To: Gary Gordon, Vice-president of Academic Affairs

From: Keith Doubt, President of AAUP, Truman Chapter

Date: 2 October 1998

Re: Request for AAUP Web Page on Truman Server

Thank you for getting back to me regarding our request for permission to set up an AAUP Web Page on the Truman server. I appreciate your consideration of our request.

Our plan is to set up a Web page on which we will make links to the state and national AAUP Web pages. Also, we plan to set up a discussion forum for faculty and interested members of the University community. On the discussion forum, we will discuss issues of concern for faculty, for instance, academic freedom, intellectual property, work load, salaries, health care benefits, grading, and developing a liberal arts culture and community. The discussion forum will be threaded; that is, people will be able to post statements and others will be able to reply. We will have a password to this discussion forum, but we plan to share this password with administrators and students who express interest in participating.

We want the discussion and conversation to be not just critical but also positive. One topic of discussion will be what is good for faculty members at Truman State University. We will set guidelines on how we want the discussion to be conducted. Discussion will be carried out in a way that is respectful of people and their integrity. No flaming. Criticism and character assassination are not the same time. We will monitor the discussion forum to insure that this principle is respected.

As you consider our request, we would like you to take into account two things: One, we ask you to remember that, when President Magruder was a faculty member at this University, he, like us, joined AAUP. We believe that President Magruder joined AAUP because he respected the principles of academic integrity and professional excellence which AAUP stands for. We believe that what makes President Magruder a good president today is that he continues to respect these principles which he admired as a former faculty member. Second, AAUP is a chartered organization of the University. Student organizations receive permission to set up Web pages on the University server, and so we wonder why you pause to consider our request.

Our plan now is to start to set up a Web page on an outside server and announce the site to AAUP members. We hope that you decide to give us permission to put the Web page on the University server, and, if you do, we will transfer our Web page over.

-- Anonymous, January 18, 1999

Answers

This has been accomplished. Please see: http://www2.truman.edu/aaup/

And for posted issues of the AAUP newsletter ("Spotlight"), and related links, please see: http://www2.truman.edu/aaup/AAUP_TSU_news.html

- GJ

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2000