Today, the AAUP released a new statement: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Criteria for Faculty Evaluation, which holds that, when appropriately designed & implemented, DEI criteria for faculty appointment, reappointment, tenure, & promotion are compatible w/ academic freedom.
🧵 The AAUP has long advocated for diversity in higher education, including a diverse faculty & student body, & we view the use of DEI criteria in faculty recruitment, promotion, & retention within a broader vision of higher education for the public good.
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aaup.org/report/diversi…

Here’s a quick thread clarifying the AAUP’s stance on antisemitism.

The AAUP views the growth of antisemitism as a severe threat which can & should be addressed under existing civil rights laws as religious or race discrimination.

🧵 We object, however, to the use of the IHRA definition, which expands the definition of antisemitism to encompass political criticisms of the state of Israel, which is speech protected by the First Amendment & #academicfreedom.

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aaup.org/report/legisla…

"The AAUP condemns in the strongest possible terms the crackdown on peaceful dissent occurring this week at @Columbia, @nyuniversity, & other universities nationwide."

- statement from AAUP president Irene Mulvey
🧵 The arrests of students & faculty are disproportionate, heavy handed responses to overwhelmingly peaceful campus events.

Higher ed is premised on full & free discussion & debate of ideas...

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🧵(1/6) Our preview of the forthcoming fall issue of #Academe features a series of dispatches from states where legislative attacks on higher education pose severe threats to core AAUP principles. Read about how faculty in these states are responding: aaup.org/article/dispat…
🧵(2/6) Karma R. Chávez recounts the story of how the “long-dormant” @aaup_utAustin chapter re-formed to fight restrictive legislation and the attacks on tenure spearheaded in Texas by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. aaup.org/article/lesson…

On Friday, the AAUP filed an amicus brief in the US Court of Appeals in support of Florida faculty who are challenging the law known as the “Stop WOKE” Act as the law violates the 1st Amendment, threatens to destroy #academicfreedom, sabotages higher ed & undermines democracy.
🧵 A few key points: The #StopWOKEAct is 1 of the most egregious attempts ever undertaken to restrict the freedom of faculty to teach, & of students to learn, in the classroom. Allowing politicians to ban the expression of viewpoints they dislike is antithetical to #academicfreedom.

Today, the AAUP released our Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2022–23, which examines whether economic conditions in the academy have returned to “normal” after 3 years of pandemic.
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aaup.org/report/annual-… The report finds that real average faculty salaries have declined sharply for 3 consecutive years, with a cumulative decrease of 7.5% from fall 2019 to fall 2022 after adjusting for inflation.
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🚨 🚨 🚨
On the day FL governor DeSantis is to announce his bid for president, the AAUP has released a preliminary report on the impact of his unparalleled ideologically driven assault on higher education in the state.
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https://twitter.com/insidehighered/status/1661352620101971969

In January, after a number of alarming events in Florida, the AAUP established a special committee to review the apparent pattern of politically, racially, & ideologically motivated attacks on public higher education in the state.

aaup.org/news/special-c…

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A new AAUP report published today concludes the admin of @HamlineU violated the #academicfreedom of Professor Erika López Prater after a student complaint on the presentation of images of the Prophet Muhammad during an online art history class.
twincities.com/2023/05/22/rep…
🧵 The AAUP’s committee of inquiry found that Professor López Prater’s decision to display the historical images was not only justifiable & appropriate on both scholarly & pedagogical grounds but also protected by #academicfreedom.

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BREAKING: Ron DeSantis just held a press conference in Sarasota, Florida w/ Christopher Rufo, the engineer of the right wing panic over #criticalracetheory & newly appointed Trustee at @NewCollegeofFL...
#DEI
#HigherEdReform
#AcademicTwitter
#AcademicChatter
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1/ DeSantis claims that "the dominant view of higher ed is to impose ideological conformity & political activism" rather than providing a foundation for students to think for themselves.

DeSantis: dominant view is manifested in #DEI & #CRT & constitute a drain on resources...
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As #DeSantisDestroysFlorida is trending (again), it behooves us to chronicle the many ways higher education in the state is under attack.

1: In 2021 @UF barred 3 professors from serving as expert witnesses in a voting rights case against the state ...
aaup.org/news/universit… @UF The case targeted legislation strongly supported by DeSantis that inhibited access to the ballot. After the university's accreditor announced an investigation, UF reversed their decision & allowed the professors to testify.
npr.org/2021/11/05/105…

BREAKING: The AAUP has authorized an investigation into the extraordinary summary dismissal of 33 faculty members at @emporiastate, most of them long-serving professors with tenure.
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aaup.org/media-release/… These termination decisions were apparently made w/out any meaningful faculty participation & w/out affording faculty members academic due process – both severe violations of widely accepted principles of #academicfreedom & tenure.
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President Biden’s long awaited announcement of a plan to alleviate the student debt of roughly 20 million Americans has ignited a national debate about the fundamental role of higher education in our society.

The AAUP would like to weigh in...

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1/ From the AAUP’s perspective, higher education exists to support the common good. An education should be accessible & affordable as a human right to anyone willing to seek it.
Biden’s action on student debt relief is a vital first forward…
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In response to the announcement of AAUP’s investigation into @BORUSG’s removal of due process protections, the acting chancellor responded that “it will not be necessary for an investigation into the removal of due process as it clearly has not been removed.” 🤔
🧵 To clarify: the due process being referred to is the procedure the AAUP requires to dismiss a tenured faculty member. It consists essentially in an adjudicative hearing of record before an elected faculty body in which the burden of demonstrating… /2

🧵: The executive director of the AAUP has authorized an investigation of the @BORUSG regarding their adoption of a post-tenure review policy that makes it possible to release a tenured faculty member without a dismissal hearing. /1 Prior to the @BORUSG’s vote, AAUP president Irene Mulvey characterized the board’s potential action as “an attack on tenure and #academicfreedom” & warned that, if the board acted to decouple tenure protections from post-tenure review, the AAUP would investigate. /2

1. 🧵 Tomorrow, the @BORUSG is expected to vote to end tenure for Georgia's public universities. The AAUP has warned that this move will destroy protections for academic freedom, which is indispensable for the quality of teaching and research in higher education. 2. if the board votes to approve the changes, tenure & the academic freedom it is designed to protect will be severely compromised at the 25 tenure-granting institutions in the system. Given the severity & scope of this attack on tenure and academic freedom, AAUP will respond…

We are living in a time where the teaching of true and accurate history is considered controversial. 25 states have put forth legislation to limit how and whether race and racism are taught in schools. If you’re concerned about this, please read along. #criticalracetheory (2) The AAUP’s 1940 statement on Principles of Academic Freedom & Tenure makes clear “teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject.”

#criticalracetheory