The AAUP is a union and membership association of faculty and other academic professionals. Headquartered in Washington, DC, we have members and chapters based at colleges and universities across the country.
The mission of the AAUP is to advance academic freedom and shared governance; to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education; to promote the economic security of faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education; to help the higher education community organize to make our goals a reality; and to ensure higher education’s contribution to the common good. The AAUP also offers legal support to its members, particularly through its association with the American Federation of Teachers.
Founded in 1915, the AAUP has helped to shape American higher education by developing the standards and procedures that maintain quality in education and academic freedom in this country’s colleges and universities. AAUP chapters at campuses across the country work to advance the mission of the AAUP through advocacy, organizing and, where possible, collective bargaining. In some states, state conferences support chapters and work on state level issues. For the document of Policy Documents and Reports, please see the Redbook.
Why join AAUP, notably in Texas? See Texas AAUP-AFT President Brian Evans’s account: “Texas AAUP-AFT is a union of higher ed professionals fighting for fair pay, job security, academic freedom, and shared governance. We’re part-time and full-time faculty, researchers, librarians, clinicians, academic advisors, graduate students, and more—standing together to defend our rights and the future of higher education in Texas.”
For more on academic freedom and free speech, see Joan Scott’s too relevant 2017 article.
AAUP-RICE 