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Dear Colleague:

Our profession and the academy are increasingly under fire. The number of issues that cry out for the faculty?s attention is on the rise. So is the number of inquiries that AAUP staff are fielding from faculty members whose academic freedom, tenure, and involvement in shared governance are being threatened. The need for our vigilance grows greater every month.

The AAUP is where you and your colleagues turn for assistance and for defense of academic values and principles. Now we are turning to you--to ask for your membership and support <http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/involved/join/> . 

We know that most faculty today, whether you primarily teach, conduct research, or both, have many claims on your time and attention, not to mention on your dollars. But if the faculty doesn?t join together to protect academic freedom and the faculty voice in shared governance, who will? If you?ve been reading our e-mails, you?ve taken the first step toward getting involved. Now we invite you to take a further step by joining today <http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/involved/join/> . 

Our new dues structure?announced this fall?makes AAUP membership less expensive for those who are most at risk. For faculty in contingent positions. For faculty teaching in low paid fields such as the humanities that are increasingly under assault. 

In the AAUP, we are taking action on many fronts. And we are making a difference?as we have for 95 years. If you?ve been reading the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Inside Higher Education, or the Chronicle of Higher Education over the last year, then you know that the AAUP is increasingly visible and influential. When Virginia?s attorney general tried to launch a fishing expedition into a researcher?s files, we were there <http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/newsroom/2010PRS/uvabrief.htm> . When BP tried to embargo Gulf area oil spill research, we were there <http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/newsroom/#bp> . When universities tried to misrepresent the state of their finances, we were there <http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/12/23/audit> .

With your membership <http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/involved/join/>  and your help we can expand our reach still further.  We rely on members to carry out many of our activities, from investigating alleged violations of academic freedom to lobbying state legislatures for funding. And we rely on members? dues to pay for our programs. It costs money to draft our legal briefs. It costs money to send our investigators and organizers across the country. Joining the AAUP is the most cost effective way you have to promote higher education?s pivotal role in our democracy.

Take advantage of our special introductory offer for new members. Join today <http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/involved/join/>  and receive new member status through December 2011?up to 14 months?while paying only the annual, 12-month rate: http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/involved/join/ <http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/involved/join/> 

Is academic freedom worth $5, $10, or $15 a month? Is an independent faculty voice worth $5, $10, or $15 a month? We believe that it is, and we hope that you agree.

Gary Rhoades, AAUP General Secretary
Cary Nelson, AAUP President

 

The AAUP Online is an electronic newsletter of the American Association of University Professors.  Learn more <http://lyris.eresources.com:81/t/5291217/6703349/390/0/> about the AAUP. Visit us on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=21119399464> . Follow us on Twitter <http://twitter.com/aaup> .

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