The Auburn University board of trustees voted unanimously on Friday without discussion to dissolve its faculty senate and give itself total control over courses and curricula.
The move aligns with House Bill 580 passed by Alabama lawmakers earlier this year, but that law specifically does not apply to the state’s flagship institutions and is not set to take effect until October.
Although the faculty senate had been an advisory role only, American Association of University Professors Auburn chapter said the transition “a shift from faculty-led governance to administratively controlled consultation.” The senate will be replaced by the “Presidential Academic Advisory Council,” which the new policy explains will “provide advice and perspective, at the President’s request and direction, on matters related to academic policy, academic governance, and the academic mission of the University.”
The council will include two faculty members from each college—one selected by faculty and the other by the president—plus any number of additional “members appointed by the President, who may include faculty or nonfaculty members whose expertise, institutional role, or perspective would assist the Council’s work”
Mark Criley, a senior program officer in the department of academic freedom, tenure and governance at the AAUP, told Inside Higher Ed that the makeup of the council effectively destroys its credibility.
“If you’re designing that body and selecting half of its membership, then you’re losing the frank, candid, informed judgment of the faculty,” Criley said.
The Auburn AAUP said the policy leaves more concerns about dismissal procedures, tenure and protections for faculty dissent. Although it does not apply to Auburn, HB580 creates vague conditions allowing for the dismissal of tenured employees.
The board also passed a policy giving itself complete control of curriculum, with board documents describing the policy as “intended to promote academic transparency, quality, accountability, institutional alignment, responsible stewardship of the public trust, and appropriate faculty engagement while preserving clear lines of authority for final institutional decision-making.” The board has already moved to require one U.S. history course and one civics class for all students.
The policy still allows for faculty input on course offerings and curriculum, but emphasizes that “curriculum and courses are institutional matters subject to … final approval through the authority of the Board or through such administrative delegation as the Board may authorize.”
Auburn faculty apparently only learned of the proposed changes on Thursday morning when the meeting and agenda were posted online 24 hours in advance.
Virginia Davis, chair of the faculty senate, pointed out the short timeline in her comments during Friday’s vote.
“Whenever you want to do something or make a policy, you really need the input of people who are living that role. And my concern here today is that the faculty did not really get a chance to give that input,” Davis said. “I’m concerned it will have adverse consequences for research, teaching and service. I know that you have the best of intentions, but I’m just concerned that because there wasn’t enough time for the engagement of faculty members involved, that it will actually set us backwards in tremendous ways.”
The Auburn AAUP also criticized the way the board conducted the meeting.
“These policies were adopted without meaningful faculty input, despite the fact that faculty—not the Board—carry out the academic mission every day. Faculty are not employees in a corporate structure to be managed through top-down authority. They are experts entrusted with educating students and advancing knowledge, and that work depends on collaboration, shared governance, and strong academic freedom protections,” the Auburn AAUP wrote. “Where these conditions are weakened, unintended—and potentially spiraling—consequences are not only possible, but likely.”
