Promotes principles of academic freedom, tenure, and due process in higher education through the development of policy documents and reports relating to these subjects and the application of those principles to particular situations that are brought to its attention. The staff is authorized to receive, on behalf of the committee, complaints of departures from these standards and, where appropriate, to undertake formal investigations. Such investigations may lead to a recommendation from the committee to the Association’s national council and annual meeting that the administration of an institution be censured for failure to adhere to the principles of academic freedom and tenure as endorsed by the AAUP and hundreds of other professional and educational organizations.
Recent Cases
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Upcoming Events
The Illinois Conference works to ensure that faculty voices remain central to college and university decision-making processes. We advocate for the conditions that allow professors to teach, conduct research, engage with the public, and pursue scholarly inquiry free from undue political, ideological, or administrative interference. By strengthening faculty participation in governance and defending academic freedom, we help preserve the integrity and quality of higher education.
Upcoming Events:
September 4 – Professor Leonard Bright – update on the current situation at Texas A&M University
September 17 – Academic Freedom and Constitutional Rights in a Time of Crisis
October 4-10 – Banned Book WeekWe invite you to join us for these important upcoming programs.
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IL AAUP Letter to SAIC Talwar June 2026
The Illinois Conference of the American Association of University Professors Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure expresses concern about the School of the Art Institute’s suspension and investigation of art therapy professor Savneet Talwar. In an April 17, 2026, letter, Director of Employee Relations Andrew Daley accused Talwar of “alleged conduct expressing an anti-Israeli, antisemetic [sic], and/or pro-Palestine viewpoint.
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IL AAUP Letter to SAIC Feb 03, 2025
The Illinois Conference of the American Association of University Professors Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure is deeply concerned by reports that School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) lecturer, Kelly Xi has been suspended and barred from campus for exercising her academic freedom.
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Letter to the Northwestern Administration
Dr. Steven Thrasher will resume teaching at the Medill School of Journalism on April 1 after an ad-hoc committee of three professors convened from across the faculty at Northwestern University found no cause for his suspension last fall.