American Association of University Professors (AAUP)

Overview

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) describes itself as "a union and membership association of faculty and other academic professionals." It is headquartered in Washington, DC, with members and chapters at colleges and universities across the United States. It states that it was founded in 1915 and that it has helped shape American higher education by developing standards and principles that maintain quality in education and academic freedom. The AAUP is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.

Key functions and role

The AAUP's stated mission covers academic freedom and shared governance; professional values and standards for higher education; the economic security of faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and others engaged in teaching and research; organizing within the higher education community; and higher education's contribution to the common good. Its programs, as listed on its website, include protecting academic freedom, advancing shared governance, a legal program, research, government relations and an awards program.

The AAUP is governed by an elected Council within the bounds of its constitution. Elections are held every two years, in even-numbered years, at biennial meetings, for staggered four-year terms. The Association has a separate charitable arm, the AAUP Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) organization. In addition to its own publications, the AAUP maintains a censure list of institutions whose administrations it has found not to be observing generally recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure; names are placed on or removed from the list by vote of the AAUP Council.

History

The AAUP states that it was formed in 1915 by Arthur Lovejoy and John Dewey. Its History page says it was founded at an organizational meeting held at the Chemists' Club in New York City on January 1 and 2, 1915. Lovejoy, of Johns Hopkins University, was its secretary, and E. R. A. Seligman of Columbia University chaired its first Committee on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure. The Association's first investigation of a violation of academic freedom, at the University of Utah, took place in its founding year.

The 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure was written by a subcommittee of Seligman, Lovejoy and Frank A. Fetter, and was endorsed at the AAUP's Second Annual Meeting, held December 31, 1915 to January 1, 1916. In 1940, representatives of the AAUP and the Association of American Colleges agreed on the Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure after joint conferences begun in 1934. Interpretive Comments to the 1940 Statement were adopted by the AAUP Council in April 1970 and endorsed at the AAUP's 56th Annual Meeting in June 1970. The AAUP's censure list page states that the 1940 Statement has been endorsed by the AAUP, the American Association of Colleges and Universities, and "more than two hundred and eighty other professional and educational organizations."

The AAUP's History page records that the Association has imposed censure since 1930. Jonathan Knight's account on the AAUP site says the practice of listing institutions under the heading "censured administrations" began in 1938, while the idea of an AAUP list of some sort first emerged in 1930, when three Mississippi institutions were placed on a list of "nonrecommended" institutions. The same account counts 183 college and university administrations censured between 1930 and 2002, some more than once. The History page also acknowledges failures: the AAUP did not release any investigative reports from 1949 to 1954, and its wartime publication Academic Freedom in Wartime is described there as an early retreat from the 1915 declaration.

In 2013, an organizational restructuring created the AAUP Foundation and spun the AAUP Collective Bargaining Congress off from the AAUP. The Collective Bargaining Congress was folded back into the AAUP on January 1, 2020, after both bodies voted in June 2019 to proceed with combining the two organizations. In June 2022, delegates to the AAUP's biennial meeting voted overwhelmingly to affiliate with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT); the AAUP's 2024 audit states the affiliation took effect August 1, 2022, and that the AAUP became a "national regional council" of the AFT. The AAUP's president at the time of the vote was Irene Mulvey.

Notable Works

This section lists documents, programs and legal actions of the AAUP itself. Dates and case details are as stated on the cited AAUP pages or news reports, as read on October 27, 2026.

Foundational statements and policy publications

• 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure — described by the AAUP as its founding document; written by a subcommittee of Seligman, Lovejoy and Fetter and endorsed at the Second Annual Meeting (Dec. 31, 1915 – Jan. 1, 1916).

• 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure — jointly agreed with the Association of American Colleges; Interpretive Comments added in 1970.

• Policy Documents and Reports (the "Redbook") — the AAUP's collection of its major policy statements. The twelfth edition was published in April 2025 and is published and distributed for the AAUP by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Data, journals and the censure list

• Faculty Compensation Survey — established in 1958. The AAUP describes it as the largest independent source of data on full- and part-time faculty salaries and fringe benefits; it compiles data on approximately 400,000 full-time and 100,000 part-time faculty members at nearly 900 colleges and universities.

• Journal of Academic Freedom — an online-only journal published by the AAUP that publishes original scholarship on academic freedom and its relation to shared governance, tenure and collective bargaining; Volume 1 is dated 2010.

• Academe — the AAUP's quarterly magazine; the summer issue is the Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors.

• Censure list ("Censured Administrations") — as of October 27, 2026, the table on the AAUP's site lists 59 institutions (counted from the table; the page itself states no total). The most recent entry is Muhlenberg College (Pennsylvania), April 2025.

Policy platform

• "A Blueprint for Strengthening and Transforming Higher Education" — a platform issued jointly by the AAUP and the AFT ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The AAUP's Academe item states that the two organizations jointly launched it on April 13 (2026), and Spectrum News reports it was unveiled at a news conference on April 13. The AAUP's page names four pillars: restored funding, academic freedom, shared governance and labor reform.

Litigation in which the AAUP is a party

Status as listed on the AAUP's litigation page; the AAUP's own characterizations are identified as such. AAUP lists further matters on that page that are not summarized here.

• AAUP v. Rubio (D. Mass., No. 1:25-cv-10685) — AAUP is a plaintiff with the Middle Eastern Studies Association and several AAUP chapters, challenging the administration's "ideological deportation" policy. On September 30, 2025, the court ruled the administration violated the First Amendment; on January 22, 2026, it issued a remedial order finding the policy violated the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act and vacating the policy. The government appealed and the AAUP and MESA cross-appealed; the case is pending in the First Circuit (No. 26-1141).

• American Association of University Professors – Harvard Faculty Chapter v. Department of Justice (D. Mass., No. 1:25-cv-10910) — the national AAUP and its Harvard chapter are plaintiffs in a suit over grant terminations. On September 3, 2025, the district court ruled for the AAUP and Harvard; the government appealed on December 31, 2025. The AAUP's page lists oral argument before the First Circuit (No. 25-2231) for October 5, 2026.

• AAUP v. Trump (N.D. Cal., No. 3:25-cv-07864) — AAUP is a co-plaintiff with a coalition of labor unions in a suit over the administration's actions against the University of California. On November 14, 2025, the court granted a preliminary injunction; the AAUP's page notes that it does not resolve the entire case.

• National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump (D. Md., No. 8:26-cv-01532) — filed April 20, 2026; the plaintiffs include the AAUP, its University of Maryland chapter, NADOHE and the National Association of Minority Contractors. The suit challenges a March 2026 executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion in federal contracting. On October 14, 2026, U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson declined to block the order while the case proceeds, writing that it "only prohibits contractors from engaging in conduct that is already prohibited by federal law." The AAUP's litigation page describes the ruling as limiting the order to barring discrimination already prohibited by federal law. The case is listed as ongoing.

• Global Nurse Force v. Trump (N.D. Cal., No. 3:25-cv-08454) — AAUP is a co-plaintiff, filed October 3, 2025, challenging the $100,000 fee on H-1B visas. On September 30, 2026, the court blocked implementation of the fee, set aside the implementing agency policies, and denied the government's motion to dismiss on standing; the AAUP's page notes that this does not resolve all challenges to the fee or invalidate the proclamation.

• American Association of University Professors v. Department of Homeland Security (D.D.C., No. 1:26-cv-00300) — filed February 3, 2026, concerning the "Gold Card" visa. The government moved to dismiss on April 28, 2026, and the AAUP opposed the motion on August 3, 2026; proceedings continue.

Awards the AAUP gives

These are awards presented by the AAUP, not recognition conferred on the AAUP. The AAUP's awards page says they are presented at the biennial meeting in even-numbered years.

• Ralph S. Brown Award for Shared Governance

• Alexander Meiklejohn Award for Academic Freedom

• Georgina M. Smith Award

• Outstanding Achievement Award

• Marilyn Sternberg Award

Leadership

The AAUP's Elected Leaders page lists the following national officers, each with a term ending in 2028: Todd Wolfson (Media Studies, Rutgers University), President; Rotua Lumbantobing (Economics, Western Connecticut State University), Vice President; Danielle Aubert (Graphic Design, University of Chicago), Secretary-Treasurer; and Veena Dubal (Law, University of California, Irvine), General Counsel. Mia McIver is listed as Executive Director on the AAUP's staff page.

Location and contact info

Address.
555 New Jersey Ave. NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20001
Phone. (202) 737-5900
Website. https://www.aaup.org