UI Chapter history The national AAUP was founded in 1915. The Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors ( The University of Iowa Libraries’ University Archives has three
or four feet of shelf space devoted to AAUP chapter documents, but the
oldest that has been unearthed is a Issues dealt with by the chapter often reflected the times, but
throughout the period covered by the documents, it is clear that the
chapter was concerned about the perennial AAUP issues of shared
governance, standards for promotion and tenure, and due process. For
example, the Following World War II, the chapter had a Committee on Housing, a reflection of the serious housing shortage at the time. A survey conducted by this committee yielded about 350 responses, and “246 clearly indicated that they were interested in the initiation of some form of faculty housing project.” A three-page At one time, the membership of the University of Iowa AAUP chapter was the fourth largest in the nation. A During the mid-1980s the chapter hosted a speaker who had experience as an ombudsman at a sister Big Ten university. Chapter president George Kalnitsky arranged for this speaker to talk to UI president James O. Freedman; as a direct result the University of Iowa Ombudsperson's Office was established in 1985. The first ombudsperson was Professor Anthony Sinicropi of the College of Business. Another major accomplishment of the chapter was the establishment of an annual symposium on promotion and tenure. A committee led by Ed Kottick planned the first symposium in 1987. The committee members expected that perhaps 25 faculty members might attend, but in fact, attendees numbered 125. Much to their surprise the front row was occupied by many of the deans, and they were taking notes! Soon after, the individual colleges began running their own promotion and tenure symposia. In the years that followed, the entire promotion and tenure process became much better understood and far more transparent. |