Photo Courtesy of Lisa Metz
Faculty on the South Orange campus have formed the Seton Hall University Advocacy Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).
The chapter upholds the mission of the AAUP “to advance academic freedom and shared governance; to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education; to promote the economic security of faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education; to help the higher education community organize to make our goals a reality; and to ensure higher education's contribution to the common good,” found at the organization’s website.
Elected officials of the Seton Hall AAUP chapter are Vice President Mary Balkun, chair and professor of English; President Roseanne Mirabella, chair and professor of the department of political science and public affairs; and Secretary and Treasurer Michael Taylor, associate professor of political science.
“The AAUP is the only national organization for university faculty cutting across disciplinary boundaries to advance values for the profession,” said Mirabella. “Faculty on the South Orange campus will now have access to the resources and expertise of the national network of academics.”
The addition of an AAUP chapter to Seton Hall’s campus will allow for the promotion of the “values of academic freedom on our campus, including full freedom for professors in research and publication, freedom in the classroom to discuss their subject, along with respect for the opinion of others” said Mirabella.
The chapter is focusing on increasing faculty recruitment for the new chapter, creating a faculty survey in order to discover the concerns and interests of current faculty members and developing a new place where faculty members can discuss their concerns. They hope to encourage faculty members to take an active role in facing the important issues found in higher education.
Any Seton Hall faculty member interested in joining AAUP can visit the website at www.aaup.org in order to register.
Alyssa Maltese can be reached at alyssa.maltese@student.shu.edu.
