“Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, & Shared Governance,” lays out a disturbing pattern: the Trump admin has used federal research funding as leverage to pressure universities to threaten the core functions of higher ed. www.aaup.org/reports-publ...

Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance

Published July 2026.This report was prepared by a joint subcommittee of the Association’s Committee A on Academic Freedom andTenure and the Committee on College and University Governance and was appro...

aaup.org

Shared governance means faculty hold primary responsibility for areas in which their professional expertise is essential, including: • Curriculum and course content • Teaching methods • Research • Faculty status and evaluation • Academic aspects of student life www.aaup.org/issues-highe...

Academic freedom is not a private privilege reserved for professors. It is part of the infrastructure that allows knowledge to grow, errors to be challenged and the public to benefit from honest inquiry. www.aaup.org/reports-publ...

Flashback to earlier this year when the impact of Indiana’s “intellectual diversity” law and the uncertainty it has created for faculty navigating teaching, research, tenure, and classroom discussion was being thoroughly examined by journalists. www.highereddive.com/news/inside-...

Inside the ‘minefield’ of Indiana’s intellectual diversity law

The measure aims to promote diverse viewpoints in classrooms. But some experts say it's part of a troubling trend to restrict certain speech in classrooms.

highereddive.com

A new CAP report warns that drafted federal rules could reshape college accreditation in ways that reduce student protections, weaken oversight, & give the federal government more leverage over what faculty teach, research, & publish. www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...

The Trump Administration Moves To Tighten Grip on Colleges

New rules would gut key student protections on program quality and give the federal government leverage to exert ideological control over American higher education.

americanprogress.org

New data shows major research universities accepted 15% fewer doctoral applicants for fall 2026 compared to fall 2025. This is the second consecutive year of substantial reductions. Read more: www.sfexaminer.com/decline-of-p...

Universities serve the public best when they are free to pursue knowledge wherever the evidence leads. Academic freedom protects the ability of faculty to teach, research, question, and challenge ideas without political interference. #motivationmonday

For Faculty Friday, we are recognizing Leonard Williams, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Manchester University! Professor Williams provides thoughtful teaching, compassionate mentorship, open inquiry, and the belief that students deserve to be taken seriously as thinkers. Thank you!

Throwback to 1915, when the AAUP was founded to define and defend academic freedom in American higher education. More than a century later, that mission is still urgent. 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom & Academic Tenure: www.aaup.org/NR/rdonlyres...

Shared governance is the principle that universities work best when faculty have a meaningful role in institutional decision-making, including decisions about curriculum, academic standards, teaching, research, budgeting, technology, hiring, program review, & long-term university strategy.

AAUP is investigating academic freedom + shared governance violations across TX public universities, including restrictions on what faculty can teach, political control over curriculum, & more. We're watching in Indiana, as we have seen similar issues here. www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

AAUP Investigating Academic Freedom, Shared Governance in Texas

An American Association of University Professors committee is investigating academic freedom and shared governance violations across Texas, where public university leaders have restricted what faculty...

insidehighered.com

Academic freedom is often discussed as a principle, a policy, or a professional protection, but at its heart, it is about people. It protects professors asking difficult questions, students learning how to think critically, researchers following evidence where it leads, and more. #motivationmonday

Higher education is under pressure from legislative interference. Tell OMB how politicizing research funding would affect your students, your work, your campus, and the public good. Academic freedom survives when we defend it in public by midnight on July 13. www.regulations.gov/docket/OMB-2...

A recent NPR story on First Amendment settlements following firings over social media posts about Charlie Kirk’s death raises urgent questions for Indiana higher education. Our thoughts: inaaup.wordpress.com/2026/07/02/a...

Academic Freedom Is Tested When Speech Becomes Controversial

A Blog regarding First Amendment settlements and how they should be a warning to Indiana colleges and universities. A recent NPR story examining First Amendment settlements following firings over s…

inaaup.wordpress.com

We join advocates across the state in mourning the sudden passing of Mark Russell. Mark’s work lived at the intersection of public education, civil rights, racial justice, community advocacy, and public policy. His legacy lives through all advocacy work.

Before Prof Adams faced the loss of her position, she was removed from teaching a diversity, human rights, & social justice course after a classroom lesson on racism drew a complaint. This should concern anyone who cares about academic freedom: www.campusreform.org/article/prof...

Shared governance is more than a meeting, a committee, or a final vote after major decisions have already been made. In Indiana, as public colleges and universities face increasing political pressure, shared governance is not optional. It is essential. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

What We Mean When We Say “Shared Governance” (opinion)

Faculty and administrators often have very different ideas of the rights and responsibilities involved, Lee Bebout and Jeff Crane write.

insidehighered.com

“We’re seeing the unfolding of a decades-long effort by right-wing think tanks to weaken the accreditation system..at stake is a systemic effort to make higher ed more vulnerable to political interference & to cost-cutting, quality reducing measures.”

Academe@academemagazine.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New on Academe Blog:

Indiana AAUP condemns Indiana University’s termination of Lecturer Jessica Adams from the IU School of Social Work. This case raises urgent concerns about academic freedom, due process, political interference, and more. Read our full statement: inaaup.wordpress.com/2026/06/15/i...

Indiana AAUP Denounces IU’s Termination of Lecturer Jessica Adams, Calls for Immediate Review

The Indiana Conference of the American Association of University Professors condemns Indiana University’s decision to terminate Jessica Adams from her position as a Lecturer in the Indiana Universi…

inaaup.wordpress.com

Teaching is alive & responsive to students, shaped by inquiry, + open to the unexpected moments when real learning happens. When educators are pressured to avoid difficult questions & follow politically imposed agendas, students lose access to the full promise of higher education. #motivationmonday

Accreditors help determine whether institutions can access federal student aid, including loans and Pell Grants. Indiana faculty know what happens when higher education policy is driven by ideology rather than evidence. www.newamerica.org/insights/in-...

In Final Stretch of Accreditation Negotiations, Trump Administration Resists Compromise

The U.S. Department of Education is still pursuing sweeping accreditation changes that politicize higher education oversight.

newamerica.org

Throwback: In 2021, Judith Suissa and Alice Sullivan warned that replacing intellectual engagement with denunciation is “anti-intellectual,” “anti-democratic,” and “educationally disastrous.” In 2026 Indiana, that warning lands in a broader and urgent context. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

A recent essay in U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings argues that academic freedom at service academies and war colleges is a national security imperative. In Indiana, attacks on academic freedom and program integrity are threats to the public mission of higher education. www.usni.org/magazines/pr...

Academic Freedom Is a National Security Imperative

Why should the military care about academic freedom?

usni.org

A recent Inside Higher Ed opinion urges graduate faculty, deans, directors of graduate studies, and provosts to make academic freedom part of graduate student preparation. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

Pride Month calls higher education to do more than offer symbolic recognition. It calls us to protect the conditions that make learning possible: dignity, safety, inquiry, evidence, debate, and intellectual engagement. Universities must remain a place where difficult questions can still be asked.

Dr. Rubenstein: teacher, researcher, & public voice reflecting the best of Indiana higher education w/curiosity, rigor, service, and a deep commitment to students and discovery. We are grateful for his work advancing knowledge & helping the public understand why higher ed & research are important.

Throwback to last year, when our VP Miriam R. Pelikan Pittenger with Hanover College shared the centennial swag from AAUP’s national summit, where she was a presenter and our Conference Delegate! The 2026 AAUP Higher Ed Summit is next week. Will we see you in Chicago?

A “low earning outcome program” is a degree program judged by whether graduates’ earnings meet a government-defined benchmark. If a program is flagged, Indiana public colleges and universities must seek approval from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to continue offering it.

The Trump administration’s proposal to transfer core decisions on federal research funding from qualified scientific experts to political hacks weaponizes the federal bureaucracy in order to further the Trump administration’s authoritarian control of scientific research. We must fight back.

OMB Proposal Is the Latest Salvo in Trump’s War on Science

The AAUP and AFT urge the scientific community, university leaders, business leaders, and the public to fiercely resist the latest attempt to coerce the American scientific research sector.

aaup.org

Stanford AAUP@stanfordaaup.bsky.social · 2mo ago

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SB 199 doesn’t just mirror a federal earnings-test framework. It intensifies it. Indiana’s law ties public degree programs to “low earning” metrics, then requires institutions to seek state approval to keep those programs alive. inaaup.wordpress.com/2026/05/29/i... #Indiana #AcademicFreedom