In 1901 when noted economist Edward Ross lost his job at
Stanford University because Mrs. Leland Stanford, Jr. didn't like
his views on the gold standard, other professors were watching.
The incident stuck in the mind of Arthur O. Lovejoy, philosopher
at Johns Hopkins. When he and John Dewey organized a meeting at
Columbia University in 1915 to form an organization to ensure
academic freedom for faculty members, the AAUP was born.
"Academic freedom" was a new idea then.
Eighty years later the AAUP is still addressing the kinds of
abuse that spurred Lovejoy and Dewey to organize the Association.
Academia has changed a lot since 1915, but there are still people
who want to control what professors teach and write. Thanks to
the AAUP, academic freedom is recognized as the fundamental
principle of our profession. Despite this acceptance, academic
freedom remains vulnerable. The attacks are more subtle in some
cases, but the response must always be decisive.
AAUP is still the sole organization primarily dedicated to
protecting the academic freedom of professors. Faculty members
turn to AAUP for assistance in the thousands each year. Some of
these faculty members are well-known figures with resources and
support. Most, however, are ordinary faculty members who need
guidance in responding to troublesome or threatening professional
attacks.
Through AAUP, faculty determine the principles of our
profession and the procedures by which to protect them. When the
AAUP speaks, it is the voice of the profession.
If the AAUP is to continue as the preeminent voice for
academic freedom and faculty rights, it needs strong faculty
support.
The AAUP is the only national organization exclusively
representing the interest of all college and university faculty
members. Founded in 1915, the AAUP establishes and maintains
standards for academic due process and faculty participation in
academic decision making.
Active AAUP membership is open to teaching faculty,
researchers, or those holding similar academic appointments at
accredited colleges and universities. Graduate students,
administrators, and members of the public are also eligible to
join the Association.
Institutions with seven or more national members may form
local chapters. AAUP has members at more than 2.000 institutions,
with local chapters at 800 campuses.
Chapters within states join together to form statewide
organization called conferences to work on legislative and legal
issues within states. There are 39 state conferences.
The 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and
Tenure, jointly authored by AAUP and the Association of American
Colleges (now the Association of American Colleges and
Universities), sets the standards that are basic for the
integrity of institutions of higher learning.
Well over a thousand faculty members-tenured, nontenured,
part-time and full-time-call on AAUP each year for advice and
help about academic freedom and tenure issues. AAUP responds to
complaints of violations by providing consultation, mediation,
and assistance to faculty members in obtaining due process. Lack
of corrective action may lead to an on-site investigation and
censure of the administration. Investigative reports are
published in the AAUP journal, Academe, thereby informing the
academic community of violations of the standards enunciated in
the 1940 Statement of Principles.
AAUP's legal office responds to a variety of inquires on
higher education law. Staff lawyers are experts in areas such as
academic freedom, discrimination, and faculty contracts. AAUP
submits friend-of-the-court briefs in key appellate cases,
working to shape the law in ways supportive of Association
principles and the academic profession. AAUP's amicus briefs
before the Supreme Court and appellate courts on issues of
academic freedom safeguard academic practices.
AAUP's lobbying activities provide Washington and state
capitals with the only distinctly faculty-oriented perspective on
higher education issues. AAUP monitors legislation and provides
expert testimony responsive to faculty interests. AAUP is
committed to equal opportunity, enhanced funding for research and
student aid, and preserving the free and open expression of
ideas.
Each year AAUP publishes the Annual Report on the Economic
Status of the Profession, a comprehensive analysis of faculty
salaries and fringe benefits. Data from research, liberal arts,
comprehensive and two-year college and universities are given by
academic rank and gender. The report includes more than 2,100
institutions. It allows faculty members to compare their own
campus salaries with those at similar institution within the
state and nationally
AAUP's Higher Education Salary Evaluation Kit and Achieving
Pay Equity on Campus help female and minority faculty members
assess salary equity. The kit provides instructions on how to
identify and collect data, and compares the results and costs of
several suggested methods of detecting disparities.
AAUP supports faculty collective bargaining at the option of
local chapters as an additional means for advancing professional
standards. Contracts between faculty and administration are
designed to protect academic freedom and tenure, advance economic
and professional interests, and promote collegial governance.
Advice and assistance to chapters, including legal analysis,
in areas of academic freedom and governance is available to
members and elected leaders. The Collective Bargaining Summer
Institute and the Leadership Training Institute offer workshops
in negotiations, contract and grievance administration, chapter
management, and communications and media relations.
AAUP consultants provide analyses of college budgets and
assistance in obtaining financial information such as IRS 990
forms. Fringe benefits data are available to assist chapters and
state conferences develop and obtain comparable benefits.
AAUP works with chapters to analyze faculty handbooks and to
assist in revising or developing new policies. Advice based on
AAUP policies is provided to university senates, faculty
committees, and legislatures in order to secure full collegial
participation in governance.
Visits by national officers assist chapters in implementing
AAUP standards on individual campuses. The Washington Office
helps chapters obtain speakers and organize workshops on
AAUP-related topics.
Academe, the AAUP's journal for higher education, is published
six times a year. Academe offers news, analysis, and discussions
on matters of faculty concerns, and is the journal of record for
the Association.
The Redbook is a collection of essential AAUP policy documents and reports concerning the rights and responsibilities of members of the academic profession. These policies, perceived as the norms of the profession, command wide respect within the higher education community and have been relied upon by federal and state courts.