AAUP at GVSU

AAUP at GVSU ABOUT & FAQs

WHo We Are

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The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is a national professional organization comparable to discipline-specific professional societies such as the American Psychological Association (APA), but with a broader scope. The AAUP focuses on the articulation, discussion, and defense of values common to university professors, and on the distinctive role of higher education in contributing to the common good.

The AAUP has worked to establish shared understanding between faculty and other stakeholders in higher education (such as the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU), the American Council on Education (ACE), the and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB)) in the form of statements on Academic Freedom and Tenure and on Shared Governance that have formed the basis for university bylaws and shared governance documents across the country, including at GVSU. AAUP has local chapters at universities across the United States, and has been at GVSU since fall of 2020.

The Advocacy Chapter of the American Association of University Professors at Grand Valley State University seeks to foster independent dialogue, to raise faculty consciousness, and to distill and represent faculty voice in order to contribute positively to the flourishing of the university and its students.

See below for our history, FAQ, and for the differences between AAUP Advocacy Chapters and Unions, and Between AAUP Advocacy Chapters and Faculty Governance

History

During the summer of 2020, a group of 40 GVSU faculty submitted the initial materials to establish an American Association of University Professors Advocacy Chapter at GVSU.

FAQs

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AAUP AT GVSU

Introduction and FAQ

During the summer of 2020, about 40 GVSU faculty members submitted the initial materials to establish an American Association of University Professors Advocacy Chapter at GVSU. The deadline for submission of the original materials was tight, so we agreed to elect officers on an interim basis with terms from August to November 2020, thus providing time to inform and involve a broad group of faculty at GVSU ahead of formal elections for longer-term officer positions in November. This FAQ aims to bring the nascent AAUP Chapter’s existence to the faculty's attention, provide information about the AAUP itself, and encourage all GVSU faculty to take an active role in the new Chapter.

What is the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)?

The AAUP is a national professional organization comparable to discipline-specific professional societies such as the American Psychological Association (APA), but with a broader scope. The AAUP focuses on the articulation, discussion, and defense of values common to university professors and the distinctive role of higher education in contributing to the common good. It was founded in 1915 by John Dewey and Arthur O. Lovejoy in part as a response to a wealthy heiress’ successful efforts to have a professor of economics fired from Stanford University after he criticized the labor practices of her family’s business.

What does AAUP stand for?

Since its founding, AAUP’s central commitment has been to defend academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance as bedrocks of a flourishing university capable of making significant contributions to the broader common good. It promotes ongoing discussion of these and related principles and carries out investigations into their application and violations at specific institutions. More recently, the AAUP has also addressed the threat to academic freedom, shared governance, and the dignity of the profession represented by the increasing shift to reliance on underpaid and unprotected contingent labor in higher education.

What does AAUP do?

AAUP articulates position statements concerning academic freedom, tenure, shared governance, and the role of higher education in contributing to the common good. It facilitates ongoing discussion and debate concerning these issues. The AAUP has worked to establish shared understanding between faculty and other stakeholders in higher education (such as the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU), the American Council on Education (ACE), the and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB)), in the form of statements on Academic Freedom and Tenure and on Shared Governance that have formed the basis for university bylaws and shared governance documents across the country, including at GVSU. AAUP has local chapters at universities across the United States. It makes available resources and assistance for responding to potential violations of academic freedom or shared governance and collects data relevant to the profession (concerning salary and budgetary matters, for example). When appropriate, it issues censures to institutions that violate principles of academic freedom or shared governance.

How is an AAUP Chapter different from Faculty Governance?

Faculty Governance and an AAUP Chapter are complementary organizations. Several members of the AAUP Chapter at GVSU are also members of Faculty Governance. An AAUP Chapter differs from Faculty Governance in being connected to a national organization's resources and support and in being animated first and foremost by its overarching values (academic freedom, tenure, principles of shared governance such as transparency, critical engagement, mutual respect and rationale giving, and concern for faculty working conditions). An AAUP Chapter is also more independent from local administrative pressures and concerns. It can provide a general forum for the critical discussion of matters of concern to faculty (by organizing panels, speakers, or other events, publishing newsletters and discussion forums, etc.), including discussion among faculty without the constant presence of administration representatives. The "shared" in shared governance, which includes close dialog with administration is very important. However, it is also important for faculty to have spaces where they speak freely with each other, and AAUP in part aims to be such a place/forum. It can also raise issues or concerns that fall outside the purview of Faculty Governance or have not yet been taken up by it. An AAUP Chapter can assist and work with Faculty Governance to advocate for faculty values and concerns or to resist top-down initiatives by marshaling additional resources and enlisting the support of the national organization.

What is the relationship between an AAUP Chapter, student success, and GVSU’s educational mission?

GVSU’s traditional commitment is to the principles and values of liberal education that provide a foundation for and foster the growth of informed, self-critical, self-determining, and successful persons, including in their roles as citizens and as professionals. Faculty at GVSU have a special commitment to teaching and to their students, and we endorse this as a guiding principle and distinguishing feature of the AAUP Chapter at GVSU as well. The conditions under which faculty carry out their teaching, research, and service, as well as the extent of their voice in university affairs, are important for students for two primary reasons.

First, the knowledge, time, attention, insight, and concern for students that faculty can dedicate and sustain is directly related to the conditions of their work. Second, primary disciplinary knowledge and pedagogical expertise rest with the faculty. If students are to get the best education possible, faculty voice needs to play a central and meaningful role in determining the university’s approach to educational issues and their impact on students. In addition, we believe that the same principles that animate AAUP - freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression, along with a commitment to the importance of transparency in decision making - apply to students and their relationship to the university as well. As such, we stand ready to discuss and, when other forms of redress prove unavailable, advocate for and defend these principles on behalf of students as well

Is AAUP Membership required for participation in the GVSU Chapter?

All GVSU faculty are welcome and encouraged to participate in AAUP meetings and events. To become a voting member of the Chapter it is necessary to become a dues-paying member of the national AAUP itself. We strongly recommend that everyone consider doing so, as broader full-membership representation helps to diversify and strengthen the Chapter, and to make available the full benefits of affiliation with the national organization.

Who Can Join AAUP?

Any GVSU faculty member, whether tenured, tenure-track, affiliate, visitor, or adjunct, can join the national AAUP as a member and participate in the GVSU Chapter.

Why AAUP at GVSU right now?

There is no bad time to discuss, articulate, advocate for, defend academic freedom, transparency in decision making, shared governance, and educational and scholarly excellence. The real question isn’t “Why AAUP at GVSU right now?” but rather “Why hasn’t there been an AAUP Chapter at GVSU for years?” Higher education was facing many challenges prior to 2020, challenges including decreased state support, public misunderstanding, and hostility, and as a consequence, mixed incentives and motivations within the academy itself. The advent of COVID-19 and its financial implications have only exacerbated these challenges. Under current conditions, the path of least resistance does not favor preserving the values of educational and scholarly excellence. Their preconditions – academic freedom, shared governance, and genuine respect for the dignity and expertise of scholar-teachers – are central to the identity and vocation of university professors. These things must be defended and advocated for, or they will be lost. While faculty can do this individually or in small groups, involvement with AAUP makes it possible to share resources and insights efficiently and marshal and leverage an independent, collective faculty voice in defense of the basic principles at the heart of the academy.

The principles most central to AAUP’s mission are continuous with GVSU’s fundamental commitments to providing an education firmly grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, to making meaningful contributions of the type universities are distinctly capable of to the good of the surrounding community and society, and to shared governance. However, these commitments require ongoing independent discussion, articulation, advocacy, and at times defense. Additionally, the AAUP statements on academic freedom and shared governance provide an invaluable reminder that the foregoing commitments cannot be realized in the absence of respect for the dignity of the professoriate in the form of academic freedom, transparency, shared governance, and equitable treatment. As a large public education institution that has grown quickly and undergone numerous leadership changes in recent years, GVSU is vulnerable to the same challenges confronting higher education as a whole. All of this makes the presence and contributions of an AAUP Advocacy Chapter particularly relevant at this moment.

To Learn More About AAUP

The Wikipedia Entry on AAUP provides an accurate overview of the history, principles, and advocacy activities of AAUP. The AAUP’s own description of its mission and history are available on its website, while an instructive overview of typical activities for an AAUP Advocacy Chapter can be found here. A COVID-19-specific AAUP statement concerning faculty governance is available here. An AAUP statement linking its two fundamental areas of advocacy, academic freedom and shared government, can be found here. AAUP Membership information can be found here.

Two particularly relevant recent Chronicle of Higher Education articles dealing with central AAUP issues are Maximillian Alvarez (2020), “On a Knife’s Edge: Four Professors Debate the Erosion of Faculty Power and the Fight for the Future of Higher Education,” and Jeffrey Hockett & Jacob Howland's (2020). How to Resist a Corporate Takeover of Your College”. Ongoing updates on AAUP's activities, including resopnses to state legislation hostile to academic freedom, can be found on its Updates page.

To contact the AAUP Chapter at GVSU, write to aaup.gvsu@gmail.com.

What is the relationship between aaup, student success, and gvsu's educational mission?

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GVSU’s traditional commitment is to the principles and values of liberal education that provide a foundation for and foster the growth of informed, self-critical, self-determining, and successful persons, including in their roles as citizens and as professionals.
Faculty at GVSU have a special commitment to teaching and to their students, and we endorse this as a guiding principle and distinguishing feature of the AAUP Chapter at GVSU as well.
The conditions under which faculty carry out their teaching, research, and service, as well as the extent of their voice in university affairs, are important for students for two primary reasons.
First, the knowledge, time, attention, insight, and concern for students that faculty can dedicate and sustain is directly related to the conditions of their work.
Second, primary disciplinary knowledge and pedagogical expertise rest with the faculty. If students are to get the best education possible, faculty voice needs to play a central and meaningful role in determining the university’s approach to educational issues and their impact on students.
In addition, we believe that the same principles that animate AAUP - freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression, along with a commitment to the importance of transparency in decision making - apply to students and their relationship to the university as well. As such, we stand ready to discuss and, when other forms of redress prove unavailable, advocate for and defend these principles on behalf of students as well

How Does an AAUP Advocacy Chapter Differ from a Union?

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The Advocacy Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at GVSU is not a union. Nationwide, AAUP Chapters have two major forms: Advocacy Chapters, like our own, and those that are affiliated with a union. For example, at Rutgers University in New Jersey the AAUP Chapter is partnered with the American Federation of Teachers Union.

Unions tend to focus on collective bargaining over wages and working conditions, establishing a employment contract for faculty that gives them certain legal protections and securities. So, for example, a unionized faculty with a contract could not have their teaching load shifted or increased without a renegotiation of the contract. They can also typically expect a minimum % pay increase each year. At the same time, the structures, requirements, and focus of Unions can be somewhat restrictive, and the effort and focus required to organize and sustain them is significant.

An advocacy chapter, by contrast, does not have the same legally recognized status and powers. Its focus is on establishing an independent venue for hearing, synthesizing, and then advocating for faculty voice in the ongoing operations and educational mission of the university. While the initial membership of the GVSU AAUP Chapter is not hostile to unions, discussions with faculty suggested that the circumstances, culture, and actual needs of faculty at GVSU are currently better served by the looser “voice-focused” structure of an advocacy chapter. In contrast to unions’ collective bargaining model but in the spirit of organization, deliberation, and advocacy, we seek to make constructive contributions to university decisions that take into account faculty members’ unique role, needs, and expertise.

Affiliation with the national AAUP organization is not itself affiliation with any union, and the national organization itself does not pressure its advocacy chapters to become affiliated with union efforts. Even if every single member of the faculty at GVSU were to become a dues-paid member of the AAUP advocacy chapter at GVSU, this would not change its status from an advocacy chapter to a union. The AAUP advocacy chapter at GVSU is thus self-consciously distinct from both a faculty union, and from existing faculty governance structures at GVSU, even while it acknowledges the value and importance of these.

How Does AAUP Differ from Faculty Governance?

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Faculty Governance and an AAUP Chapter are distinct but complementary organizations. In fact, a number of members of the AAUP Chapter at GVSU are also members of Faculty Governance. Ideally, AAUP Chapters and Faculty Governance are able to work together in a collegial and collaborative way that draws on the strengths and supplements potential weaknesses of each. The majority of Faculty Governance Structures in the United States are informed to one degree or another by central, jointly formulated AAUP documents such as the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure and the 1966 Statement on Governance of Colleges and Universities. These documents lay out fundamental principles and frameworks for faculty, administration, and boards of trustees, and were jointly formulated and endorsed by the American Association of University Professors, the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, and the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities. In addition,

An AAUP Chapter differs from our current Faculty Governance system by being connected to the resources and support of a national organization.

An AAUP Chapter is relatively independent from administrative pressures and duties. An AAUP Chapter does not have specific administrative charges or roles, and members of the administration are not present for its deliberations and debates unless a meeting is specifically organized for this purpose. It is focused on the elaboration of views, issues, and possible solutions and courses of action that are formulated from a distinctively faculty perspective. The "shared" in shared governance is very important (meaning close engagement with administration and leadership), but it is also important for faculty voice to be independently debated and articulated among faculty, and AAUP aims to provide a forum for this.

An AAUP Chapter thus strives to provide a general forum for the critical discussion of matters of concern to faculty (by organizing the sharing of information and spaces for discourse, as well as occasionally panels, speakers, or other events). It is also able to raise issues or concerns that fall outside the purview of Faculty Governance or have not yet been taken up by it.

An AAUP Advocacy Chapter seeks to organize and to advocate. Organizing is identifying issues of shared concern and developing shared strategies for advocating regarding those issues. It seeks to mobilize as many individuals in direct action as possible. Depending on circumtances at any given university, it is not strictly representational in the way that governance is, but is rather grass roots, with faculty talking to faculty directly and seeking ways to advocate collectively.

An AAUP Chapter is able to assist and work with Faculty Governance to advocate for faculty values and concerns or to resist top-down initiatives by marshaling additional resources and by enlisting the support of the national organization when needed.

With questions or to request to be added to the listserv hosted by AAUP@GVSU, write to: aaup.gvsu@gmail.com

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