11/07/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 11/07/2024 12:00
AAUP President Todd Wolfson issued the following statement today.
For the past 110 years, the American Association of University Professors has defended the principles of academic freedom and shared governance in order to ensure higher education's contribution to the public good. While the results of this presidential election are disappointing, we remain steadfast in our commitment to our principles and ensuring that future generations of Americans are afforded the opportunity that higher education provides.
We are deeply concerned that the ongoing crisis in higher education of declining public funding, ballooning student debt, and attacks on academic freedom, will only be intensified under the incoming administration. Without a thriving, inclusive higher education system that serves the public good, the majority of Americans will be excluded from meaningful participation in our democracy and this country will move backwards.
The AAUP is committed to defending our campuses and the mission of higher education through organizing our communities to face the challenges that lie ahead. Our collective power is needed now more than ever. To that end, we will do everything in our power to protect our institutions, faculty, staff, and students and stand up against those seeking to violate academic freedom and the core principle of higher education conducted for the common good.