2024 AAUP Updates

Today, the AAUP’s Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom released a new white paper, Manufacturing Backlash: Right-Wing Think Tanks and Legislative Attacks on Higher Education, 2021–2023, detailing well-funded and widespread political and legislative attacks on higher education.

AAUP president Irene Mulvey released a statement along with the presidents of Rutgers, Northwestern, and UCLA ahead of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on May 23.

As part of a coalition of 228 national, state, and local civil rights, consumer advocacy, veterans, disability, and labor organizations, the AAUP has submitted comments supporting student debt cancellation. We encourage the US Department of Education to implement it as swiftly and efficiently as possible and to ensure that it provides the maximum amount of relief to borrowers.

The AAUP and its chapters defend the right to free speech and peaceful protest on university campuses, condemn the militarized response by institutional leaders to these activities, and vehemently oppose the politically motivated assault on higher education.

Faculty at the University of Kansas have voted overwhelmingly for a union, affiliated with the AAUP and AFT. United Academics of the University of Kansas represents more than 1,550 full-time and part-time tenured and nontenure-track faculty; teaching, research, clinical and online professors; lecturers; curators; librarians; grant-funded research scientists, and other academic staff.

The AAUP condemns in the strongest possible terms the crackdown on peaceful dissent occuring this week at Columbia, NYU, and other universities nationwide. The arrests of students and faculty are a disproportionate and wrong-headed response to overwhelmingly peaceful campus events.

Our campuses should be places of learning and education. Our goal should be dialogue and communication in service of understanding. Critically evaluating different points of view and putting up to debate even the most deeply held beliefs are what we should be promoting, modeling and supporting. President Shafik’s silencing of peaceful protesters and having them hauled off to jail does a grave disservice to Columbia’s reputation and will be a permanent stain on her presidential legacy.

AAUP president Irene Mulvey released a statement ahead of an upcoming House Education and Workforce Committee hearing.