2021 AAUP Updates

Our relief at learning that the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts is tempered by the realization that we were worried this would not be the case even after Mr. Floyd’s death was captured on a video that was seen around the world. The AAUP today pledges to continue our work on rooting out systemic racism in our Association, and dismantling institutional racism in higher education.

The AAUP issued a statement today opposing legislation passed in Florida that purports to protect "intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity" on public college and university campuses. The legislation mandates annual surveys; aims to prevent institutions from "shielding" students, faculty, and staff from offensive speech; and allows students to record classroom lectures surreptitiously.

Average wage growth for all ranks of full-time faculty was the lowest since the AAUP began tracking annual wage growth in 1972. After adjusting for inflation, real wages decreased at over two-thirds of colleges and universities. The number of full-time faculty decreased at over half of institutions.

As part of our broader push to reform the way higher education is financed, the AAUP joined other organizations in calling for a doubling of the maximum Pell Grant and for a recommitment to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week in favor of Jennifer Freyd in an appeal that the AAUP supported with an amicus brief. The appeals court found that she had alleged sufficient facts to proceed with a suit, which a lower court had dismissed, against the University of Oregon for pay discrimination based on significant pay disparities with male faculty members.

We stand in sorrow and solidarity with Asian and Asian-American communities, who are facing an escalating series of racist attacks. We condemn these attacks and the racist rhetoric that fuels them.

The AAUP submitted an amicus brief yesterday in the Oregon Court of Appeals in a case that involves the distribution of anti-union FAQs by Oregon State University. The appeal arose from an Oregon Employment Relations Board decision finding that the university had violated a state law requiring neutrality in union organizing drives.

The AAUP notes with sadness the death of Joseph Duffey, who served as AAUP general secretary from 1974 to 1976. Duffey was an accomplished academic who was also an anti-war activist and the Democratic Party's candidate in the 1970 US Senate election in Connecticut.