June 16, 2014
Washington, DC—Delegates to the One Hundredth Annual Meeting of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) voted on June 14 to place Northeastern Illinois University on the AAUP’s list of censured administrations. Censure by the AAUP informs the academic community that the administration of an institution has not adhered to generally recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure. With this action, fifty-three institutions are currently on the censure list.
The full list of censured administrations is available at http://www.aaup.org/our-programs/academic-freedom/censure-list/.
The annual meeting approved delegating to the Association’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure the authority to remove Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, from the censure list once the committee can attest that actions are in process at the institution that will ensure the protections of academic due process for full-time faculty members holding contingent appointments.
At the 2013 annual meeting, the Association had taken no action on an investigating committee’s report on program closures at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in order to give the incoming administration time to address the issues raised in the report. In its report on the matter to this year’s meeting, Committee A stated that it was closing its file on the investigation, citing favorable testimony from key faculty groups and the UNI administration. The president of the AAUP collective-bargaining chapter wrote that, by working cooperatively, the administration and the faculty had “made significant progress in restoring respect for academic freedom, tenure, and faculty governance at the University of Northern Iowa.”
Background information and the full investigative reports are available at:
Censured:
Northeastern Illinois University
http://www.aaup.org/report/academic-freedom-and-tenure-NEIU
For more information, please contact Jordan Kurland, 202-737-5900.
Conditional Removal of Censure:
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Full Committee A Recommendation-http://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/files/LSU_Statement2014.pdf
Investigative Report- http://www.aaup.org/report/academic-freedom-and-tenure-louisiana-state-university-baton-rouge
For more information, please contact Jordan Kurland, 202-737-5900.
Closure of Investigation:
University of Northern Iowa
Full Committee A Recommendation-http://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/files/UNI_Censure_Deferral_Report.pdf
Investigative Report- http://www.aaup.org/report/academic-freedom-and-tenure-university-northern-iowa
For more information, please contact Greg Scholtz, 202-737-5900.
The mission of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is to advance academic freedom and shared governance, to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education, and to ensure higher education’s contribution to the common good. Founded in 1915, the AAUP has helped to shape American higher education by developing the standards and procedures that maintain quality in education and academic freedom in this country’s colleges and universities. The AAUP is a nonprofit professional association headquartered in Washington, DC.
