Academic freedom is understood as a set of individual protections and community practices for faculty to assess quality, promote truth-seeking, and advance the common good through research, teaching, and other expression. It is also understood as a set of institutional principles for universities when it comes to decision-making about academic…

The authors of this statement call for a recommitment to shared governance, including meaningful faculty involvement and the consultation of scholars in the humanities before making decisions to eliminate academic programs. Furthermore, they stand for fair treatment and equitable working conditions for faculty, graduate instructors, and staff…

Despite mounting evidence, universities continue to insist that academic freedom -- one of the most cherished of all tertiary values -- remains an immutable part of institutional life. After all, how can the modern university retain its image as a bastion of free, critical thought if academies are muzzled? Still, as the manageriat likes to remind…

Effective, inclusive, equitable, and evidence-based teaching is widely recognized as a crucial part of higher education change efforts with direct implications for student success and belonging, particularly at the undergraduate level where coursework plays a large role. It is also essential that faculty enact effective curriculum design and…

This article provides an account of the undermining of collegial governance at the University of Alberta in relation to the restructuring of the university in 2020 by the senior administration and board on advice provided by the Australian consultancy firm, the Nous Group. The current president of the university has publicly promoted the…

Whatever their political persuasion, most observers of American higher education now agree that the real or apparent politicization of universities has become a major problem. In this report, the authors proposes an accreditation model designed to strengthen faculty governance by applying clear standards, guiding principles, and evidence-based…

Home to the nation's largest Latinx (15 million), Asian American NHPI (almost 7 million) and the 5th largest Black (2.8 million) populations, California is the nation's most diverse and populous state. This diversity is one of the state's greatest assets, yet, representation of racially minoritized leaders in California's colleges and universities…

Investment committees have important governance responsibilities in assuring the successful management of college and university endowments and other institutional pools of capital. The success (or failure) of the investment committee has a large, direct impact on the resources available to the institution to attract and retain quality faculty,…

The American Chemical Society (ACS) supports community college chemistry faculty by addressing curriculum, laboratory, and safety issues; however, these faculty are underrepresented in the ACS governance structure, which contributes to under-serving two-year college specific needs and low engagement by two-year faculty in the ACS.

This is the report of an investigating committee concerning the dissolution of the faculty senate at Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina. In April 2023, the SCC administration unilaterally abolished the faculty senate, an action it admitted taking to prevent the senate from voting that day to oppose the administration's imposition of a…

This statement was drafted by a subcommittee of the Association's Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure and approved by Committee A at its June 2024 meeting. The Association views the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) criteria in faculty recruitment, promotion, and retention as within the broader vision of higher education for the…

Using the University of Hawai'i Manoa Study Abroad Center as a case study, this essay argues that in all areas of programming and functioning, a viable Study Abroad Center must involve faculty from all areas of the institution. The author argues that positive outcomes for students depend on shared governance, and the key to shared governance is…

Shared governance has become a critical focus for senior leaders concerned with institutional resilience and effectiveness. A blue-ribbon commission of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB, 2014) called on boards to take seriously this area of responsibility. At the same time, shared governance is a notoriously…

This report addresses the actions taken in September 2021 by the administration of Indiana University Northwest that led to the dismissal and revocation of tenure of Dr. Mark McPhail. The investigating committee found that IUN violated several AAUP-recommended standards of academic due process and the protection of intramural speech in the…

This report concerns issues of academic governance stemming from the actions of the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District to terminate the "meet-and-confer" provision of the residential faculty policies manual and to mandate the later repeal of the entire manual. For four decades, the faculty and…