national poetry month logo

On Florida’s “Diversity Legislation”: A Poem

POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN Responding to the AAUP’s statement opposing Florida’s “viewpoint diversity” legislation, a colleague teaching at a major research university sent me this poem.  The would-be poet wishes to remain anonymous; something about preserving dignity.  This year marks the 25th annual April celebration of National Poetry Month, so I thought it worth posting. …

Figure showing freezes or reductions to full-time faculty salaries.

Faculty Compensation Survey Shows Decreases in Real Wages

BY GLENN COLBY The results of the AAUP’s 2020–21 Faculty Compensation Survey, released today, show that real wages for full-time faculty decreased for the first time since the Great Recession, and average wage growth for all ranks of full-time faculty was the lowest since the AAUP began tracking annual wage growth in 1972. After adjusting…

tear in thick brown paper reveals the word "governance" in block letters on a white background

2021 AAUP Shared Governance Conference

BY MICHAEL DECESARE The 2021 AAUP Shared Governance Conference is in June, and there’s just one week left to submit a proposal for a paper presentation on a topic relating to academic governance. Authors are encouraged to explore connections between their institutions and other institutions, and to consider the application of AAUP governance policies. Possible areas of focus…

Faculty Respond to Mills College Closure

BY HANK REICHMAN On March 17, President Elizabeth Hillman of Mills College announced that the trustees of the 169-year-old women’s college in Oakland, California, had decided to close admissions after this year and stop conferring degrees no later than Fall 2023, thereby effectively closing the school.  According to Hillman, an undefined “Mills Institute” will continue…

A Better University is Possible: The Official Launch of UMD AAUP

BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AAUP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Dear Colleagues, Are you troubled by the direction that the University of Maryland has headed in recent years? We are. In March 2021, we relaunched the University of Maryland Chapter of the American Association of University Professors  (UMD AAUP) because we believe a different university is possible.…

University Administrator and Faculty Pay in the New Gilded Age

BY PAUL CAMPOS The following is reposted with permission from the Lawyers, Guns, and Money blog.  Paul Campos is Professor of Law at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Here are some numbers that I hope speak for themselves. ALL FIGURES ARE INFLATION-ADJUSTED INTO CONSTANT 2018 OR 2019 DOLLARS. Salary of full-time faculty at American colleges…

More on Yale and the Goldwater Rule

BY STEVEN LUBET Hank Reichman’s recent post on the Bandy Lee case at the Yale Medical School raises an important point that deserves some further consideration.  To recap, Dr. Lee has sued Yale for firing her from an unpaid, part-time position in the psychiatry department.  Lee’s offense involved tweeting about the mental health of Donald…

Remaining Engaged, Finding New Ways to Contribute

BY MARTIN KICH I initially became involved in AAUP because I was very impressed by Rudy Fichtenbaum’s and Jim Vance’s commitment to defending our colleagues’ right to fair treatment—by their commitment to the principles that I would come to recognize as the core principles of AAUP: academic freedom, shared governance, and economic security. I recall…