In November, faculty members started an Advocacy Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at Sacred Heart University.
“The AAUP is a professional organization that sets standards for and advocates for our profession, much like the American Medical Association does for doctors. Since its founding in 1915, the AAUP works to defend academic freedom and protect the faculty’s role in the academic governance of their institutions,” said Dr. Brian Stiltner, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at SHU and AAUP Secretary.
“I think this chapter will be important for maintaining SHU’s excellence by promoting the faculty’s voice and their awareness of themselves as part of a nationwide profession. Virtually all the universities in Connecticut already have AAUP chapters, including Fairfield, Quinnipiac and Yale. Now SHU has one too,” said Stiltner.
AAUP was brought to SHU’s campus with the hopes of helping professors advocate for issues related to education and the SHU community.
“Education is our primary mission; it is why we chose this profession. So, we feel that faculty should have a stronger voice in shaping university priorities, and we hope our AAUP chapter can help us do that,” said Dr. Christel Manning, AAUP President and theology and religious studies professor.
“SHU has experienced tremendous growth in the last two decades which is exciting for everyone. In recent years, however, many faculty have expressed concerns about our future direction. We have lots of beautiful new buildings, but we are almost entirely tuition funded, and the university carries a lot of debt,” said Manning.
“If demographics change and enrollment declines, academic programs and research funding may be cut. Too many courses are taught bypart-time adjunct professors who receive low pay and cannot afford to have much of a presence on campus. All of this impacts the quality of a SHU education,” said Manning.
The first meeting of the AAUP chapter at SHU will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. and is open to all faculty members interested in the chapter and obtaining an AAUP membership.
To join AAUP at SHU, potential members must enroll through the national AAUP organization first. Once enrolled, members will have to pay a fee based on their specific salary and will have access to webinars, policy documents and a national network of faculty.
From there, members can forward their confirmation email to the AAUP executive committee at SHU to secure their membership in the chapter.
“As the SHU Campus continues to grow, more faculty are working on different campuses or even remotely. Consequently, faculty become much less connected to each other as working colleagues. Successful universities thrive on collegiate friendships nurtured across all disciplines. AAUP membership offers us this opportunity for greater solidarity among faculty by creating a space where we can debate and articulate our own voice,” said Dr. Enda McGovern, AAUP Vice President and marketing professor.
AAUP has a specific mission and variety of goals for its new chapter.
“We aim to promote a strong, meaningful role for SHU faculty in shared governance by… contributing to efforts to reform and improve shared governance, participating as faculty members in shared governance and in the whole range of committees at the university, serving as a strong, independent voice advocating for faculty,” states the SHU AAUP chapter website.
“We advocate for the health, safety, and well-being of the SHU community, we support a fair and manageable workload, we affirm the faculty’s decision-making role in matters that directly impact the education of our students,” it reads.
