Against Anticipatory Obedience

A new joint statement out today from the AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure and Committee on College and University Governance discusses how the Trump administration and many state governments appear poised to accelerate attacks on academic freedom, shared governance, and higher education as a public good. They will likely attack the curricular authority of the faculty, including the ability to engage in teaching and research on certain topics.

While administrators and faculty members may have to comply with legislation and court orders, even where these run counter to our values and to professional and constitutional principles, we are free to register our disagreement. Under no circumstances should an institution go further than the law demands. But too often, administrators do. 

As the statement notes, “It is the higher education community’s responsibility not to surrender with such attacks—and not to surrender in anticipation of them.” Instead, we need to vigorously oppose them.

Read the full statement here.