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From the President

Posted: Monday, December 20, 2021

Response to College Senate Recommendation: Adopt UFS Resolution 189-05-1-In Support of AAUP Joint Statement

In the December meeting of the College Senate, University Faculty Senators Kimberly Kline and Amy Rosen-Brand presented a UFS approved resolution 189-05-1-In Support of AAUP Joint Statement, for Buffalo State College to adopt this resolution. The Buffalo State College Senate voted in favor to adopt this resolution.

BUFFALO STATE COLLEGE
DIRECTORY OF POLICY STATEMENTS

Policy Number: new                                     
Date: October 2021
Subject: Adopt UFS resolution 189-05-1-In Support of AAUP Joint Statement

RATIONALE:

WHEREAS, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued a June 16, 2021, statement jointly with more than 100 scholarly associations and organizations stating their “firm opposition to a spate of legislative proposals being introduced across the country that target academic lessons, presentations, and discussions of racism and related issues in American history in schools, colleges and universities”; and

WHEREAS, the SUNY University Faculty Senate (SUNY UFS) has a long history of supporting academic freedom, including critical examination of history; and

WHEREAS, as Faculty of the University we are obliged to “participate significantly in the initiation, development and implementation of the educational program,” and we seek to encourage the exchange of ideas and develop the critical thinking skills of our students; and

WHEREAS, equity and inclusion in higher education, including an unflinching look at racism in the American past and present, is a crucial element of UFS’s mission for the future of SUNY; and

WHEREAS, in the past 24 months SUNY UFS has passed multiple resolutions in support of racial equity on college campuses and in college classrooms, including Resolution 186-01-1, Resolution 187-03-01, and Resolution 187-04-01;

RESOLUTION:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the SUNY University Faculty Senate, supporting the letter and spirit of the “AAUP Joint Statement on Legislative Efforts to Restrict Education about Racism and American History,” will add their name as formal signatories to the statement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the SUNY UFS calls on SUNY campus governance bodies to individually endorse the AAUP Joint Statement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the SUNY UFS calls on its President, Officers, Executive Committee, campus governance leaders (CGLs), and Senators to use their positions as higher education leaders to educate their communities on the dangers of such described legislation and the importance of racial equity and academic freedom.

BACKGROUND:

AAUP Joint Statement on Efforts to Restrict Education about Racism: https://www.aaup.org/news/joint-statement-efforts-restrict-education-about-racism
SUNY Policies of the Board of Trustees Art. X. § 4., 2021 https://www.suny.edu/media/suny/content-assets/documents/boardoftrustees/SUNY_BO T_Policies_August2021.pdf
SUNY UFS Resolution 186-01-1
https://system.suny.edu/media/suny/content-assets/documents/faculty-senate/plenary/18 6-01-1_eid_racial_equity_and_social_justice_curriculum.pdf
SUNY UFS Resolution 187-03-1
http://www.sunyufs.us/uploads/1/1/6/9/116933050/187-03-1_blm_board_of_trustees_bl ack_lives_matter.pdf
SUNY UFS Resolution 187-04-1
http://www.sunyufs.us/uploads/1/1/6/9/116933050/187-04-1_university_faculty_senate_ black_lives_matter.pdf

I hereby accept the recommendation of the College Senate and charge the provost with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of this policy change and for communicating the change to the campus community.

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