Over the course of the last century, the AAUP has advocated for the expansion of the protections of tenure and of the right to participate in governance to larger segments of the academic profession. Each expansion arguably served to reinforce the other and served to solidify academic freedom. This talk will give a brief overview of the historical developments that led to the AAUP's conception of tenure in 1940 and the impact of ever rising levels of contingent hiring on academic freedom today. It will close with a discussion of the relevance of earlier conceptions of tenure to addressing the contemporary crisis of contingency in the profession.
Due to concerns about COVID-19, the AAUP office has transitioned to telework. Please contact staff by email.
