BY KELLY HAND The AAUP’s Journal of Academic Freedom—the only journal dedicated exclusively to scholarship on academic freedom and its relation to shared governance, tenure, and collective bargaining—is searching for a new faculty editor. This online publication includes scholarship from the perspective of various academic disciplines and is international in its scope. If you are a faculty member…
POSTED BY KELLY HAND Today, a strong majority of graduate employees at the University of Chicago filed authorization cards with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a formal union recognition election. Members of Graduate Students United (GSU) personally visited the regional NLRB office to deliver the cards, signed by grad workers from seven…
POSTED BY KELLY HAND Announcing the AAUP’s endorsement of the College for All Act introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Pramila Jayapal in April, AAUP President Rudy Fichtenbaum said “The College for All Act reaffirms our commitment to quality, public higher education as a right for all Americans. It would expand access to higher…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Higher education is misunderstood and struggling financially, but the majority of college and university presidents are increasingly confident that their institutions are financially stable. These seemingly contradictions were found in Inside Higher Education’s annual survey of 706 campus leaders. Let’s set aside the obvious political concerns among presidents about the Trump…
BY KELLY HAND With the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump just two days away, and with legislators in several states targeting higher education—through efforts to eliminate tenure (Iowa and Missouri) and specific courses or programs (Wisconsin and Arizona)—there is an urgent need for faculty to take action to protect academic freedom and quality higher education. The…
BY KELLY HAND The sanctuary campus movement calling on campuses to provide a safe space for undocumented students has been growing quickly since the election. In November the AAUP issued a statement saying the following about sanctuary campuses: “Of special importance is the status of those among our students who are undocumented, many of whom…
BY KELLY HAND Yesterday, the AAUP shared with members a petition inviting them to ask to have their names added to the Professor Watchlist, a website that purports to expose faculty who “advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.” To counter these alarmist accusations, we will include the names of all who sign the AAUP petition–open to nonmembers also–in an…
BY KELLY HAND In 1967, during a period of intense student protests, the AAUP and four other groups issued a Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students. Many issues covered in the statement are as pertinent fifty years later as they were in 1967, and the AAUP invites proposals for presentations focused on these…
BY KELLY HAND Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X Kendi Hardcover On November 16, the National Book Foundation awarded Ibram X. Kendi the National Book Award for Nonfiction for his book Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. We congratulate him and…
BY KELLY HAND Several AAUP chapters have issued statements dealing with the presidential election and its repercussions on higher ed. The University of Connecticut-AAUP issued a statement supporting a statement made last week by the AAUP and the AAUP Collective Bargaining Congress. The chapter affirms its “longstanding commitment to inclusiveness, democracy, and academic freedom and…