As was discussed at the October 2009 Faculty Congress (and later in the Senate), many faculty have been concerned over the possibility of a declaration of exigency, both as to what exigency might mean for the survival of programs and the employment of tenured faculty, and as to what the declaration itself might mean for the University. The situation was brought to the attention of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which has long experience in such matters, by some of its members on our campus. The Director of the AAUP's Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Governance contacted the SEC for more information on our particular situation, and has followed up with a letter reiterating conventional standards and recommended procedures for exigency and retrenchment. We are posting that letter and the accompanying materials for the benefit of the community.
The letter from the AAUP is here.
Accompanying that letter were: