Tag Archives: education

by | September 27, 2025 · 8:14 PM

Opinion – Colorado’s colleges and universities need collective action to fight Trump administration policies

Opinion: Colorado’s colleges and universities need collective action to fight Trump administration policies

Co-presidents of the Colorado Conference of the AAUP, Aaron Schneider (Leo Block chair and professor of International Studies at Denver University) and Steve Mumme (Emeritus professor in the Colorado State University Department of Political Science) make a passionate case for all Colorado Universities to band together to form a mutual protection compact to protect Academic Freedom. “Colorado’s AAUP faculty believe it is time to pursue the path of institutional cooperation and mutual defense. The barrage mounted against our universities has just begun and more threats from government and private actors are sure to come.”

We need to unite today to defend our freedoms for tomorrow. Please join the AAUP mailing list and write you CSU Administration and the Board of Governors to voice your support for the AAUP Mutual Defense Compact for Colorado Institutes of Higher Education.

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by | September 18, 2025 · 11:13 AM

Revised Free Speech Policy Alarms Faculty and Students

by the AAUP@CSU Executive Committee

The revised free speech policy announced by the CSU administration at the September 2, 2025 Faculty Council meeting threatens the right to free speech and peaceful assembly on campus. It was fast-tracked rather than brought to the floor of the Faculty Council to avoid public deliberation, an action that violates the norms of shared governance. Concerns about the new policy (read the new policy and tracked changes here: ) include the following (please click the arrows below to expand each section):

  1. The new policy is overly broad and often confusing.
2. The new policy adds unreasonable limitations on employee speech.

a. The policy mandates that “speech made in an employee’s official capacity may be subject to institutional oversight,” but does not specify which types of speech constitute “speaking in an official capacity” or what the institutional oversight would entail.

b. The policy contains a “Public Commentary” section that defines public commentary as employees’ “expressive activities as private citizens on matters of public interest.” This definition is broad enough to potentially encompass public scholarship, extension, or engagement work. This is a clear abrogation of academic freedom.

c. The policy states that “Employees may engage in Expressive Activities as private citizens on matters of public interest, so long as those activities do not pertain to or interrupt their official job duties and responsibilities.” This implies that the university has oversight of the free speech rights of private citizens, including any speech relating to education or education policy.

d. The policy appears to restrict faculty members’ use of their academic rank as a professional title.

3. The new policy infringes on students’ rights to free speech and peaceful demonstrations.

a. The new policy limits chalking on the plaza to publicity for programming by CSU units and student organizations, violating people’s right to free speech.

b. The policy puts limitations on the projection of messages on public buildings and surfaces. Symbolic protests that “block the audience’s view” or prevent participation in a university event are forbidden.

c. Camping and encampments” are broadly defined and tightly regulated in ways that violate the spirit of peaceful assembly.

4. The new policy radically redefines “peaceful” to exclude any “act or activity” that violates “applicable law or policy.”

a. This is an overly broad statement that, for example, would categorize non-promotional messages chalked on the LSC plaza as activity that is not peaceful.

Section E.8.2.f of the Faculty and Administrative Professional Manual states that “The major purpose of the University Administration is to provide an atmosphere conducive to teaching, research, extension, and service. Administrators, therefore, must protect, defend, and promote academic freedom as a necessary prelude to the free search for and exposition of truth and understanding.” AAUP@CSU believes that both the approval process for and the substance of the new policy violates one of the most fundamental administrative responsibilities articulated in the Manual.

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by | July 13, 2025 · 2:33 PM

AAUP Needs YOUR Help to Defend CSU

CSU needs your help now more than ever!

Like many universities across the country, CSU is facing unprecedented threats in the form of a disturbing, so-called “civil rights complaint” that has been brought against Colorado State University by a group known as America First Legal. This organization, which was founded by Stephen Miller and named after a KKK slogan, cares nothing about truth, education, or the Colorado State community. Their frivolous attack seeks only to intimidate us so that they may exert political control over our state and university.

AAUP-CSU needs your help to Stand up and Fight Back.

Write to CSU President Amy Parsons, Chancellor Tony Frank, and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and ask them to remain strong and to protect our students, faculty and staff.

The links below will open email drafts addressed to each of these officials*. Simply edit the email to explain why you stand with CSU. Then, sign it with your full name and Colorado city or county of residence, and hit send.

* Note — some browsers (e.g., Duck-Duck-Go) may cut off half of the message. If this occurs, you can copy and paste the full message from below.

Suggested Email Text (Please feel free to edit):

Dear CSU President Amy Parsons / CSU Chancellor Tony Frank / Attorney General Phil Weiser,

As a member of the northern Colorado community, I value the role that Colorado State University plays in our region: educating students, supporting community-based research, promoting economic growth, and serving as a hub for cultural, intellectual, and democratic engagement. I am writing about the disturbing federal complaint that America First Legal (AFL) has brought against Colorado State University.

America First Legal does not share Colorado values. In Colorado, we are proud that our community is diverse and welcoming. We believe that the university must  ensure that all students have equitable access to educational opportunities, and that programs should be in place to support students’ diverse needs. And we believe that college campuses should be places for open discussion, learning, and research, free of government censorship.

I am writing to ask you to stand firm and continue to ensure that CSU’s students, faculty, and staff can pursue the institution’s educational and research mission unimpeded. Please support AAUP-CSU’s proposed resolution to build a collaborative protection network among institutions in Colorado to defend these principles and empower our universities to: 

  • Keep our student centers open and resources available to all students–as they are now.
  • Do not agree to remove courses or requirements from the curriculum.
  • Do not allow infringements of free speech inside or outside of the classroom.
  • Fight every attempt to withdraw lawfully allocated research funding in court–don’t cave to political extortion.

Thank you for your leadership in this moment. Universities are being asked to make tough choices because they are a bulwark of democracy. Use the leverage that you have to ensure that CSU remains a vital community resource and an engine of healthy democracy. 

Sincerely,

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