Updated May 2, 2024.

I’d like to invite you to join the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).  Here’s the link to join. Dues are on a sliding scale.

AAUP champions academic freedom, advances shared governance, and organizes all faculty to promote economic security and quality education. 

Through its campus chapters, statewide conference, and national organization, AAUP can help all faculty navigate

• Career support: Mentoring, promotion, and social network of scholars
• Campus climate: Academic freedom, shared governance, campus policies
• Individual protections: Administrative ambushes, faculty rights, due process
• Implementations of State laws: Guidance for anti-DEI SB 17 and faculty firing SB 18

AAUP Membership is open to all adjunct, lecturer, instructional, clinical, tenure-track, tenured, and retired faculty as well as graduate students, researchers, clinicians, academic advisors, and other professional staff.  AAUP has 45,000 members. In Texas, AAUP members are on 75 college and university campuses. We keep membership private except for officers. 

Amplified Advocacy and Benefits. In addition to AAUP member benefits, every AAUP member automatically becomes a member of the national American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and receives AFT benefits.  AFT is a national K-12 and higher ed union with 1.7M members including 148,000 professors. On March 30, 2024, Texas AAUP members voted in favor of affiliating with Texas AFT, so now Texas AAUP members also receive

• Amplified advocacy. Texas AFT has 66,000 members and full-time staff.
• Member benefits include $8M occupational liability coverage, legal aid for civil cases, legal defense for employment matters, and staff to be your representative in meetings, investigations, and grievances.
• Officer benefits include Board of Directors insurance.

Texas AAUP-AFT holds statewide meetings; gives training on academic freedom, tenure and shared governance; and coordinates Legislative advocacy.  Texas AAUP-AFT is organizing for the next Texas Legislative session, which is expected to be much harsher on higher ed than the last session.  In the last session, with help from other advocacy organizations, Texas AAUP-AFT was able to get the definition of tenure in SB 18 changed from one-year employment contracts to continuous employment, which also helps strengthen multi-year contracts for non-tenure-track faculty.  We opposed censorship SB16, anti-DEI SB17, and others – more info here.

Academic freedom is the freedom from censorship by the institution or the government. This freedom extends to teaching, research, and expression. Academic freedom allows professors to develop and disseminate new knowledge from all viewpoints, including conservative, moderate, liberal, and apolitical. Academic freedom also allows professors to help students develop the critical thinking, knowledge, training, and professional networks needed for successful careers.

Advocacy in our systems and campuses.  When the regular Legislative session ended, our attention turned to advocating with the Regents of University Systems and Trustees of Community College Districts on how to implement the new higher ed laws.  Interim Texas AAUP President Brian Evans presented at an emergency Texas Council of Faculty Senates meeting on June 23, 2023, about shared governance to implement anti-DEI SB 17 and tenure SB 18:  slides and videorecording. System and institutional policies can make these bad bills less harmful to students, staff and faculty.

Allied Orgs. Our advocacy is amplified by teaming with AAUP, Texas AFT, AFT, Texas Association of College Teachers, Texas Council of Faculty Senates, Texas Faculty Association, Texas Faculty Coalition, Texas State Employees Union, Black Brown Dialogues on Policy, Texas Students for DEI, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and other orgs.

Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @TexasAaup and @aaup_utAustin.

Best,
Brian

Brian L. Evans, PhD | He/His/Him | aaup.texas@gmail.com | 512-516-5991
Interim President, Texas AAUP Conference

_{^{April 6, 2023, after testifying against SB 17 at the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee hearing at the Texas Capitol. Allen Liu (farthest left) and Hamida Labi (front row; third from left) NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Polly Strong (back row; farthest left) Texas AAUP; Irene Mulvey (back row; second from left) National AAUP President; Brian Evans (back row; third from right) Texas AAUP VP; Miriam Leaky (back row; second from right) Legislative Black Caucus; Emilio Zamora (front row; second from left) and Angela Valenzuela (front row; second from right) Director of Black Brown Dialogues on Policy and Member of AAUP}}.