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Executive Power Watch
Our Executive Power Watch monitors executive action that weakens democratic society by targeting students, faculty, and campus workers in American colleges and universities.
Executive Order: Banning Ideas and Concepts in K-12
Executive Order: Privatizing K-12 Education
Executive Order: Weaponizing Civil Rights Law
Executive Order: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
Executive Order: Gender Identity
Newsletter
This newsletter examines academic freedom, its role in democratic society, and what is lost when academic institutions face politicized attacks on institutional autonomy and shared governance. Views expressed are those of the authors, and not the AAUP.
Action Reports
Pandya, Sahin and Isaac Kamola. "Responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests at Public Universities." Action Report #1, Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, AAUP, July 8, 2024.
Kamola, Isaac. "Responding to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and Other Provocative Student Groups on Campus." Action Report #2, Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, AAUP, October 31, 2024.
Habash, Tariq. "Trump Can't Actually Dismantle the Department of Education, but His Policies Still Threaten Us All." Action Report #3, Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, AAUP, February 13, 2024.
White Papers
Kamola, Isaac. “Manufacturing Backlash: Right-Wing Think Tanks and Legislative Attacks on Higher Education, 2021–2023.” American Association of University Professors, May 2024.
This white paper examines the one hundred and fifty bills introduced during the 2021, 2022, and 2023 state legislative sessions seeking to actively undermine academic freedom and university autonomy. This includes nearly one hundred academic gag orders as well as bills undermining campus diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), bills weakening tenure and accreditation, and legislation mandating “viewpoint diversity” and academic programming. This white paper examines the network of right-wing and libertarian think tanks, working closely with Republican politicians, that pushed this legislative attack as part of a manufactured culture war backlash against educators and academic institutions.
Executive Summary. Full report (PDF).
Comprehensive overviews of the report are available at Inside Higher Ed, The Conversation, and Exposed by CMD.
