Present: Robin Kar, Richard Laugesen, David O’Brien, Robert Parker, Dana Rabin, Leslie Struble, Carol Tilley, H. F. Williamson; Guest: Toby Beauchamp
The meeting began at about 11:00 a.m. with Parker presiding.
(1) Welcome, Introductions, and Report on Web Site. In Kar’s temporary absence, Parkerwelcomed the attendees and thanked them for their service. During the meeting, Parker asked Beauchamp to introduce himself. He is an Associate Professor in Gender and Women’s Studies and current Chair of that department. The attendees were then asked to introduce themselves to our guest. Parker then asked Struble if there was a report on the Chapter website. Struble noted that she had been doing some work on the website and that it is under control.
(2) Review of the Minutes for the January 22, 2026 Meeting of Policy Committee. Since there were no responses to his request for substantive comments on the minutes, Parker announced that they were approved by unanimous consent.
(3) Preparation for the P&T Workshop. Parker and Laugesen reviewed the status of the Workshop. They noted that we will again have a Zoom workshop with the same panelists as last year. The principal task at this point will be to determine the date when these individuals are available. They discussed with Beauchamp the importance of this workshop for all assistant and associate professors and for those who mentor these individuals. We feel the value of the workshop is quite evident given the reactions of and questions raised by the attendees.
(4) President’s Report. Kar thanked everyone for their service especially in this difficult time for higher education. He noted that the Chairs or Presidents of Big 10 AAUP chapters are continuing to maintain contact and set up Zoom meetings. These shared experiences this term have helped them to (a) understand the (often worse) problems facing other campuses and (b) better prepare how to react on their own campuses. His second update concerned the role the chapter might play in the proposed No Kings rally. Carol Symes has been our person for this event. There was a thorough discussion of the role the Chapter could or should play and how active we could be. There was agreement that we could help by informing our members of the event particularly by noting that this a non-partisan protest against a national administration that unilaterally imposed these measures against academia. For example, as Parker noted, we could indicate that we are joining in the support of this venture because of our concerns about the current threats to academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance.
(5) Preparation for the Annual Chapter Meeting
(a) Possible Programs. Kar noted that three topics had been suggested: (i) a panel program on
Title VI andthe concerns it is raising with respect to academic freedom; (ii) a more general discussion of the current threats to higher education; and (iii) a report from some of the PIs on the progress on the Mellon Grant for the Sawyer Seminar series titled “At Risk U: the Past, Present, and Future of Academic Freedom.”
(b) Program Choice. It was agreed that the first topic, a program on Title VI, would be the most timely, pointed, and useful presentation this year. Kar will work with the committee on choosing whom we will invite to be on the panel.
(c) Date: The choice of the date will depend on availability of the panelists. In the past, the Annual Meeting has been on Reading Day (abandoned given so many other events were scheduled that day) and, more recently, the Tuesday of Final Exam week (May 12, 2026, this year).
(d) Preparations. Once the date is chosen, publicity procedures including the program can be put in place. It was suggested that procedures also be set up so that questions from the audience could be submitted ahead of time and/or anonymously. The importance of having time limits (e.g., maximum of 10 minutes per speaker) and a clear way to enforce them was also noted,
(6) Preparation for the P&T Workshop (continued). Kar and Parker will lead the planning for the workshop. Their first task was to ask Carol Tilley to continue her tenure as a panelist, to which she agreed. Parker agreed to take the lead on inviting the remaining panelists after which he will work on the poster.
(7) National Biennial AAUP Meeting: June 12-13, 2026 in Chicago Illinois. Laugesen announced that the Chapter could send a representative if we wanted. It was agreed to follow his proposal of waiting until at least the March meeting to see whether (a) other chapters want to join us in choosing delegates who jointly represent them or (b) we would choose to send a delegate of our own. It was agreed to wait until our March meeting to decide since that will occur prior to the deadline for joining. Kar suggested that Laugesen send an email to see if anyone is interested in attending. If someone is, we can discuss which expenses the Chapter will cover.
(8) Adjournment. Kar adjourned the meeting at about 12:05 p.m.
The next meeting is scheduled to be at 11 AM on Thursday, March 12, 2026.