Resolution before the AAUP-Purdue Chapter
April 9, 2019
WHEREAS, it is the mission of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to advance academic freedom and shared governance; to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education; to promote the economic security of faculty members, academic professionals, graduate students, post‐doctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education; to help the higher education community organize to make our goals a reality; and to ensure higher education’s contribution to the common good;
WHEREAS, it is the purpose of the Purdue AAUP Chapter to serve as a faculty voice to advocate for and defend the rights of faculty members and students associated with Purdue University and to support university policies that make quality teaching first priority in every classroom;
WHEREAS many Universities have existing Intellectual Property policies which can delimit full control of instructional materials generated by faculty themselves;
WHEREAS faculty should as producers of instructional content be most fully empowered to deploy it;
WHEREAS, faculty sign instructional intellectual property agreements at the start of their positions without a full understanding of the extent to which they are giving up their rights to instructional materials and content, or that they signed them at a time before this large-scale movement towards online education;
WHEREAS, corporate-supported online programs are being developed at more and more public colleges and universities;
WHEREAS, within many online programs, faculty lose intellectual property rights over their original course materials;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Purdue AAUP Chapter develop and advocate for a intellectual property policy that fully protects faculty rights at all Purdue University campuses to their intellectual property, consistent with AAUP policy statements, to assure the highest quality of education for students.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Purdue AAUP Chapter calls on the University Senate to work with the chapter to develop and advocate for a policy protecting faculty rights to instructional intellectual property consistent with AAUP policy statements.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Purdue AAUP Chapter calls on other AAUP chapters in Indiana to pass similar resolutions to create better protections for faculty at every institution in Indiana.
[As amended and passed on April 9, 2019.]