Kean (Psychology)
Central Connecticut State University, 2021

Sara Kilpatrick
executive director of the Ohio AAUP conference, 2020

James Klein (History)
Del Mar College, 2022

David P. Nalbone (Behavioral Sciences)
Purdue University Northwest, 2021

Paul Davis (Behavioral and Social Sciences),
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, ex officio as chair of the AAUP-CBC, 2021

Lynn Tatum (Religion),
Baylor University, liaison from the ASC, 2021

Monica Owens, staff

Graduate and Professional Students

Deals with issues of special concern to graduate students, such as intellectual and academic freedom, institutional policy, collective bargaining, and those points outlined in the Association’s Statement on Graduate Students. Monitors and reports on the status of graduate students in the context of AAUP policies and principles.
 

Kira Schuman, staff

Historically Black Institutions and Scholars of Color

Deals with issues of special concern to historically black institutions and to minority faculty members in general.  The committee is concerned with access to opportunities in higher education for traditionally underrepresented groups and has focused its recent efforts on affirmative action and diversity, and outreach to faculty at minority serving institutions.

Members
Julian Madison (History)
Southern Connecticut State University, chair, 2020

Emily M. S. Houh (Law),
University of Cincinnati, 2021

Kenyal McGee (Accounting)
Central State University, 2020

Katherine Morrison (Community Health and Wellness)
Curry College, 2020

Jason Elias, staff

Professional Ethics

Promotes the observance of professional and ethical standards by members of the higher education community through the development of policy statements and reports and the application of those principles to particular ethical situations.

Aaron Nisenson, staff

Teaching, Research, and Publication

Addresses issues of concern to all faculty, such as faculty workload, teaching evaluation, assessment, and curricular issues, through the development of policy documents and reports and the application of those principles to particular situations.

Members

Daniel Murphy (History),
Hanover College, chair, 2021

Martin Kich (English),
Wright State University, 2022

Jonathan Rees (History),
Colorado State University-Pueblo, 2021

Gwendolyn Bradley, staff