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.
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.
Committee A Members
Rana Jaleel (Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies and Asian American Studies)
University of California, Davis, chair, 2027
Mark S. James (English)
Molloy College, 2026
Anil Kalhan (Law)
Drexel University, 2026
Risa Lieberwitz (Law)
Cornell University, 2027
Michael Meranze (History)
University of California, Los Angeles, 2027
Patricia C. Navarra (Writing Studies and Rhetoric)
Hofstra University, 2026
Jennifer Ruth (Film Studies)
Portland State University, 2028
Ellen Schrecker (History)
Yeshiva University, 2026
Joan Wallach Scott (Social Science)
Institute of Advanced Study, 2027
Brian Soucek (Law)
University of California, Davis, 2027
Charles Toombs (Africana Studies)
San Diego State University, 2026
Todd Wolfson (Media Studies), ex officio as president
Veena Dubal (Law), ex officio as general counsel
Mia McIver (English), ex officio as executive director
Vacant, 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.
Brian Allen, 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
Afshan Jafar (Sociology)
Connecticut College, chair, 2027
Marcus Alfred (Physics)
Howard University, 2027
Shawn Gilmore (English)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2027
Pippa Holloway (History)
University of Richmond, 2027
Henry Reichman (History)
California State University, East Bay, 2028
Brian Turner (Political Science)
Randolph-Macon College, 2026
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
Cheryl Cardoza (English)
Truckee Meadows Community College, 2027
Glynn Wolar (History)
Mid-Plains Community College, 2027
Kim Piper, 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
Bryan Sacks (Media Studies)
Rutgers University, chair, 2028
Lorena Grundy (Engineering)
University of Pennsylvania, 2028
Heather Hax (Sociology)
Towson University, 2028
Lynne Turner, (Sociology)
City University of New York, 2028
Mariah Quinn, 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
Rotua Lumbantobing (Economics)
Western Connecticut State University, chair, 2026
Whitney DeCamp (Sociology)
Western Michigan University, 2028
Oskar Harmon (Economics)
University of Connecticut, 2026
Jan Medlock (Biomedical Sciences)
Oregon State University, 2027
Saranna Thornton (Economics)
Hampden-Sydney College, 2027
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
Esther Godfrey (English)
University of South Carolina–Upstate, 2027
Rachel O'Donnell (Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program)
University of Rochester, 2028
Saranna Thornton (Economics)
Hampden-Sydney College, 2027
Vacant, 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
Joel Berkowitz (English)
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, 2027
Karma Chávez (Mexican American Studies, Latina/o Studies)
University of Texas at Austin, 2026
Kevin Kean (Psychology)
Central Connecticut State University, 2027
Nora Kenworthy (Nursing and Health Studies)
University of Washington–Bothell, 2027
Mary Rose Kubal (Political Science)
St. Bonaventure University, 2027
Brian Turner (Political Science)
Randolph-Macon College, 2026
Kelly Benjamin, 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.
Lukas Moe, 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, 2026
Andrew Douglas (Political Science)
Morehouse College, 2027
Tamika Baldwin-Clark (Social Work)
Prairie View A&M University, 2026
Dawn Bishop McLin (Psychology)
Jackson State University, 2026
Andrea Brown (Human Behavior)
College of Southern Nevada, 2026
Tabitha Morton (Political Science)
Prairie View A&M University, 2026
Jerome 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, 2027
Cassandra D. Fetters (English)
University of Cincinnati Clermont College, 2027
Michael DeCesare, staff