Inside Higher Ed: AAUP Lifts Censure of Tulane
The American Association of University Professors has lifted its censure of Tulane University, following an agreement that Tulane would not cite the move in defending itself in lawsuits from former faculty members. Tulane was censured in 2007 for the way it eliminated departments and made decisions in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The university maintained at the time — and has maintained since — that it had no choice but to act quickly to shift priorities in light of the severe situation presented by Katrina. But the AAUP investigation into the situation questioned the extent to which the university needed to take those specific steps, particularly without appropriate levels (to the AAUP) of faculty input. The university has adopted policies — developed by faculty members and with AAUP backing — that specify more explicit faculty roles in decision making in a financial crisis, and that stress the protections that should be offered to tenured faculty members. The final issue to be resolved concerned fears that the lifting of censure could hurt lawsuits against the university, and Tulane’s pledge not to cite the lifting of censure led to the latest decision.
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