Values & Call
Mission Statement: We are an organization of faculty, staff, and graduate students who are teachers, scholars, scientists, doctors, lawyers, librarians, administrators, nurses, artists, and workers dedicated to advancing public scholarship, civic participation, and political action for a more just community.
With the goals of promoting fairness, equity, and inclusion on our campus and in our communities, the University of Miami AAUP-Alliance advocates for tenure-stream faculty, non-tenure-stream faculty, university and subcontracted staff, and graduate students, and we express unity across those divisions. Faculty, graduate student teaching and research assistants, and all staff—from fundraisers to cleaners to IT specialists to departmental administrative employees—are crucial to the work of education and are an integral part of our community.
We support the principles of shared faculty governance and freedom of expression, and we wholeheartedly support the faculty senate and its current leadership. We believe that strong school/college faculty and staff councils are essential for the enactment of transparency and participatory decision-making. Further, we commit to the following values and practices:
Academic freedom and the principle that all faculty should have control over the curriculum, their courses, their content, and methods of instruction. We believe it our responsibility to ensure for our students an excellent and safely presented education, the conditions for which faculty (and not solely administration) can best evaluate and implement for optimal learning.
A unified faculty that recognizes Contingent (or Associated) faculty (lecturers and adjuncts) as essential to the educational mission of the University and not dispensable.
Promoting the well-being not only of students, faculty, and staff, but also of the communities in which campuses are embedded. We advocate for the inclusion and support of all our colleagues and seek to reduce the challenges of disability, racial, and gender inequities, as well as inequities for colleagues with caregiving responsibilities.
Holding the university accountable to the “commitment to diversity and inclusion by building a culture of belonging where all members of the UM community feel valued and can add value” (UM Roadmap Priority, Administrative Excellence: Culture of Belonging). We advocate for tenure-stream faculty, non-tenure-stream faculty, university staff, sub-contracted workers, and students and want to express unity across those groups as well as University and School/College leadership because We Are One U.
Advocating, as a higher educational value and because of our sense of justice as citizens, for more equitable compensation at all levels of the institution, especially on behalf of faculty and staff who earn the least and subsidize the job security and salaries of those who earn the most.
Meaningful engagement by all faculty (both tenure and non-tenure stream) and staff in jointly crafting flexible solutions to any financial, academic, and health challenges of the institution. Additionally, we advocate for financial transparency so that we can ensure that the burden of any adjustments is experienced fairly across the institution. Sub-contracted workers, staff, and contingent faculty—too often over-represented by women and people of color—are perennially at risk of bearing the brunt of cost savings, compounding already existing inequities. We call on the University to commit to including faculty in any discussions of financial adjustment to ensure equitable options.
The UM AAUP-Alliance seeks to build and strengthen coalitions and relationships, working toward the ideal of a principled educational community and a society of justice, equity, and well-being. We welcome you to join us today!
