2024 Summer Institute in Detroit

The 2024 Summer Institute was held from August 1 to August 4 at Wayne State University, in a city that some would consider the birthplace of the American labor movement: Detroit, Michigan. This year’s institute, a combined effort of the AAUP and the AFT, took full advantage of the city’s rich labor history. It also was held as our Wayne State chapter was finishing contract negotiations, and participants from around the country were invited to help their Wayne State colleagues with con­tract campaign mobilization.

AAUP Vice President Rotua Lumbantobing opened the Sum­mer Institute by providing an overview of the future-forward thinking that she and other newly elected officers have in mind for the AAUP. After her opening plenary on “Attacks on Academic Freedom and Campus Free Speech,” attendees enjoyed a resource fair and reception in McGregor Memorial Conference Center—a beautiful building once used as a filming location for Eminem’s “Rap God” video.

Over the following days, attendees participated in workshops and attended panels and roundtables on various topics, including bargaining basics, the analysis and use of financial data, political engagement, responding to AI, student debt relief, organizing, encampments and repression, affirmative action, and issues affecting historically Black colleges and universities and scholars of color. There were also social events planned around visits to important labor history sites in Detroit and Dearborn.

One of the Saturday plenary’s themes was political activism and the preservation of democracy. The session’s highlight was a discussion with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Michigan State Representative Carrie Rheingans. Both Benson and Rheingans have backgrounds in higher education and higher education unions. Their perspectives on the current political climate and what needs to be done to defend democracy received an enthusiastic reception.

Attendees commented that this year’s Summer Institute had an even stronger union and action-oriented focus than in years past. It didn’t hurt that we were in such a strong union town and that most everyone pitched in to help our fellow unionists at Wayne State. After the Summer Institute, the Wayne State faculty settled and ratified their contract with 95 percent support from their members.

You can view and download photographs from the Summer Institute at https://www.flickr.com/photos/aaup/.