This letter was recently sent to the Chancellor of the University of Kansas, and was written by the new joint Vision & Advocacy Working Group, composed of appointed representatives from the AATG, BGHRA, CAUTG, Coalition of WiG, DDGC, and the GSA, combined.
Dear Chancellor Girod,
In solidarity with the faculty and staff at the University of Kansas, we urge you to decline to follow the new KBOR policy on suspension, termination, and dismissal, which would violate core academic principles of shared governance and academic freedom. We support KU faculty and staff in their demand to “recommit in word and action to existing KU policies pertaining to shared governance, especially in matters of tenure, dismissal and financial transparency, as well as the long-established national standards that are their basis.” The erosion of the principles of academic freedom and faculty governance would be a tremendous blow to the reputation and future of KU. We join allied organizations and the American Council of Learned Societies – of which KU is an Associate Member – in their call to respect and uphold the principles of academic freedom and tenure first articulated by the American Association of University Professors in 1915. Lastly, we share with our KU colleagues the concern that the KBOR policy "places KU at grave risk of expulsion from [the AAU], which would inevitably impede the recruitment and retention of faculty and the securing of research funds, ultimately eroding the value of all degrees from the University of Kansas."
Sincerely,
American Association of Teachers of German (AATG)
Black German Heritage and Research Association (BGHRA)
Canadian Association of University Teachers of German (CAUTG)
Coalition of Women in German (WiG)
Diversity, Decolonization, & the German Curriculum Collective (DDGC)
German Studies Association (GSA)