I believe that along with the benefits of academic freedom comes a responsibility to employ it in debates within academia and society. I’d been thinking that academic freedom and public perception of academia were eroding when a faculty colleague—whose forthright and carefully articulated opinions I admired—asked me to join the AAUP. She uses her voice to stand up for causes that she believes in and in support of others whose voices are constrained. I would stand with her and other AAUP colleagues with the same zeal. So, I joined.
– W. Craig Carter, Toyota Professor of Materials Processing, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Materials Science & Engineering
I have a longstanding interest in democracy, inequality and public interest technology. I joined the AAUP because higher education in the US is facing an unprecedented set of attacks and academic freedom is increasingly on the line. AAUP is a space where faculty can discuss and debate, make sense of what is happening, and take action, together, to strengthen academic freedom and shared governance in our institution.
– Catherine D’Ignazio, Associate Professor of Urban Science & Planning, Department of Urban Studies & Planning
I have always admired AAUP for its definition of and stand on academic freedom dating from the 1940s. We, as academics, have a responsibility to both society and the free search for knowledge. In the last ten years we have seen an assault on both — we are seen as pariahs. Our role now is to ensure that our institutions retain their integrity and openness. This cannot be done administratively, it is our job, a new burden we have to vigilantly bear.
– Andy Lippman, Senior Research Scientist, MIT Media Lab
As a faculty member deeply committed to the values of open inquiry and the pursuit of knowledge, I joined the AAUP to help safeguard the principles that make higher education a vital force for truth and inquiry in society. In a time when faculty voices are increasingly marginalized and institutional autonomy is under threat, the AAUP offers a collective platform for advocating shared governance, defending academic freedom, and ensuring that the core mission of our universities remains centered on teaching, research, and service. Being part of this community empowers me to work alongside colleagues to protect the integrity of our profession and to support the next generation of scholars.
– Andres Sevtsuk, Associate Professor of Urban Science & Planning, Department of Urban Studies & Planning
