Northwestern's Faculty Assembly met on October 15. We prepared a brief resolution identifying the dangers of this latest extortion effort, ending with: “BE IT RESOLVED that this Faculty Assembly opposes any capitulation on the part of Northwestern University to these or similar demands that undermine constitutional rights, democratic principles, faculty governance, institutional autonomy, and academic freedom.”
Our resolution passed 595 to 4 with 8 abstentions!
Thank you to the faculty who attended and made their voices heard!
The Faculty Assembly consists of all regular full-time faculty members in both tenure track and non-tenure track positions. It meets regularly to discuss and deliberate upon matters of general University interest, including all teaching and research activities and campus life. It may also make recommendations and pass resolutions on particular issues referred to it by the President or Provost of the University, the Board of Trustees, or the Faculty Senate.
Attend a Zoom Town Hall for updates & ways to get more involved! Two town halls (requiring Northwestern login) are being held in mid-August. Contact theuniversityunderthreat@gmail.com for more info.
Why? We’re heading into another tough year and want as many faculty as possible to know what’s happening and be ready to work together.
How? We’ll spend the first 45 minutes or so providing updates and the second 45 minutes answering questions, taking suggestions, and explaining ways to plug in.
What? Each Town Hall will cover similar material, including: 1) updates on legal and political threats to universities and Northwestern in particular, 2) updates on health care and benefits, staff firings, and budgetary issues; 3) updates from people with expertise on weaponized antisemitism, academic freedom, and international politics/law; 4) updates on ways to build on last year’s faculty victories at NU and strengthen faculty leverage.
Can’t make it? Not to worry: send us an email (theuniversityunderthreat@gmail.com) and tell us what areas most concern you and how you’d like to get involved. We’ll try to help you get plugged in, though please be patient: we’re all juggling our day jobs too.
April: Antifascism Office Hours
April 17, 2025: National Day of Action for Higher Education. A day events co-organized with Northwestern's AAUP chapter and NUGW. See media coverage here
April 21, 2025: Faculty Assembly. Concerned Faculty built attendance to achieve quorum and supported AAUP-NU's successful resolutions
June 12, 2025 Faculty letter demanding transparency and dialogue in response to Schill statements on Faculty Assembly
June 13-15, 2025 Commencement: Concerned Faculty make sashes and wear them and make statements
November 20, 2024: Faculty Action at The Rock
Daily Northwestern: Nineth Kanieski Koso, "Tenured Faculty Protest University Demonstration Policies at the Rock."
March 6, 2025: University Under Threat Teach-In at Medill
Daily Northwestern: Ridhima L. Kodali, "Faculty members express concerns at panel discussing political threats to universities"
A series of teach-ins followed...
March 11–13 Reading Week Teach-Ins
April 8 Medicine and Science Under Threat
April 9 Education Under Threat #1
May 1 STEM Faculty Town Hall and Forum
May 6 Education Under Threat #2
March 18, 2025: Letter to Board of Trustees signed by 287 faculty, published April 9 in the Daily Northwestern as "An Open Letter from Faculty to the Board of Trustees"
March 19, 2025 "Democracy in Peril" op ed in the Daily Northwestern