Warning that academic freedom is being threatened, the American Federation of Teachers — UUP’s national affiliate — released a policy statement titled “Academic Freedom in the 21st Century College and University.” The statement is historic, since it is the first policy document issued on academic freedom since the American Association of University Professors statement of nearly a century ago.

“We believe that the greatest threat to academic freedom today is the subtle removal of many faculty positions from the tenure track and shared governance structures,” according to the statement.

The AFT points to a variety of specific threats to academic freedom, including:

• Loss of financial aid for colleges and universities;

• Corporate-style management practices;

• Political attacks on faculty and instructional staff; and

• The erosion of academic staffing through the loss of full-time tenured positions and the financial and professional mistreatment of contingent faculty members.

Tenure decline

The AFT cites statistics that show that as of 2005, less than 30 percent of the higher education teaching staff in the United States was tenured or eligible for tenure, while the remaining 70 percent were contingent faculty or instructors. Tenure protects faculty from discipline or dismissal without extensive due process as well as from unwarranted interference in their work by “outsiders,” but the majority of faculty lack such protection.

“For contingent faculty and instructional staff members without access to such protections, academic freedom can become an empty promise,” the report notes.

The potential for manipulation of the majority of college faculty is exacerbated by the overall national decline in government funding for higher education. The percentage of state and local tax revenue allocated to public higher education declined from 7.6 percent to 6.8 percent between 2003 and 2004.

“It is not hard to see how academic freedom is impaired when undue financial constraints, rather than academic considerations, restrict the ability of faculty and instructional staff to maintain professional standards in teaching and research,” the report states.

The AFT emphasizes this financial squeeze has spawned the use of corporate-style management practices by college administrators in order to both raise and save money. Institutions are looking more and more to industry and government to finance their research. This cozier relationship leads to government regulation and commercial influences that limits the freedom of faculty in their classrooms, labs and publications, the AFT warns. Last – and certainly not least – this pro-corporate attitude has led administrators away from hiring “well-paid, full-time tenured faculty in favor of overusing and exploiting contingent faculty and instructional staff.”               

To counter these influences, AFT strongly believes collective bargaining, political action and activism are essential to protect academic freedom.

The union suggests opening informal academic freedom forums on campuses between full-time tenured faculty and their contingent colleagues to promote discussion of academic freedom issues.

The union also calls upon frontline academics to “demystify” academic practices by going out and explaining their work and showcasing its benefits to public officials and the community at large.                  

Saying the best hope for expanding and protecting academic freedom is organized power, the AFT recommends that faculty unite to negotiate and enforce practices and procedures that further academic freedom through collective bargaining.

“In circumstances where tenure is not available, we believe in extending protections against arbitrary dismissal, and in ensuring participation in institutional governance, primarily through collectively bargained contracts,” the report says.

The AFT also encourages faculty to become politically active by playing a role in the process that ultimately determines who will make critical policy decisions.

The statement was crafted by the AFT Higher Education Program and Policy Council, formerly chaired by former UUP President William Scheuerman.          

— Donald Feldstein