The nation’s oldest faculty organization, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), is marking its 100th anniversary this year. In the lead-up to the centennial celebration, the New York State AAUP chapter is holding its annual chapter conference, “Academic Freedom and Shared Governance,” at Columbia Teachers College from April 24-26.
“In a time when Academia faces increasingly harsh attacks on shared governance, academic freedom and tenure, it is essential that we build our state AAUP chapters,” said PSC members and AAUP leaders Anne Friedman and James Davis in a joint statement. “AAUP core values are being undermined by long-term structural changes to the academy: corporatization, budget cuts, and reliance on a growing contingent workforce.”
John Dewey and other prominent intellectuals met at Teachers College one hundred years ago to found the national AAUP. This year’s state conference will reflect on the group’s beginning, but will also address pressing issues in higher education. Topics include: reaffirming the right to tenure for all faculty, expanding unionization into private universities, organizing efforts at the for-profit Kaplan Language School, fighting for adjunct rights and protecting faculty governance. The conference is free. For those who want to attend the Saturday night dinner, the charge is $32. Register and find more information about the conference at nysaaup.org. To keep track of conference attendance, PSC members who register should contact James Davis at [email protected].
