Our History
Origin of the University Employee Alliance (2017-2019)
In the aftermath of the November 2016 election, a number of faculty at the University of Miami expressed concerns that the president-elect's policy agenda would disastrously affect educators in South Florida. The first issues we discussed were the threatened status of DACA students, the rise in hate crimes on campuses across the nation, the need for increased action on climate change rather than a denial of the scientific consensus, and the erosion of an informed citizenry in a media landscape compromised by “fake news.” We also wrote an open letter to The Miami Hurricane, which was signed by 502 faculty. In January 2017, we founded the University Employee Alliance, inviting staff and graduate students as well as faculty to join.
We continued to ask ourselves: as an association of professionals in higher education, what can we do together that we could not do alone? What skills and resources do we bring to the table as educators? This right-wing electoral victory has been a wake-up call and has brought an extraordinary new degree of participation across the country. While voting out this extreme and volatile administration is a first priority, the need for political engagement well preceded 2016 and will outlast this particular administration.
People had already been working hard, and there were so many initiatives already happening on campus and in our city that needed our support, from student activism for a Black Student Center and a Gender Equity Center to SAVE’s Fast Response group and the work of the New Florida Majority. The need for better communication across campus about local progressive projects and events emerged as a priority for our group, and as our meetings progressed, we also realized that the group itself satisfied a need for progressive community.
We were also aware, as Michelle Alexander, Naomi Klein, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor emphasized in a public talk, that there is a need to generate visions of a better world, rather than simply reacting, “resisting,” and working towards a restoration of the status quo that produced this toxic political climate in the first place. We envision a society that thrives on active political participation in efforts for an equitable and just world.
Creation of the UMiami AAUP-University Employee Alliance (2019)
With an understanding that our overall vision of shared governance was supported at a national level, we joined the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) as an advocacy chapter in 2019, becoming the University of Miami AAUP-University Employee Alliance. In 2020, we registered as a non-profit 501(c)(4) and currently have 200+ members from all three campuses and most academic units.
Developing an advocacy chapter of the AAUP at University of Miami continues our historical connection to that national organization as it upholds the tenets of academic freedom and shared governance since 1915. UM’s first president, Bowman Foster Ashe, was a proponent of the AAUP during his tenure, and the university's Faculty Senate has worked since 1965 to ensure that the highest educational and research standards can be met under the most optimal conditions for the stakeholders charged with this work. We are happy to join our peer institutions that also have also established formal connections with the AAUP, including New York University, Emory University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Villanova University, Ohio State University, and Pepperdine University.
Scroll down to read about our mission, values, and practices
Get in touch with us at communications@umiamiaaup.org
Mission
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.
What's important to us?
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 governance and freedom of expression, and we wholeheartedly support the University of Miami 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 RECENTLY DELETED!). 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!
Chapter Leadership
Staff Liaison
Graduate Student Liaison
UMiami AAUP-University Employee Alliance
© 2025 UMiami AAUP-University Employee Alliance
