An AAUP advocacy chapter provides a welcoming and vibrant community of teachers and researchers who are devoted to preserving and strengthening each member’s academic freedom:

• Helps faculty connect with other faculty across campus
• Gives training on AAUP principles of academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance jointly formulated with college and university administrations and widely adopted in US colleges and universities
• Gives training on departmental, college, and university governance on campus and how to get your individual and collective voices heard
• Works with the Faculty Senate to influence changes to campus policies
• Encourages members to participate in shared governance at all levels of the institution, including run for Faculty Senate
• Provides mentoring and professional development for a network of scholars, including giving advice for preparing a promotion case
• Helps faculty navigate policies, investigations, and grievances, and connect faculty with resources from Texas AAUP-AFT and AAUP
• Hosts seminars and panels on academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance for faculty, staff, administrators and future faculty
• Gives training in Legislative advocacy and advocates at the State Legislature

Forming a chapter.  AAUP has step-by-step instructions to form an AAUP Chapter on your campus. At least seven AAUP members and three elected officers among the AAUP members are required. The process starts by identifying an AAUP member to serve as the Convener. The Convener is not obligated to stand for election for an officer position. It can be helpful to hold an information meeting before the following steps take place. Ccontact the Texas AAUP President at aaup.texas@gmail.com for assistance.

Here are the steps:

1. The Convener invites all AAUP members on campus to a meeting.
   • Contact the Texas AAUP President at aaup.texas@gmail.com to obtain a roster for the AAUP members on your campus and discuss ideas about how to implement these three steps.
   • About a week before the meeting, the Convener sends a draft of the by-laws to all AAUP members for comment. Here are the by-laws for the UT Arlington AAUP Chapter in Word.
2. At the meeting, and 90 minutes would likely be enough time,
   • Invite all AAUP members to attend.
   • Adopt by-laws
     • By-laws for the UT Arlington AAUP Chapter in Word.  
     • By-laws have a quorum rule of 20% of AAUP members.
   • Hold officer elections
     • Only AAUP members can nominate candidates, stand for election, vote, and hold office.
     • Campuses with 7-15 AAUP members could hold nominations and elections in the 90-minute meeting if a quorum is present
     • Campuses with more than 15 AAUP members should consider holding the nomination and election processes electronically with enough time in each step (e.g. a week)
     • A minimum of three officers must be elected — President, Vice President, and Treasurer-Secretary. It is okay if the other officer positions in the by-laws (if any) are not filled.
     • Officers must keep their AAUP memberships up to date during their elected terms
     • AAUP officer positions should be independent of the Central Administration. We would recommend that the current President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President of the Faculty Senate not be an AAUP Chapter Officer.  
3. Send the list of officers and by-laws to the National AAUP Office at organizing@aaup.org

AAUP Chapter Funding. AAUP Chapters may apply for funding from AAUP Advocacy Chapter Mobilization Fund for grants up to $7500. In addition, a new AAUP chapter can apply for $300 of funding from the Texas AAUP conference for an event for its members, including the reception for the President and Provost.  This opportunity is also available for AAUP chapters who have not previously used this funding.

AAUP Membership is open to all current and retired faculty members, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, and academic advisors. Administrators, e.g. Deans, Provost, and President, can become non-voting Associate Members but not Members.  When joining AAUP, one would automatically become members of Texas AAUP and American Federation of Teachers at no extra charge.  AFT is a national K-12 and higher ed union with 1.7M members including 148,000 professors.  If there is an AAUP Chapter on your campus, then AAUP Members would automatically join the AAUP Chapter as well. Here are the local chapters in Texas.