We, the members of the AAUP-UNC Chapel Hill chapter, demand the members of the Board of Trustees to reverse their vote to deny the appointment of Dr. Kiran Asher, but more broadly, we call on the Board to respect shared governance and academic freedom, key principles that will allow UNC to continue as one of the best public universities in the world.

Read the full AAUP statement.

End of Year Chapter Gathering

This Thursday, May 7, 4–7pm

Haw River Tap Room
300 East Main St, Unit C, Carrboro, NC 27510
(between Cat's Cradle & Amante Pizza)

Please make every effort to join us for (or at least stop by) our year-end gathering. No one is expected to stay the entire time, although of course all are welcome to. Families are welcome including kids, and our VP Erik Gellman has generously offered to buy everyone a drink! (Haw River has delicious non-alcoholic beverages, too.)

It's been a tumultuous year and a transformative one for our chapter. We'll (very briefly) review our work together and have an open-ended discussion about how we can build on the organizing we've done this year, how we can welcome more colleagues to join us, and how we can be accountable to and inclusive of all our members.

Please join your fellow members for an all-too-rare opportunity to gather in person as a chapter.

SCiLL Report Lawsuit

The vote was 64–1 in favor of filing suit. Thanks to all members who voted.

We met again this morning with the Duke First Amendment Clinic, who is representing us pro bono. We will follow up with more details soon. (The wheel of justice turns slowly..)

If you are willing to get involved in this chapter campaign, by for example offering an anonymous statement for the initial complaint, please email Michael Palm at mwpalm@gmail.com or Erik Gellman at esgellman@gmail.com. (The survey was anonymized, so if you indicated this on the survey, please email one of us.)

UNC System Working Group Meeting

Wednesday, May 13, 2:30pm (via Zoom)

The UNC System Policy Working Group meets via Zoom on Wednesdays at 2:30pm. Our next meeting will be on May 13. For more information or to join the group, please contact David Ambaras at dambaras@gmail.com.

This group is the best way for AAUP to continue to take the lead in advocating for UNC faculty rights, now by addressing the new requirement that syllabuses uploaded to the public database must include a "statement affirming that the course engages diverse scholarly perspectives," and also to address the proposed integration of the syllabus repository into Canvas, which is "under consideration" by the "Syllabus Repository Taskforce."

May 15–17: Scholars at Risk Event at the National Humanities Center (RTP)

Our chapter has been invited to participate in an event hosted by the Scholars at Risk network focused on defending academic freedom. If you are interested in attending (or just curious), please contact Michael Palm at mwpalm@gmail.com.

Get Involved

If you are interested in serving as a liaison for your department or unit, please email Erik Gellman at esgellman@gmail.com.

If you would like to help with these updates or with our chapter's website and social media, email Michael Palm at mwpalm@gmail.com.

NC AAUP is the fastest-growing non-union AAUP chapter in the country. Encourage colleagues to join here.

Please Vote: SCiLL Report Lawsuit

If you are a member and haven't voted yet, please do so here by 5pm this Friday, May 1.

Our chapter is considering filing suit against UNC to compel them to release their report about the School for Civic Life and Leadership. Several local media organizations have filed suit, and they are supportive of us filing suit, too. We have met with Duke's First Amendment Clinic, who will represent us free of charge.

End of Year Gathering

Thursday, May 7, 4–7pm, Haw River Tap Room, Carrboro

Please make every effort to join us for (or at least stop by) our year-end gathering. You are not expected to stay the entire time; families including kids are welcome. And our VP Erik Gellman has generously offered to buy everyone a drink!

This will be a welcome (and too rare) chance to gather together, and we'll discuss our priorities and goals for next year, as well as how to better serve and engage more members and colleagues.

May Day

Friday, May 1, 11am–1pm, UNC Quad

Please join us on the quad from 11–1 on Friday for a campus-wide May Day celebration! AAUP will be picnicking, listening to music, hearing from speakers from across campus, and celebrating with our colleagues in UE 150 and TransparUNCy.

Chapter Officer Elections

The following officers have been elected by acclamation to the UNC-CH AAUP Executive Committee:

• President (2 years) — Michael Palm
• Vice President (1 year) — Erik Gellman
• Secretary (2 years) — Gilby Jepsen
• Treasurer (1 year) — Nina Martin
• Rep to Faculty Council (2-year) — Sherryl Kleinman
• Rep to Faculty Council (1-year) — [vacant]

Thank you to Karen Booth and Elyse Crystall for your service and leadership over the years!

Please contact any of the above officers if you'd like to serve as the second representative to Faculty Council.

May 15–17: Scholars at Risk Event at the National Humanities Center (RTP)

Our chapter has been invited to participate in an event hosted by the Scholars at Risk network focused on defending academic freedom. If you are interested in attending (or just curious), please contact Michael Palm at mwpalm@gmail.com.

Get Involved

If you are interested in serving as a liaison for your department or unit, please email Erik Gellman at esgellman@gmail.com.

If you would like to help with these updates or with our chapter's website and social media, email Michael Palm at mwpalm@gmail.com.

NC AAUP is the fastest-growing non-union AAUP chapter in the country. Encourage colleagues to join here.