Academic Freedom, Even for Amy Wax

Guest blogger Keith E. Whittington is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University and the author of Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech. Amy Wax, a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania, has once again annoyed her colleagues and students and provoked calls for her prompt dismissal. It…

Large lecture hall

Declaration of the Global Forum on Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy

BY THE GLOBAL FORUM ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM, INSTITUTIONAL AUTONOMY, AND THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY June 21, 2019 DECLARATION The Global Forum on Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy was held at Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg on 20 – 21 June 2019 and co-organized by the Council of Europe; the International Consortium…

College Counselors and the Exploitation of Contingent Faculty

BY JANE S. GABIN College Counselors responsible for steering high school students towards college might not realize it, but they are crucial allies of instructors at those colleges and universities. Counselors connect admissions representatives with prospective students by scheduling college fairs with tables or booths and information sessions with individual college representatives. They are busy…

image of Louisiana painted as a red state contrasted with contiguous states painted blue or purplish brown

Letter from Louisiana: Advocacy Organizing in Red America

BY LINDA CARROLL For red state advocacy members, it is heartening that the national leadership and staff of the AAUP are planning a renewed emphasis on organizing in advocacy situations, as announced at this year’s June meeting. Advocacy organizing in red states has a number of distinctive features, as I learned from decades of work…

Current Controversy Recalls Past AAUP Victory

BY ROBERT CHERNY On June 25, 2019, the San Francisco school board voted unanimously to either paint out or cover with solid panels the thirteen separate murals that make up The Life of Washington, a WPA-funded art project by Victor Arnautoff.  The board’s decision came after several years of advocacy led by the district’s American…

Terminated St. Edward's University professor Shannan Edwards speaking at the AAUP's 2019 annual meeting.

Holding St. Edward’s University to Its True Mission

BY SHANNAN H. BUTLER The following remarks were presented on Saturday, June 15, at the AAUP’s 105th annual meeting, which voted to place St. Edward’s University on the AAUP’s list of censured administrations. You can read the report of the AAUP’s investigating committee here.  In all honesty, I do not wish to be here today. Please…

Why Reducing Law School Debt Will Not Increase Public Interest Work

BY STEVEN LUBET When the University of Alabama returned over $21 million to its largest-ever single donor, and removed his name from its law school, it either was or wasn’t because of his outspoken opposition to the state’s ultra-restrictive new abortion law. According to Hugh Culverhouse, Jr., “the administrators at the university [chose] zealotry over…