petersuber6d ago

The American Association of University Professors (#AAUP) and American Federation of Teachers (#AFT) just released a joint "Blueprint for Strengthening and Transforming Higher Education."
https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2026/Higher_Ed_Vision_and_Policy_Platform_326.pdf

Also see the summary by their two presidents.
https://www.highereddive.com/news/higher-education-must-be-rebuilt-to-restore-public-trust-heres-how/821031/

The blueprint calls for "transforming" higher ed, and the summary calls for "rebuilding" and "overhauling" it.

My take is that the blueprint conservatively restates ideals for higher ed long and widely held by academics themselves -- like me. Insofar as there's an argument here for transforming, rebuilding, and overhauling, it looks like this: The ideals need no revision. In fact, don't touch them. We've fallen short of living up to them, mostly through defunding and cost-shifting to students and their families.

I deeply wish to see us restore slashed funding, relieve student debt, and create fair pay and job security for professors. That might even deserve to be called transforming, rebuilding, and overhauling.

But is it enough to restore public trust? Is it true that the ideals need no revision? Do we need little or no transformation beyond economic transformation to respond to recent trends and current politics? Some of the harmful economic decisions (about tuition and pay) were forced by external circumstances, and some were not. But beyond those that were not, does the academy itself bear any responsibility for the current loss of trust?

#Academia #HigherEd #Universities

BongolianMar 25

Richard L. Hester: Lessons from the Faculty of a Small Denominational Seminary on Defending Academic Freedom. How one #AAUP chapter organized resistance to a fundamentalist takeover.

#history #Baptist #NorthCarolina #Protestant #academia #resistance
https://www.aaup.org/lessons-faculty-small-denominational-seminary-defending-academic-freedom

The USA PotatoMar 9

The Fight to Defend Pro-Palestine Speech on Campus Isn’t Over

Targeted for pro-Palestine speech, these academics are refusing to back down.

https://murica.website/2026/03/the-fight-to-defend-pro-palestine-speech-on-campus-isnt-over/

The Fight to Defend Pro-Palestine Speech on Campus Isn’t Over – The USA Potato

Show threadpetersuberFeb 27

Update. For a good history of US efforts to classify support for #Palestinians and criticism of #Israel as #antisemitism, see the Nov 2025 report from the Middle East Studies Association (#MESA) and the American Association of University Professors (#AAUP), "Discriminating Against Dissent: The Weaponization of Civil Rights Law to Repress Campus Speech on Palestine."
https://mesana.org/pdf/Discriminating_Against_Dissent_Report.pdf

There's a good (but #paywalled) summary of the report in this week's Chronicle of Higher Education.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-civil-rights-law-was-turned-against-civil-rights

#Academia #AcademicMastodon #Universities #USLaw #USPol #USPolitics

BongolianFeb 5

Johnda Bentley: Legal Watch: Coalition Litigation Strengthens the Defense of Academic Freedom

"The message is clear: Academic freedom is most effectively defended when we defend it together. This case provides evidence that our partnerships with other unions broaden our capacity to defend aca­demic freedom legally, politically, and institutionally. …"

#law #AAUP #union #university #freespeech
https://www.aaup.org/issue/winter-2026/legal-watch-coalition-litigation-strengthens-defense-academic-freedom

Cornell on FireJan 28

Due to freezing temperatures, we are postponing our meditation action originally planned for this Friday - Join us instead on Friday March 20 for a special meditation with the Trustees, who will be in town!

#climatechange #action #meditation #activism #Cornell #Ithaca #Sunrise #AAUP #union

Will HanleyJan 16
Really pleased that #MESA and #AAUP are zealously defending academic freedom. Assertiveness gets results--assuming this proposal becomes an order. Awful that it is members-only, though. Sorry that #AHA and other societies did not join the action. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/us/politics/student-protester-deportations-trump-khalil.html
Judge Proposes Restricting Deportation of Student Activists

In a case over the First Amendment rights of noncitizen scholars, a federal judge proposed extending protections to members of two academic groups behind a lawsuit.

The New York Times
Show threadpetersuberJan 14

Update. The Trump admin is demanding a list of Jewish faculty, staff, and students at #UPenn.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/13/upenn-trump-jews-list

Trump's #EEOC asked for the list last July. Penn refused, and the EEOC sued the university in November. What's new is that several groups just filed a motion in federal court to intervene in the lawsuit on the side of the university -- the American Association of University Professors (#AAUP, national and UPenn chapters), the American Academy of Jewish Research, the UPenn Jewish Law Students Association, the UPenn Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty.

From #StevenWeitzman, UPenn prof of religious studies and past member of its antisemitism taskforce: “Part of what sets off alarm bells for people like me is a history of people using Jewish lists against Jews. The Nazi campaign against Jews depended on institutions like universities handing over information about their Jewish members to the authorities.”

#Academia #AcademicMastodon #Antisemitism #Trump #Universities #USPol #USPolitics

UPenn faculty condemn Trump administration’s demand for ‘lists of Jews’

Groups say EEOC demand for names and personal details echoes dark history and threatens safety and civil rights

The Guardian
Dr. Baba Kofi WeusijanaDec 12
Support Sang while they fight repression! Venmo @sangheakil ❤️
The #SJSU president has overturned the Faculty Hearing Outcome and upheld Sang’s firing. The #AAUP believes that Sang may be the first full tenured professor fired for #Palestine.
#California #Israel #Gaza #War #TrumpAdministration #HigherEducation #USeducation #USProtest #USpol #USpolitics #news
https://www.instagram.com/bayarealabor4palestine/p/DRhzyKAj6UH/
Bay Area Labor For Palestine on Instagram: "Support Sang while they fight repression! Venmo @sang-kil ❤️ The SJSU president has overturned the Faculty Hearing Outcome and upheld Sang’s firing. The AAUP believes that Sang may be the first full tenured professor fired for Palestine. As Sang moves into arbitration, their abeyance expires on 11/26/25 and is not being extended. This means no pay and no benefits while Sang continues to fight their case. The best way to immediately financially support Sang is via their Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sang-kil. We all are invested in this outcome! Please support Sang while they fight their case!"

1,112 likes, 35 comments - bayarealabor4palestine on November 26, 2025: "Support Sang while they fight repression! Venmo @sang-kil ❤️ The SJSU president has overturned the Faculty Hearing Outcome and upheld Sang’s firing. The AAUP believes that Sang may be the first full tenured professor fired for Palestine. As Sang moves into arbitration, their abeyance expires on 11/26/25 and is not being extended. This means no pay and no benefits while Sang continues to fight their case. The best way to immediately financially support Sang is via their Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sang-kil. We all are invested in this outcome! Please support Sang while they fight their case!".

Instagram
Show threadpetersuberNov 16, 2025

Update. Here's the announcement from the American Association of University Professors (#AAUP), a co-plaintiff in the case.
https://www.aaup.org/news/win-aaup-v-trump-court-blocks-attacks-university-california-system

"Friday’s decision orders a stop to the Trump administration’s illegal weaponization of civil rights laws and federal funding to restrict free speech on UC campuses. During the hearing on the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the court noted the overwhelming evidence plaintiffs provided, which included numerous declarations from UC faculty and staff describing how the administration’s actions have chilled their rights of speech and association."

#Academia #AcademicMastodon #Censorship #DefendResearch #FirstAmendment #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USLaw #USPol #USPolitics #UCalifornia #Universities