by AAUP National
October 13, 2021
Statement from AAUP president Irene Mulvey on the Georgia Board of Regents Attacks on Tenure and Academic Freedom.
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia is nearing a vote on changes to the system’s post-tenure review policy. As the AAUP emphasized in a September 24 letter to the Georgia AAUP conference, if the board votes to approve the proposed changes, tenure and the academic freedom it is designed to protect will be severely compromised at the twenty-five tenure-granting colleges and universities in the system. Given the severity and scope of this potential attack on tenure and academic freedom, our executive director will authorize an investigation if the board votes to adopt these changes. In 1974 the AAUP took similar action, investigating and censuring the governing board of the Virginia Community College System for abolishing tenure.
The principal purpose of tenure is to safeguard academic freedom, which is indispensable for the quality of teaching and research in higher education.