Governance & Advocacy

Access to knowledge is central for effective advocacy. Below you will find resources on academic freedom, shared governance, the power of collective bargaining, and the changing landscape of higher education.

Academic Freedom

AAUP was founded more than a century ago and put academic freedom at the center of their founding principles. The association stated rather loftily in 1940: “Institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good and not to further the interest of either the individual teacher or the institution as a whole. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition.” This social contract among teachers, students, and institutions—which is designed to guarantee freedom in the classroom to discuss any subject without fear of censorship or repression—must be safeguarded. Here is the AAUP’s position on “Freedom and Responsibility.” Please also consult:

• the updated version of the summary on “Academic Freedom and Electronic Communications”;

• AAUP’s central statement “On the Relationship of Faculty Governance to Academic Freedom.”

Shared Governance

Since 1966, when AAUP issued its central policy document on the faculty’s role in governance, cooperation among faculty, administrators, and governing boards have been central to AAUP’s advocacy and organizing mandate. The policy states that “faculty should have primary responsibility for such fundamental areas as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, research, faculty status, and those aspects of student life which relate to the educational process.” Here is an overview of AAUP’s resources on shared governance.

In 2013, AAUP issued this statement on the power of union organizing in response to a tendentious piece in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Collective Bargaining

In 1965 AAUP established the Special Committee on the Representation of Economic Interests to begin extending the activities of the association into collective bargaining. Five years later the faculties at Rutgers, St. John’s, and Oakland Universities became the first  four-year institutions to be represented in collective bargaining by AAUP. Today, AAUP is recognized as the principal representative for non-unionized faculty at universities and colleges in collective advocacy. Read the association’s most recent statement.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Communication with our chapter of the AAUP is private and will not be shared with USC administration.

We encourage you to use a personal, non-USC, email when signing up and communicating with the AAUP in order to to help ensure your privacy.

Membership to the chapter/national organization is kept private and will not be published or shared without members’ prior approval.

COVID-19

AAUP has issued comprehensive guidelines for our teaching over the coming academic terms. Responses to questions about standards in the face of the COVID-19 crisis can be found here, along with AAUP’s Coronavirus Resources.

Financial Crisis

In the United States, educational institutions are facing a severe financial crisis resulting from systemic issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. AAUP has compiled a list of FAQs to respond to recent events.

The Times Higher Education has published an opinion piece on the systemic problems of universities and colleges in English-speaking countries.

The centrist Brookings Institute provides select data.

The more left-leaning Jacobin published an early opinion piece on the crisis in March 2020.