Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) – Association of University Professors (AAUP)

IU community members with “No ICE” flyers at a recent BFC meeting

Dear members,

2026 began with a big win for our chapter. Over the last six months we were the fastest-growing chapter in the AAUP. And now we are the largest advocacy chapter in the US. This was the result of a new recruitment drive based in solidarity and purpose, where so many faculty volunteered to meet one-on-one to discuss collective organizing. We are now a model for the rest of the country in recruitment and membership. Building upon this momentum, we hired Cathleen Paquet, a talented community organizer, to continue this work. Come meet Cathleen on March 5^th, 4-6pm, at the Vault for our First Thursday Happy Hour Event!

Campus News

Chicago Principles

The IU Board of Trustees recently endorsed the Chicago Principles as a statement of IU’s core values regarding freedom of expression on our campus. In announcing the endorsement BFC President Bill Ramos, writes, “it is hoped that these principles will help guide our speech and our decisions that uphold freedom of expression, a value that is essential to learning and discovery. We hope that the adoption of these principles will be a first step, not a final conclusion, towards greater learning and stronger communities in our university.” While IU Administrators have refused to fully adopt the Chicago Principles as a governing policy, we will note that the Principles also include explicit language about the ways upper administration must defend faculty’s academic freedom when challenged. When IU Administrators engage in actions that violate the Chicago Principles, we will continue to publicize and protest their violations, as we did in December. Defending academic freedom and freedom of expression at IU are core objectives of the IUB AAUP.

Campus Climate Survey 

We appreciate the response from all who participated in our short campus climate survey. The survey was designed to solicit faculty feedback on identifying high-priority issues and concerns. Among several options, 66% of respondents identified the “Merger, Reorganization, and Elimination (MRE) of Academic Units and Programs” as their highest concern. 60% of respondents also identified, “Concerns about how University policies are offered for faculty review” as their highest priority. Based on these results, we will continue to monitor all University policy changes and provide faculty with the necessary resources to give informed feedback. We will also continue to mobilize our chapter resources in support of faculty, staff, and students adversely affected by MRE policy implementation. 

What you can do:

• If you experience or witness restrictions on speech/expressive activity, document what happened (who/what/when/where) and contact the chapter.
• Forward policy-change announcements (or credible reports of them) to iubaaup@iu.edu so we can track patterns and respond quickly.

BFC Resolution

We also greatly appreciate the presence of a large number of AAUP members at the most recent BFC meeting where a Resolution was passed calling on the University to, “remove ICE, CBP, and DHS from the list of approved employers allowed to post on the IU Events Calendar until all court cases involving potential violations of civil rights and alleged illegal and unconstitutional activity by these agencies are fully resolved.” Providing a safe, inclusive learning environment for all IU faculty and students is central to IU’s teaching mission. And where AAUP members and BFC representatives show solidarity, we can make faculty voices heard. Thank you to all AAUP members who showed their solidarity on this issue.

Indiana Legislation

Although short, the recent legislative session left a significant mark on our work conditions and we encourage everyone to look into these issues beyond the brief digest below:

SB76 requires that law enforcement on our campus comply with and assist ICE/CBP enforcement, inclusive of unlocking doors of what are usually considered private spaces, such as faculty offices and classrooms. Noncompliance incurs a $10,000 fine on the University per act. If you want to be better informed about your rights under these circumstances, visit our web page or the AAUP national page, which has an extensive menu of resources.

SB199 upholds the enrollment threshold over three consecutive years for continuing to operate specific degree programs that were part of the budget law in the spring. In addition, it empowers the Indiana Commission of Higher Education to eliminate any degree which does not meet the threshold of earnings for the graduates below the average earnings of a high school student in Indiana. All costs associated with such degree programs are to be eliminated as well. The metrics for determining these earnings will be the responsibility of the Secretary of Education. Institutions may apply for exceptions, but those will be granted at the discretion of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. There is no evidence that the IU Upper Administration engaged in any form of advocacy on behalf of our degrees by pushing against these provisions.

SB110, which did not advance beyond the committee, sought to reinstate the election for a number of alumni to the Board of Trustees. It was authored by Republican Senators Susan Glick and Greg Walker. This is a bill that can be reintroduced later and might have traction with a wide coalition of stakeholders. 

Given that IU administrators cannot be relied on to lobby state legislators to protect our degree programs, the Indiana conference of AAUP has begun building relationships with state legislators in both parties.The proposed SB110 was a direct result of our first attempts to propose legislation to the Indiana General Assembly. Although that bill was not successful, the conference gained skills and connections that will help defend academic freedom in future legislative sessions.

BFC Elections

This is election season for the BFC. As of March 4, 2026, AAUP member Amr Sabry is running for the office of President-elect. We expect that a second candidate will be added to the election soon. On March 10, 2026, from 3:00-4:30 PM in Ballantine Hall 310 the IUB AAUP will host an All Faculty Town Hall Event where all candidates will present their vision for serving as President-elect of the BFC. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with the candidates in a casual Q&A discussion. Remote participation is also encouraged via Zoom. 

Over the next couple weeks, we will work to ensure that a strong slate of AAUP members are elected to represent their units on the BFC. This will enable us to have a growing impact on the ways faculty practice shared governance and hold the upper administration accountable for actions that threaten faculty interests and our mission as an institution of higher education.

Alumni & Donor Pressure: Escrow Initiative

You can start building new networks of alliances by connecting recent and soon-to-be-minted alumni with an initiative started last year. A group of alumni is leading the way in setting up an escrow account for alumni donors who want to withhold support for IU until the Upper Administration begins to defend our core academic mission. For more information, reach out to them directly.

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Stay connected / get involved

• Website: iubaaup.org 
• Join: aaup.org/join 
• Contact: iubaaup@iu.edu
• Socials: @iubaaup
• Committees & working groups: iubaaup.org/get-involved/committees-working-groups/