Present: Members: Hadi Esfahani, Robin Kar, Richard Laugesen, David O’Brien, Robert Parker, Daniel Steward, Leslie Struble, Carol Symes, Carol Tilley, H. F. Williamson
The meeting began at about 12:30 p.m. with Kar presiding and welcoming the attendees.
(1) Welcome and Introductions. Kar welcomed the attendees and thanked them for their service. Since there were no guests today, introductions were not needed.
(2) Review of the Minutes for the May 1, 2025 Meeting of Policy Committee. Since there were no responses to his request for substantive comments on the minutes, Kar announced that they were adopted by unanimous consent.
(3) President’s Report. Kar noted that quite a lot has been going on over the summer and that there is a little more certainty now about the set of forces that are operating in higher education. This increases the importance of our being forward-thinking and nimble as we respond to the issues that are rising.
(5) Review of Annual Chapter Meeting and Program on May 15, 2025. Kar felt that the program was very effective in helping us communicate academic values to an increasingly polarized world. He thanked Carol Symes for leading the Annual Chapter Meeting.
(6) Recruiting New Chapter Members and New Members of the Policy Committee. Kar led a lengthy discussion of these two, related matters. He and Symes also discussed a meeting they had with Kim Piper, Lead Organizer at the national AAUP whose special charge is chapters in the Midwest. Symes had distributed a summary of that meeting. One concern was that the basic tenets of the AAUP – tenure, shared governance and academic freedom – may not be shared by all the groups who have a vested interest in higher education. Thus, in articulating a platform of what we want to achieve as an alliance with others, we need to develop basics we can agree on such as access to education, affordability, opportunity, freedom of speech, and human dignity. Kar noted that at our next meeting, we can consider whether a consensus exists on these values and, if so, that they can be shared with the Illinois Leadership Council and used if we start forming Contact Action Teams as suggested by Piper. Steward noted that we may want to add others such as the value of the mission of higher education. Symes agreed pointing out that the value of higher education means not just being able to go to college but also having access to the products and goods produced by the research in these institutions. Kar reported that Kim mentioned that reports on the value of higher education are being considered by the national AAUP and may be relevant so we may want to ask them for a draft to avoid duplication of effort. Symes added that it is becoming evident that we can’t make a case for the AAUP or academic freedom if the country as a whole has become so deeply suspicions of the Academy and is unaware of what we do in higher education. Tilley agreed and pointed out that if the faculty became more aware of how some portions of the community felt about higher education, they would be more likely to become active. The possibility of public meetings was also discussed such as a special meeting on campus on what the AAUP can do for you or a public meeting at a venue such as the Champaign Public Library on what higher education does for you. Steward noted that we were tending to mix two or three related topics. One was the goal to increase the Policy Committee membership which would mean also increases the chapter membership. A second was reaching out to the broader community about the value of higher education, but that doesn’t preclude a similar activity on campus as well focused more on faculty. Kar felt that a good framework had been discussed and that we will go further into this topic at the next meeting.
(7) Key Actions Items Facing Policy Committee for 2025-2026
(a) Response to Actions by Trump Administration. Kar feels it would be a good idea to restart the Illinois Informal Leadership Council to which we will invite two leaders from a wide range of campus groups to meet every two weeks to discuss issues of common concern. He added that it might make sense to form a similar Council for the leaders of the AAUP Chapters at the other Big Ten Universities. Seeing no objections, he will plan to start contacting both groups.
(b) Meeting with Campus Administrators. Kar pointed out that we usually meet with the Chancellor and/or the Provost in the spring. There was a discussion of whether we might ask the new Chancellor to meet with us this fall and whom we would choose if only one were available. Parker asked whether we might invite a group of administrators from fields such as STEM to meet with us. Kar responded that we were considering meeting with various groups as part of the membership drive such as the various Councils.
(c) Membership Drive. Kar noted we may wait to hear more from the national AAUP on the methods they think are most useful before we take any major steps. Esfahani suggested that we consider involving graduate students in our activities whether or not they might become members since these are the next generation of faculty here and around the world. Kar agreed and noted that the Illinois Informal Discussion Group will provide an excellent place to let graduate student leaders know about the AAUP. Kar concluded by reporting that our appearance at the New Faculty Orientation went well.
(8) Report from Liaison to the NTFC Local #6546 Chapter. Steward had two items to report. The first was his concern that we should not forget about the obstacles to access to education facing so many students whether due to the gutting of the Department of Education, affirmative action decisions, or visa problems. The second was to make sure we were aware that the Illinois Conference of the AAUP is cosponsoring on September 17 a webinar panel on academic freedom and the current crisis in higher education.
(9) Concluding Remarks. Kar repeated his concerns about his needing a better understanding of the dynamics of polarization and how various groups are being demonized for political purposes. Parker agreed noting that this is one of the principal engines for creating the increasingly low esteem that too many people have for higher education. Kar concluded the discussion be suggesting this could be the topic of a meeting or webinar.
(10) Adjournment. Kar adjourned the meeting at about 1:30 p.m.
As noted below, the next meeting is scheduled to be at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 9, 2025.
Schedule for Remaining Fall Meetings
(a) Regular Policy Committee Meetings:
The remaining fall meetings are scheduled to be held electronically at 12:30 p.m. on the following Thursdays.
Thursday, October 9 (2nd Thursday)
Thursday, November 6 (1st Thursday)
Thursday, December 4 (1st Thursday); Reading Day is December 11
(b) Meetings with Administrators and Chapter Meetings: To be determined.