American Association of University Professors

Nonprofit charitable organization

American Association of University Professors

Formation| 1915
Type| Nonprofit charitable organization
Headquarters| Washington D.C.
Location|

* United States

Membership| Professors and professional university staff

Official language

| English

Executive Director

| Mia McIver

Key people

| Todd Wolfson, President
Website| www.aaup.org

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations.[1]

Since June 2022, the AAUP has been affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers.

The AAUP's stated mission is to advance academic freedom and shared governance, to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education, and to ensure higher education's contribution to the common good. Founded in 1915 by Arthur O. Lovejoy and John Dewey, the AAUP has helped to shape American higher education by developing standards and procedures that maintain quality in education and academic freedom in the country's colleges and universities.

## History

[edit]

### Issues around academic freedom and tenure before the AAUP

[edit]

In the 1890s and early 1900s, there were a number of attempts to dismiss college faculty members from their academic posts, including a failed attempt to dismiss Richard Ely at the University of Wisconsin in 1894. The following year Edward Bemis was dismissed from a post at the University of Chicago and George D. Herron from one at Grinnell College in 1899.

Perhaps most prominent of these incidents was the 1900 dismissal of eugenicist, economics professor, and sociologist Edward Alsworth Ross from Stanford University. Ross's work criticizing the employment of Chinese laborers by the Southern Pacific Railroad, run by Stanford's founder Leland Stanford, led Leland's widow, Jane Stanford, to intervene and, over the objections of the president and the faculty, to succeed in getting Ross eventually dismissed.[2] A number of faculty colleagues resigned in protest, including Arthur O. Lovejoy.[3]

### Foundation

[edit]

In January 1915, the Association of University Professors was formed after a series of meetings held at the Chemists' Club in New York City.[4] John Dewey would serve as President of the organization, with Lovejoy, who had by then moved on to Johns Hopkins, serving as Secretary.

In February 1915, the dismissals of two professors and two instructors at the University of Utah by President Joseph T. Kingsbury—and the subsequent resignations of 14 faculty members in protest—launched the AAUP's first institutional academic freedom inquest. An earlier 1911 controversy at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, had involved some of these same professors.

In December 1915, the inaugural volume of the Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors was published, including the document now known as the 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure—the AAUP's foundational statement on the rights and corresponding obligations of members of the academic profession.[5][6]

### Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure

[edit]

AAUP

As the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) details the history of their policy on academic freedom and tenure, the association maintains that there "are still people who want to control what professors teach and write."[7] The AAUP's "Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure"[8][9] is the definitive articulation of the principles and practices and is widely accepted throughout the academic community. The association's procedures ensuring academic due process remain the model for professional employment practices on campuses throughout the country.

At the time, the ideas of academic freedom at the time were not entirely well received, and even the New York Times criticized the declaration, but that today the statement remains "almost as nearly inviolate as the U.S. Constitution."[10]

The AAUP offers the original principles, including the 1940 interpretations of the statement and a 1970 interpretation, which codified evaluation of the principles since the time they were adopted. The statement is straightforward, based on three principles of academic freedom. Briefly summarized, the first principle states that teachers are entitled to "full freedom in research and in publication of the results" and that the issue of financial gains from research depends on the relationship with the institution. The second principle of academic freedom is that teachers should have the same freedom in the classroom. The third asserts that college and university professors are citizens and should be free to speak and write as citizens "free from institutional censorship."[11]

The 1970 interpretation believes that the statement is not a "static code but a fundamental document to set a framework of norms to guide adaptations to changing times and circumstances." The commentary iterates key points of the 1940 interpretations. The statement does not discourage controversy but emphasizes professionalism, believing that professors should be careful "not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject."

The statement is based on five principles:

1. The terms of appointment are to be stated in writing.
2. The conditions and length of time professors are given to attain tenure is clearly stated
3. During the probationary period before attaining tenure, the teacher "should have all the academic freedom that all other members of the faculty have."
4. Both the faculty and the institution's governing board should judge whether tenure is to be granted or denied and terms for appeal of the decision to deny tenure should be clearly stated.
5. If the faculty member is not granted tenure appointment for reasons of financial restraint upon the university, the "financial exigency should be demonstrably bona fide."

The interpretive statement also maintains that while professors have the rights of citizens, both scholars and educational officers "should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances," noting that every effort should be made "to indicate they are not speaking for the institution." The comments provide for further insights into the evaluation for tenure appointment and direct to the "1968 Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure," which recommends policy based upon the 1940 statement and a later documents on standards for faculty dismissal.

### Academic freedom and the Supreme Court

[edit]

In Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957), the Supreme Court of the United States acknowledged the essential role of academic freedom as a protected right under the First Amendment. This case set a precedent that significantly influenced university policies across the United States, affirming the importance of academic discourse and inquiry without governmental interference. However, "at the time of the Sweezy decision, the AAUP was deeply ambivalent about the constitutionalization of academic freedom, because some members feared the long-term consequences of having judges rather than professors elaborate and apply the protective rules of academic life."[12]

In Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967), the constitutionality and legal basis for AAUP's principles of academic freedom were established.

### Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities

[edit]

Main article: Governance in higher education

The American Association of University Professors published its first "Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities" in 1920, "emphasizing the importance of faculty involvement in personnel decisions, selection of administrators, preparation of the budget, and determination of educational policies. Refinements to the statement were introduced in subsequent years, culminating in the 1966 "Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities."[13]

The statement was jointly formulated by the American Association of University Professors, the American Council on Education (ACE), and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). The statement clarifies the respective roles of governing boards, faculties, and administrations. The document does not provide for a "blueprint" to the governance of higher education.

Also, the purpose of the statement was not to provide principles for relations with industry and government although it establishes direction on "the correction of existing weaknesses." Rather, the statement aimed to establish a shared vision for the internal governance of institutions. Student involvement is not addressed in detail. The statement concerns general education policy and internal operations with an overview of the formal roles for governing structures in the organization and management of higher education.

### Recent events

[edit]

Since 2010, the AAUP has published the Journal of Academic Freedom, an online-only open-access annual journal.[14][15]

In June 2022, the AAUP affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers.[16]

In 2024, AAUP president Todd Wolfson referred to United States Senator JD Vance as a "fascist," during that year's presidential election.[17] This foreshadowed battles to come, as AAUP has opposed many of the higher education policies advocated by the  Trump administration, including the filing of a lawsuit to stop the recommended funding cuts on Ivy League institutions.[18][19]

## Censured institutions

[edit]

Main article: List of colleges and universities censured by the American Association of University Professors

The AAUP censures institutions that violated standards of academic freedom and tenure[20] and sanctions institutions that have infringed university governance standards through "serious departures by the administration and/or governing board from generally accepted standards of college and university government".

In 1930, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University and Mississippi University for Women, were placed on a list of "non-recommended" institutions, after Mississippi Governor Theodore Bilbo and member of the Ku Klux Klan fired the presidents of all three institutions as well as 179 faculty members.

The censure list was officially created in 1938. Between that year and 2002, 183 colleges and universities were placed on the list at various times.[21] As of 2024, there are 59 institutions on AAUP's censure list.[20]

### Conflict with religious institutions

[edit]

The AAUP has censured numerous religious institutions, including The Catholic University of America in 1990 and Brigham Young University in 1998.[22] Some have criticized the AAUP's stance regarding academic freedom in religious institutions as contradicting its 1940 statement on academic freedom, which permits religious institutions to place limits on academic freedom if those limitations are clearly stated.[23][24] In 1970, the AAUP criticized its 1940 statement, positing that most religious institutions "no longer need or desire" to place limits on academic freedom.[25]

In 1988, the AAUP offered up another interpretation, stating that the "1970 de-endorsement clause" requires a religious institution to forfeit its "right to represent itself as an 'authentic seat of higher learning.'"[25] But the AAUP's Committee A did not endorse it, thus the issue on whether a religious institution can place limits on academic freedom if those limitations are clearly stated appears to be unresolved.[25]

## Sanctioned institutions

[edit]

Main article: List of colleges and universities sanctioned by the American Association of University Professors

Fourteen colleges in the United States are currently on AAUP's list of sanctioned institutions for violations of shared governance, include three community colleges, ten four-year colleges and universities, and one independent law school.[26]

## Collective bargaining

[edit]

In 2009, AAUP began its reorganization amongst its thinktank, its non-organized advocacy chapters and its support for collective bargaining chapters.

In June 2022, the AAUP affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers.[27]

AAUP currently represents more than 65 collective bargaining affiliates across the United States mainly in the public sector.[28]

In 1980, a decision in National Labor Relations Board v. Yeshiva University was issued by the United States Supreme Court, which created "major roadblocks to unionization" among "faculty members at private colleges and universities".[29] Still, the AAUP has collective bargaining affiliates at a number of private colleges and universities, mainly where the chapter had already existed before 1980. AAUP collective bargaining chapters represent full-time faculty at private institutions include those at Adelphi University,[30] Bard College, Curry College, D'Youville University, Edward Waters University, Fairfield University, Hofstra University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Long Island University Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy, New York Institute of Technology, Niagara University, Oakland University, Rider University, St. John's University, the University of Scranton and Utica University.

Among private institutions, the AAUP represents part-time faculty at Emerson College, Manhattanville University and Suffolk University, among others.

Several university chapters have been involved in labor strikes, including at Boston University in 1979 (which was later decertified in 1982), Wright State University and Oregon Tech in 2021, and Rutgers University in 2023.

## Contingent faculty

[edit]

The AAUP has released a number of reports on contingent faculty: in 2008, a report on accreditors' guidelines pertaining to part-time faculty and a report of an investigation involving alleged violations of the academic freedom and due process rights of a full-time contingent faculty member; and in 2006, an index providing data on the number of contingent faculty at various colleges. Also in 2006, the AAUP adopted a new policy dealing with the job protections that should be afforded to part-time faculty members. In 2003, it had released its major policy statement Contingent Appointments and the Academic Profession. The statement makes new recommendations in two areas: increasing the proportion of faculty appointments that are on the tenure line as well as improving job security and due process protections for those with contingent appointments.

## Leadership

[edit]

### Presidents

[edit]

Number  | Name  | Dates  | Subject  | Institution

|
|
|
|

1  | John Dewey | 1915–1916[31] | Philosophy  | Columbia University
2  | John Henry Wigmore | 1916–1917[31] | Law  | Northwestern University
3  | Frank Thilly  | 1917–1918  | Philosophy  | Cornell University[32]
4  | John Merle Coulter | 1918–1919  | Botany  | University of Chicago
5  | Arthur Oncken Lovejoy | 1919–1920  | Philosophy  | Johns Hopkins University
6  | Edward Capps | 1920–1921  | Philology | Princeton University
7  | Vernon Lyman Kellogg | 1921 (acting)  | Zoology | National Research Council
8  | Edwin R. A. Seligman | 1921–1922  | Political Science  | Columbia University
9  | J. V. Denney  | 1922–1924  | English  | Ohio State University[33]
10  | Armin Otto Leuschner | 1924–1926  | Astronomy  | University of California, Berkeley
11  | William T. Semple  | 1926–1928  | Classics  | University of Cincinnati[34]
12  | Henry Crew | 1928–1930  | Physics  | Northwestern University
13  | William B. Munro | 1930–1932  | Government  | Harvard University
14  | Walter Wheeler Cook  | 1932–1933  | Law  | Johns Hopkins University[35]
15  | Samuel Alfred Mitchell | 1934–1936  | Astronomy  | University of Virginia
16  | Anton Julius Carlson | 1936–1938  | Physiology | University of Chicago
17  | Mark H. Ingraham  | 1938–1940  | Mathematics  | University of Wisconsin[36]
18  | Frederick S. Deibler  | 1940–1942  | Economics  | Northwestern University
19  | William Thomas Laprade  | 1942–1944  | History  | Duke University[37]
20  | Quincy Wright  | 1944–1946  | International Law  | University of Chicago
21  | Edward C. Kirkland | 1946–1948  | History  | Bowdoin College
22  | Ralph H. Lutz  | 1948–1950  | History  | Stanford University
23  | Richard Harrison Shryock | 1950–1952  | History  | Johns Hopkins University
24  | Fred B. Millett  | 1952–1954  | English Literature  | Wesleyan University
25  | William E. Britton  | 1954–1956  | Law  | University of Illinois
26  | Helen C. White | 1956–1958  | English  | University of Wisconsin
27  | Hiram Bentley Glass | 1958–1960  | Biology  | Johns Hopkins University
28  | Ralph F. Fuchs  | 1960–1962  | Law  | Indiana University
29  | Fritz Machlup | 1962–1964  | Economics  | Princeton University
30  | David Fellman | 1964–1966  | Political Science  | University of Wisconsin
31  | Clark Byse  | 1966–1968  | Law  | Harvard University
32  | Ralph S. Brown, Jr.  | 1968–1970  | Law  | Yale University
33  | Sanford H. Kadish  | 1970–1972  | Law  | University of California, Berkeley
34  | Walter Adams  | 1972–1974  | Economics  | Michigan State University
35  | William Warner Van Alstyne | 1974–1976  | Law  | Duke University
36  | Peter O. Steiner | 1976–1978  | Law and Economics  | University of Michigan
37  | Martha Friedman  | 1978–1980  | Library  | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
38  | Henry T. Yost  | 1980–1981  | Biology  | Amherst College
39  | Robert A. Gorman | 1981–1982  | Law  | University of Pennsylvania
40  | Victor J. Stone  | 1982–1984  | Law  | University of Illinois, Urbana
41  | Paul H. L. Walter  | 1984–1986  | Chemistry  | Skidmore College
42  | Julius G. Getman | 1986–1988  | Law  | University of Texas at Austin
43  | Carol Simpson Stern  | 1988–1990  | Performance Studies  | Northwestern University
44  | Barbara Bergmann | 1990–1992  | Economics  | American University
45  | Linda Ray Pratt  | 1992–1994  | English  | University of Nebraska
46  | James Perley  | 1994–1998  | Biology  | College of Wooster
47  | James Richardson  | 1998–2000  | Judicial Studies  | University of Nevada, Reno
48  | Jane Buck  | 2000–2006  | Psychology  | Delaware State University
49  | Cary Nelson | 2006–2012  | English  | University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
50  | Rudy Fichtenbaum | 2012–2020  | Economics  | Wright State University
51  | Irene Mulvey | 2020–2024  | Mathematics  | Fairfield University
52  | Todd Wolfson  | 2024–present  | Media Studies  | Rutgers University–New Brunswick[38]

### Secretaries, general secretaries, and executive directors

[edit]

Apart from the elected leadership, the AAUP has been led in its day to day operations by what has been at various times called a secretary, later a general secretary, and most recently an executive director, and includes the following individuals:[39]

Name  | Dates  | Title

|
|

Arthur Oncken Lovejoy | 1915–1929[40] | Secretary
Harry Walter Tyler | 1929–1933[40] | General Secretary
Walter Wheeler Cook  | 1934–1935  | General Secretary
Harry Walter Tyler  | 1935–1936  | Acting General Secretary
Ralph Himstead  | 1936–1955  | General Secretary
George P. Shannon  | 1955  | Acting General Secretary
Ralph F. Fuchs  | 1955–1957[41][42] | General Secretary
Robert K. Carr | 1957–1958  | General Secretary
William P. Fidler  | 1958–1967  | General Secretary
Bertram H. Davis  | 1967–1974  | General Secretary
Joseph Duffey  | 1974–1976  | General Secretary
Jordan E. Kurland  | 1977  | Acting General Secretary
Morton S. Baratz  | 1977–1979  | General Secretary
Martha Friedman  | 1979–1980  | Interim General Secretary
Irving J. Spitzberg, Jr.  | 1980–1984  | General Secretary
Ernst Benjamin  | 1984–1994  | General Secretary
Mary A. Burgan  | 1994–2004  | General Secretary
Roger W. Bowen  | 2004–2007  | General Secretary
Ernst Benjamin  | 2007–2008  | Interim General Secretary
Gary Rhoades  | 2009–2011  | General Secretary
Martin Snyder  | 2011–2013  | Senior Associate General Secretary
Julie Schmid  | 2013–2023  | Executive Director
Nancy Long  | 2023–2024  | Interim Executive Director
Aaron Nielson  | 2024–2025  | Interim Executive Director
Mia McIver  | 2025–present  | Executive Director

## See also

[edit]

* National Conference of University Professors (UK)
* Professors in the United States
* University organizations (annotated list)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Mission – AAUP". www.aaup.org. August 19, 2006.
2. ^ "History of the AAUP". American Association of University Professors. June 30, 2006. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
3. ^ "History of Stanford's Philosophy Department | Department of Philosophy". philosophy.stanford.edu. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
4. ^ "History of the AAUP". AAUP. June 30, 2006. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
5. ^ "Overhauling Academic Freedom and the AAUP's 1915 Declaration". ACADEME BLOG. June 12, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
6. ^ "Timeline of the First 100 Years | AAUP". www.aaup.org. February 12, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
7. ^ "History of the AAUP – AAUP". www.aaup.org. June 30, 2006.
8. ^ "1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure – AAUP". www.aaup.org. July 10, 2006.
9. ^ "AAUP's 1915 Declaration of Principles". December 31, 1915.
10. ^ O'Neil, R. M., "Academic Freedom: Past, Present, and Future beyond September 11," in P.G. Altbach, R.O. Berdahl, and P.J. Gumport, (eds.), American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Social, Political, and Economic Challenges, 2nd ed. (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), 92–94
11. ^ "1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure – AAUP". www.aaup.org. July 10, 2006.
12. ^ Byrne, J. Peter (November 1, 1989). "Academic Freedom: A 'Special Concern of the First Amendment'". The Yale Law Journal. 99 (2): 291.
13. ^ "Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities."[permanent dead link]
14. ^ Howard, Jennifer (January 26, 2010). "New Online Journal From AAUP Will Focus on Academic Freedom". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
15. ^ "Journal of Academic Freedom". AAUP. January 22, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
16. ^ "Historic affiliation finalized: AAUP and AFT join forces | American Federation of Teachers". www.aft.org. June 22, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
17. ^ Ryan Quinn (August 9, 2024). "New AAUP president calls JD Vance a fascist". Inside Higher Ed.
18. ^ Ben Unglesbee (March 25, 2025). "AAUP, AFT file lawsuit challenging Trump's Columbia University funding cuts". Higher Ed Dive.
19. ^ Claire Thornton (June 8, 2025). "Can Ivy League Institutions Fight Back Against Trump Higher Education Policies?". Boston Globe.
20. ^ a b "Censure List". AAUP. July 18, 2006. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
21. ^ "The AAUP's Censure List". AAUP. July 18, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
22. ^ "Censure List – AAUP". www.aaup.org. July 18, 2006.
23. ^ "BYU Magazine: The Magazine of Brigham Young University". BYU Magazine.
24. ^ Nuechterlein, James (December 1993). "The Idol of Academic Freedom". First Things. 38: 12–16\. ISSN 1047-5141.
25. ^ a b c The Value of Limitations Archived May 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
26. ^ "Sanctioned Institutions". AAUP. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
27. ^ "Historic affiliation finalized: AAUP and AFT join forces | American Federation of Teachers". www.aft.org. June 22, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
28. ^ "Find a Chapter". AAUP. September 17, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
29. ^ "Yeshiva Ruling". AAUP. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
30. ^ "Our History". Adelphi University AAUP-AFT. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
31. ^ a b "Presidents of the Association". AAUP. September 3, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
32. ^ "Frank Thilly, Professor of Philosophy".
33. ^ "Denney Hall | Buckeye Stroll". Retrieved August 14, 2024.
34. ^ "History of the Department". classics.uc.edu. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
35. ^ "Walter Wheeler Cook: In Memoriam".
36. ^ "Ingraham Hall - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries". search.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
37. ^ "William Thomas Laprade papers, 1660-1975 (bulk 1898-1975) - Archives & Manuscripts at Duke University Libraries". David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
38. ^ "Todd Wolfson". School of Communication and Information | Rutgers University. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
39. ^ "Staff Leadership". AAUP. September 9, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
40. ^ a b "The AAUP's Censure List". AAUP. July 18, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
41. ^ "Ralph F. Fuchs Professor of Law and Public Service: Faculty legacies: Support Indiana Law: Alumni: Maurer School of Law: Indiana University Bloomington". Maurer School of Law. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
42. ^ Fuchs, Ralph F. (1957). "Report, 1955-57, by the Retiring General Secretary". AAUP Bulletin. 43 (3): 415–429\. ISSN 0001-026X. JSTOR 40222196.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Czech Republic
* Israel

Other|

* SNAC