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CWRU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors was founded in 1915. It has about 45,000 members. The Cwru Chapter stems from the Western Reserve University Chapter founded in 1932 and the Case Institute of Technology Chapter which began in 1945.
In the opening paragraph of the Constitution of the AAUP we find a statement of purpose: .. "to facilitate a more effective cooperation among teachers and research scholars in universities and colleges, and in professional schools of similar grade, for the promotion of the interests of higher education and research, and in general to increase the usefulness and advance the standards, ideals, and welfare of the profession."
The main work of the Association has been in the area of academic freedom and tenure. Over the years the Association has promulgated carefully crafted statements on these subjects, as well as detailed statements on professional responsibility and on procedures related to appointments, dismissals, due process and the role of faculty in institutional governance.
The underlying principle of the AAUP is the belief that the free exchange of ideas, both in research and in teaching, is essential to the success of the university. From the 1940 AAUP Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure: "Academic freedom and economic security, hence, tenure, are indispensable to the success of an institution in fulfilling its obligations to its students and to society." This 1940 Statement has been endorsed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities as well as by over 150 additional learned societies.
The AAUP at Case Western Reserve University
In some institutions the AAUP Chapter acts in a collective bargaining capacity on behalf of its faculty, acting essentially as a labor union. This is not the case at Case Western Reserve and most other private institutions. The CWRU AAUP Chapter is a group of faculty members who believe in the principles espoused by the AAUP and who strive to ensure that they are understood and adhered to at CWRU.
For almost seventy years, the CWRU Chapter has assisted the administration and individual faculty members in understanding these principles and in applying them to cases involving promotions, reappointments, procedures in the pre-tenure period, the closing of departments, and other issues which affect our faculty.
While our University generally enjoys good relations among the Board of Trustees, the Administration, and the Faculty, problems sometimes arise. The executive committee of the AAUP Chapter has provided advice and support to individual faculty members who have a grievance with their colleagues, their chair, or their dean Sometimes, a simple letter can clarify the issue and resolve the problem; at other times, the Chapter can help the faculty member prepare a case to present to the Faculty Grievance Committee. In some cases, the Chapter may conclude that the actions taken by the institution are appropriate and within the guidelines of the AAUP.
To give an idea of the many areas of interest to the AAUP, we list here some of the topics discussed in the current AAUP Handbook: dismissal proceedings; non-renewal of appointment; extramural utterances; political activity; artistic expression; campus speech codes; access to personnel files; tenure quotas; periodic evaluation; part-time faculty; non-tenure-track faculty; mandatory retirement; faculty liability; professional ethics; plagiarism; multiple authorship; workloads; affirmative action; sexual harassment; faculty role in budget and salary; intercollegiate athletics; faculty status of librarians; collective bargaining; student rights; accreditation; retirement and insurance benefits; leaves of absence; child-bearing; family emergencies.