Category: Uncategorized
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Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors is affiliated with Texas American Federation of Teachers -
Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors is affiliated with Texas American Federation of Teachers Brian L. Evans, PhD
President, Texas AAUP-AFT Conference, aaup.texas@gmail.comOur 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]
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.
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Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors is affiliated with Texas American Federation of Teachers AAUP is concerned about all faculty, regardless of rank or tenure status. We champion academic freedom, advance shared governance, and organize all faculty to promote economic security and quality education. Below, I mention several ways National AAUP and Texas AAUP-AFT have been advocating for professional track faculty, and we’re always looking for ways to do better. We organize faculty of all ranks and tenure status on topics of concern to our members. Please join us at Texas AAUP-AFT.
National data. Nationally, about 24% of faculty have tenure, 9% are on tenure-track, and 67% are not on tenure track. Of those not on tenure track, about 70% are part-time and 30% are full-time. AAUP has published in-depth data analysis in the following:
Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education
At UT Austin, about 50% of faculty are on tenure-track or are tenured and 50% are professional track faculty, not including the medical school.
Salary survey. Each year since 1972, AAUP has been conducting a faculty salary data. 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. The survey tracks salaries for instructors, assistant professors, associate professors, and full professors. Instructors are employed on short-term contracts without the possibility of earning tenure. At many institutions, assistant professors are on the tenure-track, and associate and full professors have tenure. Also, decline in state support for public higher ed causes a shift towards more non-tenure-track faculty:
Advocacy for non-tenure-track faculty. Many bills and priorities at the State Legislature affect all faculty, regardless of rank or tenure status. For example, none of the topics at Texas Senate Higher Education Subcommittee Hearing on Sept. 27, 2024, relate to tenure. All three items affect all faculty, regardless of rank or tenure status.
AAUP’s statements on academic freedom in teaching, research, and expression apply to all teachers. Teachers include all faculty, regardless of rank or tenure status, as well as graduate students, researchers, and others in a teaching role.
In the AAUP principles, the safeguards for academic freedom include due process, shared governance, and tenure. AAUP principles say that upon the eighth year of appointment, a full-time non-tenure-track faculty member should receive de facto tenure.
Texas AAUP-AFT has been advocating for due process and shared governance for tenure-track, tenured and non-tenure track faculty. We’ve also been advocating for rolling multiyear employment contracts for NTT faculty and for strengthening tenure.
In October 2023, Texas AAUP-AFT officers created an Office of Faculty Representation to advocate for faculty. 15 of our first 30 cases have been for non-tenure-track faculty. For example, our second case which was in October 2023 was for a non-tenure-track faculty member facing dismissal under the new tenure bill, Texas SB 18. On the same day the faculty member called us, we rallied AAUP members on the Faculty Senate to help the faculty member navigate the process, and within a couple of days, had arranged a lawyer to represent them in the grievance hearing. The faculty won their grievance hearing and the dismissal notice was dismissed.
Something might have struck you in that grievance case. The tenure bill, SB 18, was weaponized against non-tenure-track faculty members. This is because the second part of SB 18 defines 10 reasons for “good cause” to dismiss a faculty member, and that they apply to all faculty, regardless of rank or tenure status. Once SB 18 passed, Texas AAUP rallied the Faculty Senate presidents across the state to raise the bar for the 10 actions that can lead to dismissal to require that they be severe, intentional, and pervasive. This standard was adopted in the UT System and many other systems. Raising the bar helps all faculty members, regardless of rank or tenure status. Here’s the UT Austin AAUP Chapter response to the UT System concerning the UT System implementation of SB 18:
In the last Texas Legislature, we were able to garner bipartisan support to change the definition of tenure on the House floor from one-year employment contracts to continuous employment. This also saved multi-year employment contracts for professional track faculty. In fact, this bipartisan change in the definition of tenure is being used as a basis for a class action lawsuit by non-tenure-track faculty at Dallas College for their replacement of multi-year employment contracts with one-year employment contracts for faculty. All of their faculty are non-tenure-track. Here’s a visual summary of the Texas AAUP Legislative advocacy in the last session:
In the last Texas Legislature, Texas AAUP-AFT also helped stop the censorship bill, SB 16. This would have placed gag orders on all faculty (regardless of rank or tenure status) on topics related to gender, nationality, or ethnicity as well as political, social, and religious beliefs and practices.
Again, in the twelve months of existence, the Office of Faculty Representation has handled appeals and grievances for 15 non-tenure-track faculty members. Here’s another example: The faculty member’s Dean reassigned their duties in a way that caused a $40,000/year loss in income that had been stipulated in their employment contract. The faculty member had been afforded due process. We helped with their appeal and accompanied them in their meetings with their Dean. The Dean restored the $40,000/year in compensation.
We encourage all AAUP members to be involved in the Faculty Senate and its standing committees. Faculty Senate recommends policy changes, and hears appeals from tenure-track, tenured and non-tenure-track faculty concerning annual reviews and promotion cases as well as faculty grievances.
At UT Austin, for example, many AAUP members who are NTT faculty members have held leadership roles in the Faculty Council and its committees, including the Educational Policy Committee and IT Committee. The President of the Faculty Council in 2022-2024, Jen Moon, is an AAUP member and Professor of Instruction. We keep AAUP membership confidential, but Jen has made her AAUP membership public.
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Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors is affiliated with Texas American Federation of Teachers Updated November 20, 2025.
In Texas, the need to organize faculty to advocate on campus and in the State Legislature is greater than ever. By itself, Texas AAUP lacks the lobbying, policy analysis, IT support, media consultants, and lawyers to meet the need. All statewide and campus chapter officers in Texas AAUP are volunteers, and Texas AAUP has no employees. National AAUP staff, which have dwindled from about 60 to 25 in the last two years, are very efficient but are stretched thin to serve the 42,000 AAUP members and 500 campus chapters.
Texas AFT, with 66,000 members and 45 staff, amplifies Texas AAUP advocacy. Texas AFT has organizers, lobbyists, policy analysts, IT, media consultants, and lawyers. During the last Legislative session in Spring 2023, Texas AFT gave us the training, guidance, and staff support to champion academic freedom. Through Texas AFT, Texas AAUP garnered bipartisan support to amend the definition of tenure in SB 18 to be continuous employment instead of one-year contracts.
On March 30, 2024, Texas AAUP voted in favor to affiliate with Texas AFT. The agreement took effect on March 30, 2024, because Texas AFT, National AAUP, and National AFT had already approved the Affiliation Agreement. The agreement was possible because National AAUP had affiliated with National AFT on August 1, 2022.
Through the affiliation agreement, Texas AAUP became Texas AAUP-AFT and AFT Local 8041A. That is, Texas AAUP-AFT is now a Local Union within Texas AFT. Texas AFT hired two full-time organizers solely for Texas AAUP-AFT who started July 1, 2024, Alvaro Chavez and Amanda Garcia. During the Texas Legislative Session from Jan. 14, 2025, to June 2, 2025, Amanda Garcia has been primarily a lobbyist who was at the Legislature every day lobbying for academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance in higher education.
Per the Affiliation Agreement, “The Texas AAUP will pay the Texas AFT the per capita consistent with the Texas AFT constitution on all its members that it receives dues.” (page 7). Here, “per capita” means “per member”. On July 15, 2024, Texas AFT President Zeph Capo adopted a sliding scale of three dues bands with $120 for the highest dues band, $60 for the middle dues band, and $30 for the lowest dues band. President Capo considered different groupings of the nine National AAUP dues bands into three levels using data from National AAUP before making his final decision. The AAUP Lifetime Members as of July 15, 2024, would be grandfathered in and would not have to pay any additional dues.
No matter how the nine National AAUP dues bands are grouped into three bands, there will be a different impact on those in each of the nine National AAUP dues bands. Here’s the effect calculated for each band. The highest increase as a percentage of salary occurs in National AAUP dues bands 1, 4, and 7, and National AAUP dues bands 3, 6, and 9 have the lowest percentage increase.
First, I consider three salary levels in each band that represent the lowest, middle, and highest salary in that band. In band 1, I set the lowest salary to $20,000. In band 9, there’s only one salary, which is $120,001:
AAUP Salary Band Lowest Middle Highest 1 $20,000 $25,000 $30,000 2 $30,001 $35,000 $40,000 3 $40,001 $45,000 $50,000 4 $50,001 $55,000 $60,000 5 $60,001 $65,000 $70,000 6 $70,001 $75,000 $80,000 7 $80,001 $90,000 $100,000 8 $100,001 $110,000 $120,000 9 $120,001 Below, I subtract the new dues as a percentage of their academic income from the National AAUP dues as a percentage of their academic income:
AAUP Salary Band Lowest Middle Highest 1 0.38% 0.30% 0.25% 2 0.18% 0.15% 0.13% 3 0.06% 0.06% 0.05% 4 0.30% 0.28% 0.25% 5 0.16% 0.15% 0.14% 6 0.09% 0.08% 0.08% 7 0.22% 0.20% 0.18% 8 0.15% 0.14% 0.12% 9 0.10% These new dues include National AAUP dues and Texas AFT dues. The Texas AFT dues help cover the salaries of the organizers, lobbyists, policy analysts, IT support, and media consultants who are assisting our members.
In addition, Texas AAUP-AFT also receives 4% of the National AAUP dues back for its cash reserves and also receives funding from Texas AFT.
Collectively, the new dues structure will help Texas AAUP-AFT build its Legal Defense Fund. Here are example legal costs:
$ 2,500 Letter from a lawyer
$ 25,000 Legal Representation through a Faculty Grievance Process
$250,000 Legal Representation through trial
The volunteers in the Texas AAUP-AFT Office of Faculty Representation are assisting 80 faculty in responding to investigations, discipline, and/or dismissal. Prior to the Texas AAUP-AFT registration portal opening on Sept. 27, 2024, everyone using OFR services would have had to pay for legal representation out of their personal funds. Since Sept. 27, 2024, members who join through the Texas AAUP-AFT registration portal would be eligible for our Legal Defense Fund.
From September 27, 2024, to August 31, 2025, here are the current Texas AAUP-AFT dues to provide the services and support critical for Texas AAUP-AFT members to advocate on campus and in the Legislature:
$155/yr (or $12.50/mo) for annual income below $50k (AAUP bands 1-3)
$305/yr (or $25.42/mo) for annual income $50k-80K (AAUP bands 4-6)
$451/yr (or $37.60/mo) for annual income above $80k (AAUP bands 7-9)For comparison, the top dues category is $633/year for the Texas Faculty Association and $42.25/mo for the Austin Community College AFT Local. The new Texas AAUP-AFT dues structure would apply when one renews their membership or joins as a new member.
Texas AFT increased its dues on Sept. 1, 2025. Here’s the new sliding scale dues structure for Texas AAUP-AFT based on one’s annual academic income:
$13.34/month for an annual income of $50,000 or less
$26.74/month for an annual income between $50,000 and $80,000
$39.48/month for an annual income above $80,000.In Texas, the need to organize faculty to advocate on campus and in the State Legislature is greater than ever. Through the Texas AFT dues, Texas AFT provides the staff support through organizing, lobbying, policy analysis, IT support, media consultants, and lawyers to meet the need. National AAUP does not have these resources. As we build the Texas AAUP-AFT Legal Defense Fund using our new dues structure, we’ll be able to help cover more and more of the costs for legal representation for our members, with a goal of having a fully funded Legal Defense Fund in two years.
Best,
Brian
Brian L. Evans, PhD | He/His/Him | aaup.texas@gmail.com | 512-516-5991
President, Texas AAUP-AFT Conference, AFT Local 8041AFollow us on X @TexasAaup and @aaup_utAustin.
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October 11, 2024
President Jay Hartzell
Office of the President
University of Texas at AustinDear President Hartzell:
On behalf of the University of Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors, we write to express our surprise and disappointment at your decision to refuse to review Ann Stevens for a possible second term as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. For over 100 years, the AAUP has stood for the values of academic freedom, shared governance, and due process—all fundamental to the greatness of American research universities. We believe that your action with respect to Dean Stevens is a serious violation of due process and damaging to the reputation of UT Austin.
Dean Stevens was selected in 2019 from a national pool of applicants, following a rigorous review process overseen by then-Provost Maurie McInnis. Faculty, staff, students, and deans all participated in reviewing Dean Stevens’ qualifications and vision for the College of Liberal Arts. We believe that a review of her accomplishments as Dean would demonstrate the strong support she has among faculty, staff, students, and fellow deans, and we are certain that she deserves such a review. The Regents Rules, the Handbook of Operating Procedures, and AAUP principles all support this view.
Regents Rule 20102 on the Appointment of Institutional Administrative Officers states in Section 3, Consultation: “The Board of Regents endorses the principle of reasonable consultation in the selection of administrative officers of the institutions and the primary operating units and expects the president, as he or she deems appropriate, to consult in the selection process with the representatives of the faculty, staff, and student body.” We understand that the President is not bound by the recommendations of a consultative body, but we maintain that the President is obligated to engage in a meaningful process of consultation—as has been customary at the University of Texas at Austin.
Moreover, the Handbook of Operating Procedures 2-2130 on the Evaluation of Deans of Colleges and Schools states the following under B. Periodic Evaluation, 1. Timing:
“At a time not later than the conclusion of a six-year appointment as dean, an evaluation committee shall be constituted in the same manner as a consultative committee for deans of established schools and colleges (see HOP 2-2110).” Looking at HOP-2-2110, we find under 4. Committee Composition for Selecting Deans of Established Schools and Colleges: “Five voting members of the faculty of the school or college for which a dean is being sought, elected by that faculty by the Hare-Clark Preferential Voting System, and two voting members of the General Faculty, not including administrative officials, appointed by the President; three students appointed by the President from a panel of not fewer than five nor more than ten names selected by the student council for that school or college; and such other persons as the President may deem appropriate.”The Regents Rules and the HOP are consistent with the AAUP Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities, which states in section 2.c.: “The selection of academic deans and other chief academic officers should be the responsibility of the president with the advice of, and in consultation with, the appropriate faculty. Determinations of faculty status, normally based on the recommendations of the faculty groups involved, are discussed in Part 5 of this statement; but it should here be noted that the building of a strong faculty requires careful joint effort in such actions as staff selection and promotion and the granting of tenure. Joint action should also govern dismissals; the applicable principles and procedures in these matters are well established.” As to Faculty Evaluation of Administrators, the AAUP states: “Fellow administrators, faculty, students, and others should participate in the review according to their legitimate interest in the result, with faculty of the unit accorded the primary voice in the case of academic administrators.” The full statement gives a strong rationale for the involvement of faculty, staff, and students in decisions regarding administrators.
Clearly the faculty, staff, and students of the College of Liberal Arts have a “legitimate interest” in the evaluation of Dean Stevens for retention or replacement. As the AAUP rightly states, just as the selection of an administrator requires careful joint action, the evaluation of administrators must also involve faculty, staff, and students of the unit concerned. Anything short of this is unfair to Dean Stevens and disrespects the joint efforts that faculty, staff, and students have made, and continue to make, under her leadership.
We urge you to reconsider your decision to refrain from evaluating Ann Stevens for retention as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Based on UT System and UT Austin rules, as well as AAUP standards, the Dean should be allowed to present her accomplishments just as CoLA faculty, staff, and students should be allowed to share in the evaluation of her tenure as Dean. The course that you have embarked on will destabilize the largest college in the university; harm relations with faculty, staff, and donors; negatively affect recruitment efforts; and cast doubt on UT Austin’s commitment to established principles of governance. For the good of the University, we ask that you restore a fair and thorough review process in this case as well as in future cases.
Sincerely yours,
Executive Committee, UT Austin Chapter, American Association of University Professors (Pauline Strong, Brian Evans, Andrea Gore, Lauren Gutterman, Steven Seegel, Karma Chavez)
Cc:
Rachel Davis Mersey, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost
Amanda Cochran-McCall, Vice President for Legal Affairs
Stella Flores, Chair, Faculty Council
Ann Huff Stevens, Dean, College of Liberal Arts -
October 9, 2024
President Welsh and Provost Sams,
The Texas A&M University chapter of the American Association of University Professors (TAMU-AAUP College Station) writes to express our concerns regarding the inactivation of minors and certificates currently being considered. We agree with the request of the Speaker of the Texas A&M Faculty Senate, Dr. Angie Hill Price, that the current inactivation process be invalidated and that all minors and certificates be allowed to continue their work of educating and enrolling new students.
The AAUP, as a national association committed to free speech and shared governance, is concerned about recent media reports, which suggest external influences on Texas A&M’s curriculum decisions. Objectively, these media reports raise questions about the integrity of the inactivation process.
In particular, the LGBTQ minor is a relatively new addition to the curriculum. We believe it should be given a reasonable and transparent timeline to recruit and graduate students, as with any other academic program. The AAUP supports the Women’s Studies faculty in their opposition to the minor’s deactivation and believes any deactivations must be implemented in a manner that involves faculty in all steps of the process. Specific to this minor, the unanimous vote by the Women’s Studies program against the inactivation of the minor underscores the desire of this faculty to have these studies continued.
The “inactivation process” as it currently stands appears to deviate from Texas A&M’s Standard Administrative Procedures (SAPs). It is crucial that faculty remain involved and engaged at every stage of academic decision-making, as codified in the University’s SAPs. The “inactivation process” as it currently stands appears to deviate from Texas A&M’s Standard Administrative Procedures (SAPs) (i.e., 11.99.99.M0.01 and 11.99.99.M0.02) and SOCSCOC’s expectations with respect to academic governance.
The Faculty Senate plays a vital role in this governance process, and we strongly urge the University to reaffirm its commitment to shared governance in all academic matters – particularly those that may not align with prevailing public opinion. As educators, we all share the responsibility for creating an open forum for study, where students are empowered to explore their chosen fields without undue interference. In a free and open society, education must remain a pillar of self-expression, intellectual curiosity, and creativity. Our future as a society depends on safeguarding academic freedom, ensuring that it is applied equally to all, without bias or constraint.
On behalf of the membership of TAMU-AAUP,
Leadership Team
AAUP Texas A&M College Station Chapter
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From: Price, Angie H
Sent: Wednesday, October 2, 2024 3:20 PM
To: President <president@tamu.edu>; Sams, Alan R <asams@tamu.edu>
Subject: Request regarding the current inactivation process- certiicates and minorsDear President Welsh and Provost Sams,
I appreciate the recent opportunities to meet with each of you to share concerns about the current process for the inactivation of minors and certificates. After hearing from many faculty, as well as administrators and students, the inescapable conclusion that I have come to is that the development of the process and its implementation were deeply flawed and lacked meaningful input from many stakeholders.
I am respectfully requesting, therefore, that the current process and resultant inactivation of the certificate and minors be completely abandoned, and those certificates and minors be allowed to continue and enroll students. I also request that the Faculty Senate be allowed to work with the administration to develop a revised process with reasonable timelines and metrics, aligned with relevant state and federal requirements, which would be applied in a forward facing, not retroactive manner. This open and transparent process will enable the entire University community to understand the goals of such a process, and the metrics for assessment. Existing curricular processes and committees can then review all minors and certificates in an impartial manner, with no surprises to anyone. Any department or program proposing a minor or certificate would, and should, know in advance the timeline and clearly defined metrics on which each program will be assessed in order to be approved and to be allowed to continue.
I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this concept with you, or to provide any additional information.
My very best regards,
Angie Hill Price, PhD
Speaker of the Faculty Senate
Texas A&M University
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Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors is affiliated with Texas American Federation of Teachers This blog post has been moved to
https://aaup-texas.org/blog/f/join-the-aaup-members-on-your-campus
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Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors is affiliated with Texas American Federation of Teachers - “Senate Higher Ed Subcommittee Convenes to Study DEI, Free Speech, & Antisemitism“, Texas AFT, May 16, 2024
- Testimony from 85 on anti-DEI SB 17, 46 on free speech, and 23 on antisemitism. Some testified on more than one topic.
- Videorecording. Public testimony begins at 5:55:00. Testimony by
- AAUP Members Leonard Bright (5:59:09), Andrea Gore (6:11:38), David Albert (7:12:38), Brian Evans (7:32:57), Angela Valenzuela (8:24:26), Brent Iverson (8:44:07), Polly Strong (9:42:54)
- NAACP LDF Antonio Ingram (6:45:06)
- TFA President & AAUP Member Pat Heintzelman (7:30:40)
- TSEU Member Anne Lewis (8:00:30)
- Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe (10:07:47)
- “Senate Higher Ed Subcommittee Convenes to Study DEI, Free Speech, & Antisemitism“, Texas AFT, May 16, 2024
AAUP@UT 