BY HANK REICHMAN “If there’s an organized outrage machine, we need an organized response.” Those words from Tressie McMillan Cottom, assistant professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, author of the excellent Lower Ed, prolific blogger, and frequent (and often witty) presence on Twitter, headline a story in this morning’s Chronicle of Higher Education on…
BY HANS-JOERG TIEDE In a victory for academic freedom, the administration of Trinity College in Connecticut acknowledged today that Professor Johnny Williams’s social media posts “were protected by academic freedom and did not violate Trinity College policies.” The administration’s statement observed that “Our understanding of academic freedom in America today is rooted largely in a…
NOTE: These two letters were read to the audience directly prior to the votes to censure Community College of Aurora and Spalding University at the AAUP Annual Meeting, June 17, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Statement from Nate Bork Community College of Aurora, Aurora, Colo. Prior to AAUP’s presence in Colorado, all higher education faculty in…
POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN Today the AAUP issued the following statement: The AAUP notes with sadness the death of long-serving former staff member Evelyn Miller in May at the age of 89. The Association’s operations in the areas of academic freedom and tenure received essential support for many decades from Miller, who was a member…
POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN The following is a statement from the AAUP and the American Federation of Teachers. The ‘code of ethics’ that the government of Israel is considering for the country’s academic institutions is a threat not only to academic freedom in Israel, but to Israel’s standing as a democracy. We join with colleagues in…
BY JOHN K. WILSON Harry Keyishian was a special honoree at the AAUP’s annual awards luncheon today ‘for his courage, integrity, and unstinting commitment to academic freedom.” This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Keyishian v. Board of Regents, which established academic freedom as “a special concern of the First Amendment.”…
BY JOHN K. WILSON At the 103rd Annual Meeting today, the AAUP members voted to pass resolutions on funding cuts to the University of Puerto Rico and Illinois colleges, imposed censure on two administrations, and removed two administrations from the censure list. The AAUP voted to impose censure on the Community College of Aurora in…
BY JOHN K. WILSON On Wednesday, June 14, 3-5pm at the Newseum in Washington DC, the Newseum and the AAUP are holding a special preview event for the AAUP annual conference, “The First Amendment on Campus: Freedom of Speech and the Press in Higher Education.” In order to attend this free event (which is open…