“Everyone that I know who works or studies at UNC understands that we have to protect ourselves, because no one in the administration will help with that.” – Michael Palm, UNC Chapel Hill AAUP

“We were hopeful that the UC system would defend itself legally,” says Veena Dubal, general counsel to the AAUP. After UCLA published the administration’s 27-page list of demands in August, she says, the AAUP decided it couldn’t wait any longer: “We couldn’t not sue, they were so outrageous.”

AAUP General Counsel Veena Dubal goes over the numerous unlawful demands that the Trump admin made of the University of California system, which chilled speech across campuses. Our victory in AAUP v. Trump, led by a historic wall-to-wall coalition of UC labor unions, blocked this wrongful assault.

UT Regents move forward with 'ultimate' power to oversee hiring, curriculum www.statesman.com/news/educati...

The fight for the freedom to teach and learn won’t stop until we get the billionaires out of our classrooms—until we stand up across the sector to reclaim higher ed as a true public good, free to all, without debt, free from censorship, with dignity for all workers and communities. (3/3)

Rowan uses his wealth to buy influence and to attack students and higher ed workers from behind closed doors—but our demonstration shut down Apollo that day because he was afraid to face us. The message was heard through; the DP announced his successor on the Wharton Board later that day (2/2)

Two weeks ago today a coalition of NYC unions incl @psc-cuny.org, @aaup.org chapters, @debtcollective.bsky.social, @higheredlabor.bsky.social & student groups took the fight against Trump’s loyalty oath “compact” for higher ed to its billionaire author, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan (1/3)

Faculty senates are under attack from new legislation that sidelines faculty voices and undermines academic freedom. The latest AAUP report defends independent, representative governance as essential to higher ed’s integrity. @aaup.org academeblog.org/2025/11/18/i...

"All of us have a role to play in deciding how our university gets through these difficult times. These policies affect us all & no one – not humanities nor STEM students – has the leisure of distance. As researchers, we must find the time to take off our lab coats, close our books & take a stand."

The American Association of University Professors (@aaup.org) released a new report documenting an escalating assault on faculty governance structures across the country, with state legislatures in multiple states moving to strip faculty senates of their authority and independence.

The PSC, @higheredlabor.bsky.social & @aaup.org hosted a forum on "Combatting Contingency in a Time of Political Repression" last week.

"All of us have a role to play in deciding how our university gets through these difficult times. These policies affect us all & no one – not humanities nor STEM students – has the leisure of distance. As researchers, we must find the time to take off our lab coats, close our books & take a stand."

I was excited to record this podcast with the esteemed journalist Robert Scheer for his fantastic site, Scheer Post: scheerpost.com/2025/11/14/d... #Academia

Your dues pay for these legal victories (and much more at the chapter level). Join AAUP today!

The Trump admin weaponized Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to attack DEI programs, protections for trans people & freedom of speech at our universities. We took the Trump admin to court over this in AAUP v. Trump and WON. AAUP General Counsel Veena Dubal discusses what prompted the lawsuit👇

As faculty governance is attacked, a bit of relevant history. #Academia academeblog.org/2025/11/19/o...

“For the first time, we are delivering a united message to the Regents: We will not accept a lack of transparency, the exclusion of faculty from decision-making, or the erosion of our university’s 156-year-old mission to educate Nebraska’s students.” – UNL AAUP President Sarah Zuckerman

A new AAUP Report on faculty senates is out! 📝 As political attacks on faculty governing bodies increase, our new report argues that effective shared governance requires that faculty have a strong, distinctive & representative collective voice to safeguard academic freedom. Read below 👇

“This move is neither streamlining nor reform–it’s an abdication and abandonment of America’s future. Rather than show leadership in helping all students seize their potential, it walks away from that responsibility.” — @rweingarten.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/11/18/p...

ICE appears to be headed to Raleigh today. If you suspect ICE presence, call the Siembra hotline to verify: 336-543-0353. It is important to share information, not spread panic. If you see an arrest happening, make noise, take video, draw a crowd. Know your rights:

AAUP NC statement on U. S. Customs and Border Protection Presence in North Carolina @aaup.org drive.google.com/file/d/1er32...

In one hour! 🔥

@aaup.org Report Defends Shared Governance Amid Political Attacks https://bit.ly/484zptP

"The state department is proposing to suspend 38 universities including Harvard and Yale from a federal research partnership program because they engage in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices, according to an internal memo and spreadsheet obtained by the Guardian." Read more👇

“If there is a message to be heeded in the legislative assault on governance bodies, it is that the enemies of higher education, nonetheless, still fear faculty authority. Why else would they be so insistent on silencing faculty members?” #DefendHigherEd

“Without an independent & sufficiently representative faculty body to oversee the curriculum & faculty status, an institution may fragment or fall victim to the latest fashionable notion proposed by a centralized administration, politicized board or legislature." Read more about our new report👇

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AAUP-TAMU-CS statement regarding BOR gender and race restrictions. This fight is not over! We will continue to speak the truth, continue to defend our students, and continue to resist political efforts to distort education at Texas A&M.

AAUP TV — WEDS, NOV 19 @ 7 PM ET! Veena Dubal, AAUP General Counsel, and Todd Wolfson, AAUP President, will discuss the historic victory in AAUP v. Trump and what it means for the UC system & higher ed! @proftwolf.bsky.social @veenadubal.bsky.social Tune in on IG or YouTube (link in thread)!

WE JUST KEEP WINNING. (UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program RESTORED!!!!)

UConn professors get ZERO days of guaranteed paid family leave 🤯 UConn AAUP is negotiating for paid family leave as well as better safeguards for academic freedom and more robust protections for faculty working on contracts. Read more about their contract demands here👇 @uconnaaup.bsky.social

The abolishment of the Department of Education & the continued reckless defunding of public education is a clear path to setting America back in technology, innovation, & competitiveness. Congress can & must stand up for the American people & stop the destruction of our federal education system.

A new AAUP Report on faculty senates is out! 📝 As political attacks on faculty governing bodies increase, our new report argues that effective shared governance requires that faculty have a strong, distinctive & representative collective voice to safeguard academic freedom. Read below 👇

A major new report, drafted by a subcommittee of the @aaup.org committee I sit on, is out: www.aaup.org/reports-publ...

WILL IS FREE FROM ICE! After months in detention, Tae Heung "Will" Kim, a scientist at Texas A&M developing a vaccine to treat Lyme disease & longtime US permanent resident, has been released! Our movement to defend higher ed means protecting higher ed workers from ICE. @texasaaup.bsky.social

Tae Heung “Will” Kim, a U.S. permanent resident from South Korea, has been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after being detained for months. asamnews.com/2025/11/17/w...

“This narrative that faculty are indoctrinating students is a manufactured crisis,” she said. “You can trace it back to a network of right-wing think tanks, but it seems the university is treating it as if it is real”—our chapter president Karma Chavez www.texastribune.org/2025/11/17/u...

From guest columnist + UT faculty member Steve Wechsler: “I do not see evidence of intolerance to diverse views at UT. What I see is a range of departments seeking truth from different angles, creating a university that is greater than the sum of its parts.” ❤️ www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

"This narrative that faculty are indoctrinating students is a manufactured crisis...You can trace it back to a network of right-wing think tanks, but it seems the university is treating it as if it is real.” - Karma Chávez, President of AAUP UT-Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social

YES!!!

Congratulations to organized faculty at the University of Alabama who recently established their first AAUP chapter! There is no better time than now–when billionaires and fascists seek to exert control over higher ed–to join our movement to transform universities to serve the common good!

AAUP Stanford emphasizes three key features of our struggle to remake higher ed for the common good: 1️⃣ Solidarity 2️⃣ Integrity, not Neutrality 3️⃣ Student speech "Let us act in solidarity and with integrity. Let us trust our students to speak." - Jessica Riskin, AAUP Stanford Co-President

"This narrative that faculty are indoctrinating students is a manufactured crisis...You can trace it back to a network of right-wing think tanks, but it seems the university is treating it as if it is real.” - Karma Chávez, President of AAUP UT-Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social

AAUP Liberal Arts Chapters Champion a Different “Compact” paaaup.org/aaup-liberal...

“This report underscores how the Civil Rights Act of 1964—which passed in response to years of nonviolent civil disobedience against racial injustice—is being misused to squash political dissent & speech that advocates for the human rights of Palestinians.” — Veena Dubal, AAUP General Counsel

I am proud to be a member of the AAUP and so grateful to everybody standing up against “coercive and retaliatory conduct in violation of the First Amendment and the 10th Amendment.” So many students, faculty and staff are courageously protecting higher education, academic freedom and the rule of law

"This represents saving higher education, saving public research and the standing up of faculty, staff and students," — Veena Dubal, AAUP General Counsel & law professor at the University of California, Irvine. #DefendHigherEd

“This represents saving higher education, saving public research and the standing up of faculty and staff and students”—AAUP, one of the parties that brought the case against the Trump administration

WE WON!!! The US District Court for the Northern District of California has issued a preliminary injunction in AAUP et al v. Trump et al (the wall to wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of Title VI to reshape the University of California system. Read the order here: