CHICAGO—In many ways, the American Association of University Professors’ biennial meeting felt like a political war room. While thunderstorms and high winds raged outside, the mission inside the Hyatt Centric Chicago was clear: Higher education is under attack, and the AAUP must move beyond defending faculty in the crosshairs and step up its offense through more effective organizing, greater political advocacy and stronger labor actions.
The five-day event, held Wednesday through Sunday last week, was part conference, part business meeting, and had a lot of ground to cover since President Donald Trump took office for his second term. The two years since the last biennial meeting “have been a decade for higher ed workers,” AAUP president Todd Wolfson told Inside Higher Ed.
“Trump and his administration have targeted higher ed for attack … and we need to figure out how to build a unified response that’s powerful, that protects us at the campus level, that builds the coalitions and the power necessary to respond to this moment—not only in defense from the Trump administration, but also in a forward-looking way,” Wolfson said. “There’s work to be done, but I think vibes are strong and people are excited.”
