What Is the AAUP and
What Can It Do for You and for Us?
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is a nonprofit membership association of faculty and other academic professionals. Founded in 1915, the AAUP has helped to shape American higher education by developing the standards and procedures that maintain quality in education and academic freedom in this country’s universities and colleges.
The AAUP operates on both national and campus levels, sustained by the more than 45,000 members whose dues, commitment, and collective work ensure faculty will have a strong voice. Headquartered in Washington, DC, it has members and chapters based at universities and colleges across the country.
For over 100 years, the American Association of University Professors has been a central organizing force in American higher education. The AAUP works to
- Advance and defend academic freedom
- Promote shared governance and the importance of faculty governance
- Define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education
- Advocate for rights, working conditions, and economic security of all faculty
- Organize and advocate for higher education as a public good
- Combat threats to these principles by legislatures and university administrations
Over the years, the AAUP has established standards recognized by most higher education institutions, such as the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, the 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities, and the 2003 Academic Freedom and National Security in a Time of Crisis. The AAUP urges universities to bring their practices into compliance with these standards. And when violations are flagrant and the issues warrant, an offending institution can be subject to AAUP censure.
The AAUP is a communication center and data resource for higher education. Among other things, the national office publishes the bi-monthly magazine Academe and the Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession that policy makers, faculty and administrators rely on each year. It provides a host of resources, such as:
- Guidebooks on navigating faculty appointments, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and faculty handbooks as enforceable contracts
- Toolkits for organizing for local chapters, fighting educational gag orders, government relations, etc.
- Resources for racial justice and for improving conditions for faculty on contingent appointments
- Information on and strategies for combatting political interference in higher ed
The AAUP national office also
- Offers experienced assistance to individuals, chapters, and state conferences on topics ranging from communications, finance, government relations, law, and research, to academic freedom, tenure, and governance
- Provides training for activists to make local change
- Conducts research on topics such as faculty compensation and the academic workforce, tenure practices, contingent faculty, and much more
- Works to shape the law, influence legislation, and analyze key legal developments
- Promotes and defends faculty collective bargaining
The national AAUP office coordinates activities on many fronts. When Congress considers higher education bills, the AAUP is there to advise and lobby. When state legislatures write their budgets, the AAUP is there. When journalists look for data and information, the AAUP is where they turn. When faculty members are involved in employment disputes, they call the AAUP, which helps resolve more than 1,000 cases each year. Most importantly, when university and college administrations do things that threaten academic freedom, undercut shared governance, or violate faculty codes, they know the AAUP will be there, ready to defend practices the organization helped invent.