AAUP Chapter Statement on Post-Tenure Review Policy
August 2026
The University of Alabama chapter of the American Association of University Professors rejects the post-tenure review policy recently introduced by the Board of Trustees and the faculty handbook language developed to implement it. These proposed policy changes are unnecessary, and they dangerously diminish the faculty’s voice on campus and its role in university governance.
First, the University of Alabama was not included in HB580’s mandate. We contend that the Board of Trustees has used the legislation as cover to introduce policies beyond what the law actually requires, expanding institutional control over faculty status without corresponding legislative direction.
Second, the University already has a post-tenure review policy, a thorough annual review process for all faculty. The proposed policy on top of an already existing process is administratively onerous. A sufficiently punitive post-tenure review process effectively dissolves tenure protections in practice, even if the word “tenure” remains on paper. If review outcomes can trigger dismissal or demotion through a truncated process, the fundamental job security that defines tenure is undermined.
Third, the policy also has no protections for academic freedom that would protect the subject matter of faculty research. This ambiguity could allow subjective or even retaliatory judgments to determine a faculty member’s continued employment. Without academic freedom protections, faculty could also be dismissed for research topics and findings that the university finds politically inconvenient.
Relatedly, the AAUP points to an erosion of shared governance in the renaming of “search committees” to “search advisory committees” for dean hires, with reduced faculty representation and interview processes closed to the broader university community. This shift removes faculty and community input from decisions that directly affect academic units.
Faculty are crucial to the mission of the University of Alabama. We elevate the university through our cutting-edge research and innovative teaching that has earned the institution its strong reputation. Our university’s leaders should recognize and value faculty expertise by ensuring our rights to academic freedom and our crucial role in institutional decisionmaking.
University of Alabama AAUP 