Governance Conference

The AAUP held its shared governance conference and workshops September 30–October 2 in Washington, DC. Plenary speakers were AAUP president Rudy Fichtenbaum, AAUP general counsel Risa Lieberwitz, and Michael DeCesare, chair of the AAUP’s Committee on College and University Governance. Paper panel topics ranged from campus case studies to sessions focusing on curricula, corporatization, and institutional finances in relation to shared governance. Practical workshops on governance included sessions on presidential searches, the relationship between collective bargaining and shared governance, and making senates effective. The growing tensions between current interpretations of Title IX and academic freedom, the subject of an AAUP report released in June, were the focus of a paper panel and a workshop. The full conference program is available at https://www.aaup.org/2016-governance-conference.

The AAUP Foundation supported the conference through a generous grant from the Glick, Rappaport, Tristman Memorial Fund. Three attendees also had their registration fees covered through a grant from the Foundation’s Mary Burgan Fund; preference was given to faculty members likely to broaden the diversity of shared governance on their campuses.