Resolution Endorsing the AAUP’s Centennial Declaration

Date

Whereas, the New Brunswick Faculty Council is deeply concerned with the weakening of shared governance and the growth of the corporate model of the university, with its proliferation of highly paid administrators and concomitant marginalization of the faculty; and

Whereas, the Faculty Council is also deeply concerned with the lack of government support for public higher education, which has led to large increases in the cost of attendance at public colleges and universities, large increases in the level of student debt, and the limitation of access for poor and working class students.

Therefore, be it resolved that the New Brunswick Faculty Council endorses the AAUP’s Centennial Declaration, which consists of the following ten statements:

  1. The university is a public good, not a private profit-making institution, and corporations or business interests should not dictate teaching or research agendas.

  2. The life of a university should reflect all dimensions of human endeavor and be built on the full and open participation of diverse faculty and students.

  3. The main aims of teaching are the dissemination of knowledge and the fostering of creativity; learning is not just about developing “job skills.”

  4. The main aim of research is to create new knowledge, and academic freedom is essential for the free search for truth and its free expression. Research is not just about enhancing the profit margins of corporations.

  5. After teaching and research, the third mission of universities is about engaging communities and addressing social disadvantage, and not just about “enterprise engagement” or “economic development.”

  6. All who work at universities are entitled to a dignified and collegial workplace free of surveillance and authoritarian dictates and to resist the degradation of their working conditions.

  7. Students are the next generation of enlightened and humane citizens, not just revenue streams or the bearers of collateral for unsustainable debt loads.

  8. Information and communications technologies are welcome tools for teaching and research but should not be used to impoverish the quality of education or reduce faculty-student contact time.

  9. University management should resist public education cutbacks and reverse the multiplying of senior management posts, many of which are unnecessary.

  10. Faculty shared governance is the cornerstone of any university that values teaching and research. The authority of faculty in hiring decisions, promotions, and curricular matters should not be compromised by donors, trustees, or administrators. Similarly, the faculty voice in budgeting, institutional planning, and other internal operations should not be marginalized.