Bequest Supports Legal Defense Fund

The AAUP Foundation’s Legal Defense Fund has been greatly bolstered by a $40,000 charitable bequest from the Moses and Dorothy Passer Trust. Moses Passer was an AAUP member for forty-five years (1949–94). He earned a PhD in organic chemistry from Cornell University in 1948 and conducted postdoctoral research in polymer chemistry at the University of Illinois before spending most of his academic career at the University of Minnesota–Duluth, where he was an assistant professor, associate professor, and eventually full professor of chemistry. Passer spent the final two decades of his career working at the American Chemical Society, where he developed a broad spectrum of novel and effective educational programs designed to make chemistry accessible to every audience.

Moses and Dorothy Passer were committed to education, particularly in the chemical sciences, and supported this work through a large number of charitable contributions. Moses Passer died in 1999 and Dorothy Passer died in 2012.

The AAUP Foundation is honored to receive the Passers’ generous bequest in support of the Legal Defense Fund, which provides financial assistance in legal cases that involve possible violations of AAUP policy. Since its inception, the fund has disbursed more than $75,000 in aid to faculty members.

Information about the Foundation’s programs, including the Legal Defense Fund, can be found at http://www.aaupfoundation.org. Donations to the AAUP Foundation and its special funds are tax-deductible and can be made through the Foundation’s website.