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As the national organization of all faculty members from all academic fields, the AAUP brings the expertise of its professional, full-time staff in Washington, D.C. to Villanova in ways requested by our local chapter. It can bring the weight of broad exposure to bear on individual colleges and universities, as it has done recently during the direct assaults on tenure at Bennington College in Vermont and the University of Minnesota. It commonly deals with the more usual threat to tenure: administrators’ desire for flexibility and chronic complaints about underfunding – all of which leads to the frequent use of adjunct faculty who have little job security, low pay, few if any benefits, and no pension. Nationally, almost half of all college courses are taught by adjunct faculty. Tenured professors account for only 30 percent of college teachers.
In the past, the Villanova chapter of the AAUP sponsored meetings on faculty
organization with Patrick B. Shaw, Associate Secretary, AAUP Department of
Organizing and Services in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Jeffrey Halpern, a
university and national AAUP faculty leader from Rider University.
We sponsored a discussion of the Office of Mission Effectiveness’
document, “Guide for Faculty Search Committee: Mission Centered Hiring.”
We also offered a discussion of Ex Corde Ecclesiae,
including then recent events surrounding the mandatum (which Roman Catholic
theologians are now required to obtain) and the wider implications of these
events for the Villanova academic community.
Academic freedom is not free. Every organization requires time and money; still, membership dues to the AAUP are reasonable. Regular annual membership to the American Medical Association (AMA) is $378.00; the American Bar Association membership dues are $295.00 a year for members of ten years or more. In contrast, AAUP membership ranges from $10 for graduate students to $140 for full time faculty. Membership Benefits
To further our work at Villanova and to maintain the national AAUP’s support of
our chapter, we need your continued support.
Our influence at Villanova depends on your participation and membership.
Our executive committee urges you to participate in our programs and
discussions.
We ask you to please renew your membership and to encourage other faculty
to join.
Thank you for your consideration of this.
To join the AAUP, please click here. American Association of University
Professors |