BY JOHN K. WILSON In the war of words between advocates of the AAUP and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), we need to recognize the value of both organizations. I wrote an essay at Inside Higher Ed, “In Defense of FIRE,” responding to Joan Scott’s critique of FIRE. FIRE president and CEO…
BY TEXAS AAUP-AFT The following statement was released November 19 by the Texas AAUP-AFT. Upon the passage of Senate Bill 17 last year, Texas faculty warned of the detrimental impacts the state’s so-called ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and practices would have on the ability of colleges and universities to perform their duties…
POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN On October 26, the Executive Committee of the University of Pennsylvania AAUP chapter issued the following public statement regarding the recent police raid on Penn undergraduate students: We are alarmed by the Penn administration’s escalating use of police action against Penn students. So too are we alarmed by the University’s pattern—established…
BY MALICK W. GHACHEM In the weeks since writing my recent piece for Academe magazine on last year’s Israel-Palestine campus conflict, the atmosphere on my own campus (MIT) has become, if anything, even more tense. The pressures bearing down on both administrators and students remain all too apparent, as does the war of attrition about…
BY MICHAEL FERGUSON Following is the editor’s introduction to the fall 2024 issue of Academe, “The Status of Academic Collective Bargaining,” out this week. The full table of contents for the issue can be found here. Recently released data from the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions brought…
BY ANTHONY ALESSANDRINI The AAUP’s new “Statement on Academic Boycotts,” which reverses its prior opposition to academic boycotts, is a major declaration. Stating clearly that boycotts “can be considered legitimate tactical responses to conditions that are fundamentally incompatible with the mission of higher education,” it confirms there are instances in which upholding academic freedom may…
BY DANIEL A. SEGAL Several AFT locals—including Local 6741, which represents all AAUP members in advocacy chapters—have put forward resolutions for consideration at next week’s AFT convention in support of divestment by the AFT of its Israeli state bond holding. Calls for divestment typically face questions about the opacity and complexity of particular financial instruments.…
BY CAROLYN BETENSKY In 2020, the AAUP began the process of designing a Racial Equity Initiative that would transform the organization at every level. President Irene Mulvey appointed Dr. Glinda Rawls, Associate Professor of Counselor Education at Western Michigan University and At-Large Council Member, to lead the AAUP on this journey. At the AAUP Biennial…
BY MICHAEL FERGUSON Following is the editor’s introduction to the spring 2024 issue of Academe, “Race and the AAUP,” out this week. The full table of contents for the issue can be found here. This issue of Academe takes an overdue step toward reconsidering the role of race in the AAUP’s history. In a time of backlash against racial…
BY JOHN K. WILSON Former AAUP President Cary Nelson has just published his latest book, Hate Speech and Academic Freedom: The Antisemitic Assault on Basic Principles (Academic Studies Press, 2024). John K. Wilson interviewed him by email about the book. John K. Wilson: You and I disagreed about the Steven Salaita firing at UIUC. You argue…