The Illinois AAUP policy committee has just lost two valued members.

Robert Spitze passed away in hospice care on January 22, 2020 at age 97. He was a professor in agricultural economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, having joined the faculty there in 1960. He was a valued member of the policy committee for many years, even after his retirement in 1992. See the following link for his full obituary. He made many important contributions to the local AAUP chapter and we will miss him. As noted in the obituary, a public celebration of Bob’s life will be held on Sunday, Feb. 23, in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) Library, University of Illinois, at 2 p.m.

Then Kenneth Andersen passed away on January 26, 2020, at age 86. He was a professor in communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, having joined the faculty there in 1970. He was also a valued member of the policy committee for many years, even after his retirement in 1995. See the following link for his full obituary. A visitation and memorial service for Ken have already been held. Not only did Ken give many years of service to the UIUC AAUP chapter, he was also active at the state and the national level. He was a past president of the UIUC chapter. He was a current board member, a past treasurer, and a past president of the Illinois AAUP chapter, and he served as editor and editorial writer for the Illinois AAUP newsletter, with many of his articles addressing critical issues regarding shared governance and academic freedom. He attended more than 30 national AAUP conferences. His contributions were important and he will also be missed—not only in the campus organization, but also in the state and the national groups.