American Association of University Professors

Release date: 5/25/06
For more information, contact Roger Bowen

AAUP Special Committee on Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans Universities Convenes in Washington

Washington, D.C.— The AAUP's Special Committee on Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans Universities met in the Association's national office on May 24. The committee discussed its charge to review and analyze post-Katrina developments in New Orleans that impinge on colleges and universities in the city, on their faculty, and on their academic programs.

The Special Committee also worked out plans for compiling and evaluating information in the weeks immediately ahead. Members of the committee will conduct site visits and interviews in New Orleans beginning in early August. The full committee plans to convene in the city by the end of that month.

Robert O'Neil chairs the Special Committee. O’Neil heads the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression; he is former president of the University of Virginia. Joining O'Neil on the committee are Professors Norma Cook (University of Tennessee), Matthew Finkin (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Myron Henry (University of Southern Mississippi), Hirschel Kasper (Oberlin College), Lorenzo Morris (Howard University), Lawrence Poston (University of Illinois, Chicago), Linda Ray Pratt (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), and Peter Steiner (University of Michigan).

The Special Committee has already reviewed a large body of documents and media reports about post-Katrina events that have affected New Orleans universities, both public and private. It has also reviewed communications from concerned faculty members at the affected universities. AAUP staff has been in communication with the chief officers of these institutions over the last several months and has informed them of the creation of the Special Committee and of its charge.

Of particular concern to the Special Committee is the large number of faculty members who have been notified of release from their positions because of plans by the institutional authorities to restructure university programs and operations.

The American Association of University Professors is a nonprofit charitable and educational organization that promotes academic freedom by supporting tenure, academic due process, and standards of quality in higher education. The AAUP has about 45,000 members at colleges and universities throughout the United States.