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March 7, 2005

Mr. Tom Campbell
Director, Department of Finance
State Capitol, Room 1145
Sacramento, California 95814

Dear Mr. Campbell,

We write to express our concern over the action proposed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 2005-06 budget to eliminate funding for the labor and employ- ment research programs at the University of California, and about the ramifications of this proposed action for principles of academic freedom in California’s public colleges and universities.

The American Association of University Professors is a national organization of more than 44,000 teachers and researchers in all academic disciplines. Founded in 1915, the AAUP is the nation’s oldest and largest body dedicated to defending and advancing principles of academic freedom in the United States.

We understand that some observers consider various publications of the labor and employment research programs as pro-labor and anti-business, that efforts were made last year by the governor to eliminate state funding for these programs, and that these are the only academic programs on the campuses of the University of California to have been singled-out for elimination in the state’s 2005-06 budget. We also understand that this decision was reached without prior discussion with the responsible faculty and administrative officers at the University of California. The decision to cancel funding for these academic programs thus appears to be in significant part a response to those who find the work of the scholars in these programs to be unacceptable or unpalatable, and it disregards the primary responsibility of the university’s administrative and faculty officers for the curriculum of the institution. As an Association committed to academic freedom and the autonomy of our colleges and universities, we find it unacceptable to withdraw public funding for academic programs because some are displeased with their activities. Surely the discussion and analysis of controversial claims are to be preferred over the suppression of their presentation.

Consistent with respect for the autonomy of the University of California and the freedom of its scholars, we urge that funding for the university’s labor and employment research programs be continued.

Sincerely,



Jonathan Knight
Associate Secretary

cc: President Robert C. Dynes, University of California
Chancellor Robert Birgenau, University of California, Berkeley
Chancellor Albert Carnesale, University of California, Los Angeles
Professor Gary Blasi, Acting Director, UCLA Institute of Industrial Relations
Professor Michael Reich, Director, University of California, Berkeley, Institute for Industrial Relations

This page was last updated on March 28, 2005.