Brian L. Evans, PhD
President, Texas AAUP-AFT Conference, aaup.texas@gmail.com

Our faculty working conditions are our students’ learning environment, and the need to advocate for better faculty working conditions to improve the quality of education is greater than ever.

In our August survey, faculty revealed deep dissatisfaction with the state of higher ed in Texas, highlighting the negative impacts of political interference and deteriorating working conditions on faculty morale and retention [1].  The top concern was the state’s political climate followed by anxieties about academic freedom, salary, and diversity, equity, and inclusion issues.

We’re much stronger together when championing free inquiry, free expression, and open dissent, which are critical for student learning and the advancement of knowledge.  Our collective voice is stronger when advocating against infringement on academic freedom and its safeguards of due process and shared governance.  We can push for transparency and participation in budget decisions, and call out administrations when they cut teaching budgets while bloating their own administrative budgets. [2]

Join Texas AAUP-AFT

Since 1915, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has been the central organizing force in higher ed due to its widely adopted principles on academic freedom [3] and shared goverance [4].  In Texas, the advocacy by AAUP members is amplified by the 66,000 members and 40 staff of Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT).  Texas AAUP is affiliated with Texas AFT.

Texas AAUP-AFT provides training for advocacy on campus as AAUP members and with your elected officials as private individuals using your First Amendment Rights.  Here’s the link to join.  Membership benefits include liability insurance and legal aid.  Monthly dues are on a sliding scale, and membership is kept confidential.  Here are several reasons to join AAUP.   Please provide a nonwork email address on the registration form to allow us the widest possibility latitude in discussing issues and action to take.

Feel free to e-mail me comments or questions at aaup.texas@gmail.com.

References

[1] Large Majority of Texas Faculty Express Concern About Higher Education; More than a Quarter Consider Leaving Next Year, Survey Finds, Joint Press Release by Texas AAUP-AFT and the Texas Faculty Association, Sept. 5, 2024.

[2] Faculty Compensation Survey.  AAUP has been conducting this survey since 1972.  The data are drawn from a national database to which colleges and universities report salary data.  The survey has shown that faculty salaries have been flat since 1972; i.e., they have not increased after adjusting for inflation.  The survey also tracks administrative bloat, which draws significant resources away from the hiring of more faculty, multi-year employment contracts and tenure, staff compensation, and student support.

[3] Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom & Tenure, jointly formulated by American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) representing college and university administrations and AAUP representing professors. Adopted by more than 85% of public and non-profit four-year universities in the US.

[4] Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities, jointly formulated by the AAUP, American Council on Education, and Association of Governing Boards of Universities & Colleges. The AAUP represents faculty, ACE represents college and university administrations, and AGB represents University Systems, Boards of Regents, and Boards of Trustees. ACE has more than 1500 college and university members and AGB has more than 1300 college, university, and system members.