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
Charles Toombs (Africana Studies)
San Diego State University, chair, 2023

Nicholas Fleisher (Linguistics)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2025

Emily M. S. Houh (Law)
University of Cincinnati, 2024

Rana Jaleel (Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies)
University of California, Davis, 2024

Mark S. James (English)
Molloy College, 2023

Anil Kalhan (Law)
Drexel University, 2023

Michael Meranze (History)
University of California, Los Angeles, 2024

Derryn Moten (History and Political Science)
Alabama State University, 2025

Patricia C. Navarra (English)
Hofstra University, 2023

Jennifer H. Ruth (Film Studies)
Portland State University, 2024

Risa L. Lieberwitz (Law), ex officio as general counsel
Cornell University, 2024

Irene T. Mulvey (Mathematics), ex officio as president
Fairfield Unversity, 2024

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.

Ellen Kress, 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 that an institution be sanctioned for "substantial noncompliance with standards of academic governance."

Members

Allison Buskirk-Cohen (Psychology)
Delaware Valley University, chair, 2023

Marcus Alfred (Physics)
Howard University, 2024

Monica Black (History)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2025

Bethany Carson (English)
Santa Fe Community College, 2025

Simon Fitzpatrick (Philosophy)
John Carroll University, 2024

Shawn Gilmore (English)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2023

Pippa Holloway (History)
University of Richmond, 2024

Afshan Jafar (Sociology)
Connecticut College, 2024

Julia Schleck (English)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2025

Roxanne Shirazi (Library)
City University of New York, Graduate Center, 2025

Brian Turner (Political Science)
Randolph-Macon College, 2023
 
Mark Criley, 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

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

Lenard Anyanwu (Economics)
Union County College, 2025

Cheryl Cardoza (English)
Truckee Meadows Community College, 2024

Glynn Wolar (History)
Mid-Plains Community College, 2024

Shawn Fields, 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

Patricia Navarra (English)
Hofstra University, chair, 2025

Julie Alexander (Business)
Miami University, 2025

Carolyn Betensky (English)
University of Rhode Island, 2024

Amy Higer (International Relations)
Rutgers University-Newark, 2024

Mason Richards (Filmmaking)
Emerson College-Los Angeles, 2025

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, 2023

Whitney DeCamp (Sociology)
Western Michigan University, 2025

Rotua Lumbantobing (Economics)
Western Connecticut State University, 2023

Jan Medlock (Biomedical Sciences)
Oregon State University, 2024

Saranna Thornton (Economics)
Hampden-Sydney College, 2024

Glenn Colby, 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, provide resources, and report on matters of interest to all those who identify as women, femme, and nonbinary, and to 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

Diana Rios (Communication and El Instituto)
University of Connecticut, 2025, chair

Sara Giordano (Interdisciplinary Studies)
Kennesaw State University, 2023

Esther Godfrey (English)
University of South Carolina-Upstate, 2024

Saranna Thornton (Economics)
Hampden-Sydney College, 2024

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, 2024

Joel Berkowitz (English)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2024

Kent Ervin (Chemistry)
University of Nevada–Reno, 2025

Isaac Kamola (Political Science)
Trinity College, 2025

Kevin Kean (Psychology)
Central Connecticut State University, 2024

Nora Kenworthy (Nursing and Health Studies)
University of Washington–Bothell, 2024

Sara Kilpatrick
Executive Director of the Ohio AAUP conference, 2023

James Klein (History)
Del Mar College, 2025

Mary Rose Kubal (Political Science)
St. Bonaventure University, 2024

Avinnash Tiwari (English)
University of Oregon, 2023

Brian Turner (Political Science)
Randolph-Macon College, 2023

Jenna Sablan, 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.

Malori Musselman, 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

Marcus Alfred (Physics)
Howard University, chair, 2023

Antoinette Abeyta (Earth Sciences)
University of New Mexico-Gallup, 2024

Andrew Douglas (Political Science)
Morehouse College, 2024

Emily M. S. Houh (Law),
University of Cincinnati, 2024

Glinda Rawls (Counselor Education)
Western Michigan University, 2023

Jay Thompson, 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

Henry Reichman (History)
California State University-East Bay, chair, 2024 

Cassandra D. Fetters (English)
University of Cincinnati Clermont College, 2024

Brian Gallagher (Library Science)
University of Rhode Island, 2025

Antonio Gallo (Ethnic Studies)
California State University, Northridge, 2024

Jonathan Rees (History),
Colorado State University-Pueblo, 2024

Michael DeCesare, staff