Katherine Morrison Racial Equity Fund

The AAUP has set aside a special grant fund, named in honor of Katherine Morrison, to provide grants to AAUP chapters and state conferences to support programs that promote and support racial equity at the chapter, conference, campus, and/or state level. Any AAUP state conference or AAUP chapter in good standing may apply.

To apply for a grant from the Katherine Morrison Racial Equity Fund, the chapter or state conference should provide a short explanation of the proposed program, how much grant funding is being requested, and how the grant funds will be used to further racial equity work at the conference, chapter, campus, or institution level. A short paragraph should suffice. Please note that grant awards will not exceed a maximum of $5,000 per calendar year.

As additional documentation, the chapter or conferences should include: a copy of the conference or chapter budget and most recent bank statements, a copy of the chapter or conference racial equity plan, and any other required documents.

Grants are awarded by the AAUP Council. Council will review grant applications at their quarterly meetings, which generally occur in the following months: March, June, August, and November (check our events page for specific dates). We accept applications on a rolling basis but encourage applicants to submit them at least a month in advance of a quarterly meeting to ensure prompt review.

Please direct all grant applications and questions to [email protected].

Honoring the Legacy of Katherine Morrison

Longtime AAUP member Katherine Morrison, who died in March 2023 at the age of fifty-one from complications related to diabetes, was a popular professor of health and wellness at Curry College, where she coordinated majors in community health and wellness and public health and wellness. She served on the Executive Committee of the AAUP Collective Bargaining Congress, the elected body that represented members of AAUP collective bargaining chapters prior to the Association’s 2020 organizational restructuring. Through her inspirational leadership as a member of that committee, Katherine helped the AAUP to begin its journey toward addressing racial inequity and pursuing racial justice in higher education and in the Association. She was a talented, prize-winning public speaker and the author of multiple publications, including the preventive handbook “Talkin’ and Testifyin’ A “Courageous Conversations: Teaching Race, Class, Gender, and Social Justice”frican American Women Talk about Domestic Violence.” 

Photo by Michael Ferguson/AAUP: Katherine Morrison leading the interactive presentation “Courageous Conversations: Teaching Race, Class, Gender, and Social Justice” at the AAUP's 2017 Summer Institute at the University of Cincinnati.