The AAUP’s Absolutist Antiboycott Policy Reexamined

BY DANIEL A. SEGAL At a moment when the Israeli assault on Gaza has destroyed every university that had existed in Gaza, and the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement again calls on academics outside of Palestine to support the nonviolent strategy of institutional academic boycotts, it is time for the AAUP to reconsider…

Image of the cover of the winter 2024 issue of Academe magazine, "The Higher Ed Data Juggernaut." Ocean waves are overlaid with data points. The words "The Higher Ed" are in white font, and "Data Juggernaut" is in yellow.

From the Guest Editor: The Higher Ed Data Juggernaut

BY SIOBHAN SENIER Following is the guest editor’s introduction to the winter 2024 issue of Academe, out this week. The full table of contents for the issue is available here.  In memoriam David Golumbia* In December 2020, a group of leading scholars of educational technology, including Jesse Stommel—a contributor to this special issue—held a landmark teach-in #AgainstSurveillance. The…

Statements of the AAUP-Penn Executive Committee on the Resignation of President Magill and the December 5 Congressional Hearing

BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF AAUP-PENN The following statement was issued by the executive committee of the University of Pennsylvania AAUP chapter on December 9 in response to the resignation of Penn President Elizabeth Magill following her much-criticized testimony before a Congressional committee. In recent months, trustees, donors, lobbying organizations, and members of Congress have…

spotlight focuses on a dictionary definition of the word "conflict"

In Defense of the AAUP Statement on Polarizing Times

BY JOHN K. WILSON It’s always distressing during contentious times when neutral statements for free speech are twisted beyond recognition with false smears of bias and bigotry. In a November 27 essay in The Hill, Northwestern law professor Steven Lubet denounced the American Association of University Professors for a November 15 statement, “Polarizing Times Demand…

stark, hilly landscape with a row of wind turbines in front of a sunset

Journal of Academic Freedom Explores Landscapes of Power

POSTED BY THE AAUP We are pleased to announce the publication of volume 14 of the AAUP’s Journal of Academic Freedom. Our call for papers, “Landscapes of Power and Academic Freedom,” invited scholarly articles investigating the links between social power and the historical development and contemporary status of academic freedom. Seeking submissions that would build on…

On Threats to Academic Freedom, University Governance, and Safety at the University of Pennsylvania

BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA CHAPTER, AAUP The following statement was issued on October 28, 2023. Over the past few weeks, the Executive Committee of the University of Pennsylvania chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-Penn) has heard from scores of colleagues who, like us, are gravely concerned about violations of…

Cropped cover of the fall 2023 issue of Academe magazine, "Confronting Legislative Attacks on Higher Education"

Editor’s Note: Confronting Legislative Attacks on Higher Education

BY MICHAEL FERGUSON Following is the editor’s introduction to the fall 2023 issue of Academe, out this week. The full table of contents for the issue is available at https://www.aaup.org/issue/fall-2023-confronting-legislative-attacks-higher-education. Students returning to New College of Florida this fall found a campus in the midst of stark transformation. More than a third of the faculty…

Old Main building on the campus of Hamline University in a snowy winter landscape

On Hamline University and Academic Freedom

BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-TWIN CITIES AAUP CHAPTER The following Statement on Hamline University’s Recent “Academic Freedom and Cultural Perspectives: Challenges for Higher Ed Today and Tomorrow” Event – Sep 29, 2023 appeared on the website of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities chapter of the AAUP. The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities chapter of the American…

Call for Proposals: Reconsidering the AAUP’s Racial History

POSTED BY THE AAUP The history of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) since its founding in 1915 has coincided with racial upheaval and transformation in the academy at large, from desegregation to current struggles for racial justice. Academe, the magazine of the AAUP, invites proposals for articles that would examine the Association’s work over…