AAUP Member Meeting Defend Higher Education
AAUP Member Meeting: Join Us to Defend Higher Ed
Dear AAUP Members and Faculty,
The attacks have come. The Trump administration has taken aim at federal research funding that
fuels the academy, withholding all federal grants and loans, and firing the National Labor
Relations Board officials who adjudicate our rights as academic workers.
As we develop our plans to defend higher education, we want to hear from you. We will be
holding member meetings on Friday, January 31, and Friday, February 7, both at 3 p.m. ET/ 12
p.m. PT. In each call, we will review the week’s developments and plan for what’s ahead. Please
join us for one or both of the meetings!
RSVP to the January 31, 3 p.m. ET, meeting here.
RSVP to the February 7, 3 p.m. ET, meeting here.
These meetings will be ongoing through the winter and spring as we work to strengthen our
chapters, our work as the AAUP, and higher ed.
In solidarity,
Todd Wolfson, AAUP president
Rotua Lumbantobing, AAUP vice president
Danielle Aubert, AAUP secretary-treasurer
P.S. If you’ve been impacted by the freeze on work done and funded by the National Institutes of
Health, please take this survey by our allies at Higher Ed Labor United so we can learn more and
prepare a response.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30, 2025
Joint Statement of Opposition to SB 1 From the Faculty
Unions of Ohio’s Public Universities
As representatives of organizations committed to protecting the rights of faculty and the
integrity of higher education in Ohio, we stand in opposition to SB 1, the “Advance Ohio
Higher Education Act.”
SB 1 is a slightly revised version of SB 83 from the last General Assembly that remains
an example of blatant government overreach and micromanagement of the university. It
is state-imposed censorship of what occurs in the university classroom and will have a
chilling effect on academic freedom and freedom of expression. It purports to address
the rampant “indoctrination” of students—a claim for which no verifiable evidence has
been provided. Ironically, the censorship of certain topics along with the specific
requirements of what should be taught is itself the imposition of a single view or
ideology, namely, that of the bill’s sponsor and co-sponsors.
SB 1 would radically undermine the collective bargaining rights of faculty unions by
restoring the faculty strike ban for full-time faculty members from the original version of
SB 83 and prohibiting bargaining regarding faculty evaluations, tenure, and
retrenchment (the process for reduction of force). This ban on collective bargaining,
combined with an overly broad definition of retrenchment, would leave faculty without
job security, and would leave academic freedom unprotected.
Enactment of SB 1 would imperil the retention and recruitment of excellent faculty by
essentially eliminating meaningful tenure at Ohio’s public institutions of higher
education. This will result in faculty seeking positions with more job security—a trend
currently occurring since the passage of similar laws in Florida. This loss of intellectual
capital can weaken the state’s academic and research capabilities, making it
challenging to attract future talent.
Union Representatives
Dr. David Jackson: BGSU
Dr. Haidy Kamel: Tri-C
Dr. Linda Quinn: CSU
Dr. Deborah Smith: KSU
Dr. Cathy Wagner: Miami University
Dr. Pranav Jani: OSU
Dr. John O’Keefe: Ohio University
Dr. Evi Gorogianni: University of Akron
Dr. Stephen Mockabee: University of Cincinnati
Dr. Tim Brakel: University of Toledo
Dr. Rober Rubin: Wright State
Dr. Mark Vopat: YSU
Colleagues,
You have likely heard that the bill formerly known as SB83 has been reintroduced as Senate Bill 1 for the
136th General Assembly. See the information from the OCAAUP below, which includes a synopsis and
summary of the most concerning aspects of the bill.
Most importantly, please see the information about what you can do to fight the legislation. It is likely to
move through the legislative process very quickly, so we are asking you to do everything you personally can.
The bill was defeated before, we know that it can be again.
Thank you,
Kate Budd, Chair, Faculty Senate
Evi Gorogianni, Acting President, Akron-AAUP
What is in SB 1/HB 6?
We created our own synopsis of the bills, grouped by issue area and listed in the order they appear in the bill.
We provided page numbers so that you can reference the language for yourself.
You will notice that the new bills are nearly identical to the last version of SB 83 with some significant and
insignificant changes. By our count, there are 25 issue areas in the bills, and it’s one unfunded, onerous, and
unnecessary mandate after another on faculties and administrations.
In terms of significant changes, the bill would ban faculty strikes. You may recall that all campus unions would
have been banned from strikes in the original version of SB 83. At one point, the strike ban was removed; but
at the same time, the sponsor added in language to prohibit certain collective bargaining subjects
(retrenchment, tenure, evaluations). Now the language is limited to a ban on faculty union strikes, and the
prohibition on bargaining subjects remains. Our labor union coalition, We Are Ohio, is still fully behind us and
will be taking actions to remind lawmakers that an attack on any labor union is an attack on all labor unions.
Another major change is that SB 1/HB 6 would completely ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), including
DEI-related scholarships. Republicans have been using the U.S. Supreme Court’s Harvard admissions’ decision
on affirmative action as a justification to drive the elimination of all campus DEI without legislation. The
language in these bills would leave no room for DEI or even renamed DEI, except for in very limited
circumstances to secure grant funding.
The bills still contain contradictory and confusing language about ensuring “intellectual diversity,” which
raises serious concerns related to academic freedom and would open up faculty to unsubstantiated
complaints. The legislation also retained the overbroad definition of retrenchment, which would allow for
retrenchment to be invoked at almost any time.
We encourage you to read the bill for yourself and refer to our synopsis.
What can we expect in terms of timeline and legislative process?
All we know for sure at this point is that Republican leaders in both chambers want to fast-track these bills,
because they know the more time they give their colleagues to read the bills and hear from constituents, the
less likely legislators are to support them. As we told you in our last email, we face a much steeper uphill
battle with the political realities in the new General Assembly.
We expect that there will be some kind of committee process, and it is likely to happen soon. Please stay
tuned for opportunities to submit testimony.
Take action ASAP.
There are a number of ways that you can help us fight the legislation:
1) E-mail Senate and House members.
You can use our easy online form above, which will send messages to all state legislators asking them to vote
no on the bills. We believe we have to contact all legislators right away given the quick timeline that is
expected.
2) E-mail Gov. DeWine
Due to the anticipated fast-track nature of the bills, we have to start asking the governor now to veto the bill.
Gov. DeWine has been less inclined than other Republicans to buy into culture war politics, and we believe he
understands the importance of a higher education system that maintains integrity.
3) Talk to your state legislators.
Talk to state legislators you know, and get to know the lawmakers who represent you, if you don’t already.
Regardless of party affiliation, they need to hear from their constituents that SB 1/HB 6 will harm higher
education and its economic impact on Ohio. Visit https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/ to find your legislators.
4) Dust off your SB 83 testimony and/or op-ed.
Please have your testimony ready to update and submit. If you didn’t write testimony on SB 83, we will need
even more voices this time, so please consider starting to draft testimony. We will send more information
about testimony submissions when the time comes.
If you wrote an op-ed previously, consider updating that and submitting again to point out that the legislators
who are pushing this bill once again have failed to listen to the overwhelming opposition from the public.
5) Donate to our new “Advocacy & Defense Fund.”
THANK YOU to our generous members who already have made critical donations! OCAAUP is a small
organization with one staff member that has kept dues as low as possible for our chapters and members. The
challenges we face are going to require more resources, and 100% of the money donated to this fund will be
used to fight political attacks. ANY size donation is welcome and appreciated. Please note: the Ohio
Conference AAUP is a 501(c)(6) organization; as a result, donations are NOT tax deductible.
Please stay engaged as this process unfolds, and do what you can to aid our efforts. Thank you!