After the University of Florida administration blocked faculty from testifying in a voting rights case, a battle over academic freedom broke out in the state, garnering national attention and a court case.  Paul Ortiz, professor of history at the University of Florida and president of the United Faculty of Florida-UF, talks to host Mariah Quinn about how faculty in the state are geared up to protect academic freedom and the first amendment.

Episode links:

• AAUP President Cautions Against Lack of Transparency as University of Florida Seeks New President
• University of Florida's Politically Motivated Violation of Academic Freedom Undermines the Common Good
• "Judge rules for professors in University of Florida academic freedom case,"  
   Susan Svrluga and Lori Rozsa The Washington Post
• "UF researchers felt pressure to destroy COVID-19 data, faculty report says," Divya Kumar, Tampa Bay Times

This podcast discusses the student debt crisis,  which affects than forty-five million people in the United States who are saddled with debt in excess of $1.7 trillion, and perils and promise of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The guests are Kaitlyn Vitez, Federal Government Relations Specialist, AAUP national office and Jessica Sponsler, art historian and adjunct professor and AAUP’s Pennsylvania state conference president. The podcast is hosted by Mariah Quinn, AAUP's digital organizer.

Episode links:

• AAUP Joins Coalition to Call for Student Debt Cancelation
• "The Miseducation of the Indebted Student," Academe, Jason Thomas Wozniak, Spring 2021
• US Department of Education Overhauls Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• "Fixing Public Service Loan Forgiveness", Academe, Kaitlyn Vitez, Winter 2022
• Jessica Sponsler's testimony to the Department of Education on PSLF
• Debt Collective Petition Calling for Student Debt Cancelation 

All of AAUP's podcast can be found on our website, here. Thanks for listening. 

 We're joined on the podcast by Irene Mulvey, a professor of mathematics at Fairfield University and the AAUP’s current president. We'll cover the AAUP's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, current fights to protect academic freedom and shared governance, and plans for a new deal for higher education.  

Episode links:

• AAUP's COVID-19 resources
• Special report on COVID-19 and Academic Governance
• Coverage of the University of Florida and the fight over academic freedom 
• University of Georgia system under investigation
• Special Committee to Report on Structural Racism and Violations of Shared Governance at UNC
• New Deal for Higher Education website

As always, check out our website aaup.org for news, resources, and links to join the AAUP. 

This podcast focuses on the 2020-2021 Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, which presents findings from the AAUP’s annual Faculty Compensation Survey, as well as taking a deeper dive into the issue of institutional debt, which is covered in a special section of the report. This annual report outlines how years of unstable funding, combined with the impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic, have created an existential threat to shared governance and academic freedom in higher education that severely weakens our nation’s ability to effectively educate our communities. 

The guests are Glenn Colby and Eleni Schirmer. Glenn is the senior researcher at the national office of the AAUP. Eleni is a research associate on UCLA’s Initiative for the Future of Finance, which is part of the Institute on Inequality and Democracy. The episode is hosted by Mariah Quinn, the AAUP's senior program officer for digital organizing and chapter services. 

Episode links:

• The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2020-21
• Faculty Compensation Survey Results Tool
• It's Not Just Students Who Are Drowning in Debt -- The Nation
• Debt Reveal Toolkit

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This podcast focuses on shared governance in higher ed. The AAUP released three reports this year looking at data collected from our national shared governance survey. The reports looked at the impact of the pandemic on shared governance, the demographics of senate chairs and governance structures, and faculty roles in decision-making.

 We’ll be discussing those reports and more, as well as discussing the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on shared governance.  This podcast features guests Joerg Tiede and Michael DeCesare. Joerg is the director of research at the AAUP, who conducts survey research on academic freedom, tenure, and governance. He has also written on the history of the AAUP and the development of academic freedom, tenure, and governance in the United States. Mike until recently chaired the AAUP’s Committee on College and University Governance. He is professor of sociology at Merrimack College and a consultant with AAUP’s Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Shared Governance.  The episode is hosted by Mariah Quinn, AAUP's senior program officer for digital organizing and chapter services. 

Episode links: 

• Survey Data on the Impact of the Pandemic on Shared Governance
• Findings on Demographics of Senate Chairs and Governance Structures
• Findings on Faculty Roles by Decision-Making Areas
• Special Report: COVID-19 and Academic Governance
• AAUP's Shared Governance Assessment Tool
• Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities

Follow the AAUP on Facebook and Twitter.