From the Academy

In Praise of the AAUP

John Dewey, Arthur Lovejoy, and other founders of the American Association of University Professors fondly expected that cases of the violation of academic freedom would grow steadily fewer with the passing of the years. Just the contrary has been true; and the AAUP, which at irregular intervals passes votes of censure against educational institutions that discharge professors for reasons the AAUP considers inadequate, recently has been deluged with professors’ requests for investigations. With only a slim budget and a small staff, the officers of the AAUP have experienced great difficulty in under-taking adequate investigations of such charges. And the AAUP has no means of enforcing compliance with its votes of censure except through the force of public opinion. “Public opinion” means here, of course, the opinion of accrediting agencies which may frown on censured colleges, and the opinion of reputable professors who may decline offers from such colleges.

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Russell Kirk

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In Praise of the AAUP

John Dewey, Arthur Lovejoy, and other founders of the American Association of University Professors fondly expected that cases of the violation of academic freedom would grow steadily fewer with the passing of the years. Just the contrary has been true; and the AAUP, which at irregular intervals passes votes of censure against educational institutions that discharge professors for reasons the AAUP considers inadequate, recently has been deluged with professors’ requests for investigations. With only a slim budget and a small staff, the officers of the AAUP have experienced great difficulty in under-taking adequate investigations of such charges. And the AAUP has no means of enforcing compliance with its votes of censure except through the force of public opinion. “Public opinion” means here, of course, the opinion of accrediting agencies which may frown on censured colleges, and the opinion of reputable professors who may decline offers from such colleges.