BY KATIE STEWART The AAUP’s Capitol Hill Day will be held June 15 as part of the Annual Conference . Here’s what members of the Rhode Island delegation had to say about it last year: The Rhode Island AAUP group was made up of people from variety of backgrounds which generated well-rounded discussions with Representatives Cicilline, Langevin…
BY LAURA MARKWARDT An investigative report released today by the AAUP concludes that the administration of Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, fired Erlene Grise-Owens, a long-serving professor of social work, in blatant violation of academic freedom and due process. The report finds that Spalding’s administration abruptly terminated Professor Grise-Owens’s tenured appointment because she criticized the administration’s…
BY LAURA MARKWARDT This weekend’s science marches on Earth Day shook the world. Scientists, parents, children, educators, and others took to the streets for powerful mobilizations including teach-ins, dancing, and, of course, marching. Michael Mann, member of the AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure and leading climate researcher at Penn State, spoke and…
BY LAURA MARKWARDT Graduate workers with COGS at the University of Iowa are struggling for a fair contract in the midst of state legislation against working people in the public sector. COGS celebrated their 20th Anniversary last year, and the gains they’ve made for graduate employees and students over this time are being quickly erased. Today, COGS holds an action at the University of…
Shortly after the 2016 election, the AAUP warned that we could be facing the greatest threat to academic freedom since the McCarthy period. It now appears that such a warning was not misplaced. Extremists in the administration, Congress, and several state houses have created an atmosphere in which “alternative facts” reign supreme, and which encourages the introduction of legislation that threatens the core principles of our democracy.
BY LAURA MARKWARDT Yesterday, Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s education secretary nominee, submitted written answers to questions from the Senate Education Committee. As in her hearing, she avoided substantially answering questions. Senator Patty Murray says that DeVos’s answers are lacking and has called for a postponement of today’s scheduled committee vote. Senator Al Franken confirmed last week…
BY LAURA MARKWARDT The AAUP issued the following statement today calling for the reversal of the Muslim ban executive order and praising widespread citizen resistance over the weekend. You can add your name in solidarity against the ban here. The AAUP strongly opposes Donald Trump’s unconstitutional and discriminatory ban on entry into the United States…