I’d like to invite you to join the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).  The AAUP champions academic freedom, advances shared governance, and organizes all faculty to promote economic security and quality education.  AAUP members also include researchers, graduate students, academic advisors, and other professional staff who need academic freedom to do their work.

Here’s a link to join and here are several reasons to consider joining.  Dues are on a sliding scale.  AAUP is a nonprofit membership association of faculty and other academic professionals of 45,000 members.  If you have access to funding that pays for professional memberships, then that funding might be able to cover the AAUP membership fees.  

We have caught glimpses of the many attacks on academic freedom and shared governance to come in the next Legislative session at the Texas Senate hearing on May 14 and from legislative priorities already released.  Like we did last Legislative session, Texas AAUP will mobilize AAUP members to work with the Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and other advocacy orgs to have a daily ground game.  We’re using this summer to organize.  Follow us on X @TexasAaup for daily updates.

A particularly exciting development is that Texas AAUP voted on March 30, 2024, in favor of affiliating with Texas AFT to amplify advocacy and benefits for Texas AAUP members:

• Amplified advocacy with the 66,000 members and dedicated full-time staff of Texas AFT will help us be more ready for the next legislative session.  Texas AFT hosted a legislative testimony training on May 13, 2024. Many more to come.
• Amplified benefits include $8M occupational liability coverage, legal aid for civil lawsuits, legal defense for employment matters, and advocates to help faculty in administrative meetings, investigations, and grievances.  More info.

Our Texas AAUP affiliation with Texas AFT is a natural follow-up to the National AAUP affiliation with National AFT on August 1, 2022.  National AFT has 1.7M members including 148,000 professors, and is part of the AFL-CIO with 12M members.

For more information, please see our reasons to join AAUP. Feel free to email me with any questions or concerns.

Brian L. Evans, PhD | He/His/Him | aaup.texas@gmail.com
President-Elect, Texas AAUP-AFT Conference