BY KELLY HAND

Over the past few months, Academe Blog has published many posts—by contributing editors, other regular bloggers, and guest bloggers—about the pandemic and its impact on higher education. Our collective preoccupation with this topic is not surprising, since we all live with the daily consequences of the pandemic, even as it has become obvious that it poses disproportionate danger to the lives and livelihoods of people of color. In the past week, as people around the world have united in protest against the brutal murders of George Floyd and countless other victims of police violence, our collective attention has shifted to the overarching and pernicious threat of systemic racism to our society and to its most vulnerable members.

Staff and leadership of the AAUP, like those of many other higher education associations, are taking a critical look at the work we have done in the past to address systemic racism and engaging in challenging conversations about how we can do more—and do it more thoughtfully and more meaningfully. While such conversations do not result in any easy answers, we agree that the work of antiracism is everyone’s job and that it should inform all of the AAUP’s activities.

As the AAUP staff member responsible for managing the blog, I want to invite AAUP members and allies in the academic community to contribute submissions about the issues that matter most right now to faculty and students, including racism and antiracist work; the pandemic and its consequences for institutions and individuals; and other higher education topics. We have long sought to include on our blog a more diverse range of voices, particularly of those who are often marginalized within the profession, including contingent faculty. The voices of white men are disproportionately represented on our blog, and we are especially eager to hear from women and people of color who might become regular bloggers and, eventually, contributing editors.

Please visit our submissions page to learn more about writing for the blog and about our editorial policies.