2025-2026 Academic Year

December 2025

• Filed our Paperwork to become an Official AAUP chapter with a total of 6 dues-paying members on WCU's campus.

• Launched our Web Presence and Newsletter. The first newsletter had 19 subscribers.

• Participated in the UNC Syllabus Policy Petition Campaign led by AAUP NC. We created our own sister letter campaign that had 23 participants, which is pretty significant considering that was more than our subscriber count at the time.

• Published an Op-Ed opposing the Syllabus Policy that was published in Asheville Citizen Times, republished in USA Today, and then responded to by Micheal Milton (WCU AAUP President Vincent Russell made quite a stir!)

January 2026

• Charter was approved by AAUP National!

• Our Leadership was tapped to help organizers at Meredith College and UNC-Pembroke start their own AAUP Chapters. Both filed paperwork and have since become chartered organizations with AAUP National

• Participated in trainings on the New Syllabus Policy hosted by AAUP NC that helped to develop the "Work to the Rule" strategy that Provost Starnes has now encouraged us to use.

• Hosted our first Community Building Event at Frog Level.

• We more than doubled our membership to 15 and increased our newsletter subscriber count to about 60 folks.

February 2026

• Hosted our first All-Member meeting to determine the issues that mattered to faculty and picked possible directions for WCU AAUP's advocacy on campus and beyond.

• 4 of us participated in and completed Organizer Training through AAUP National, which is an important step for qualifying for dues-sharing.

• Presented to the Communication Department on the New Syllabus Policy Guidelines.

• Participated in the NC AAUP campaign to oppose the new academic freedom definition proposed by the BOG. AAUP NC won key concessions and clarifications as a result of the AAUP's mobilization across the state.

• WCU AAUP President Vincent Russell was interviewed by Smoky Mountain News which was picked up by AAUP National in their weekly media roundup.

• AAUP NC's (including WCU AAUP) responses to the Syllabus Policy and Academic Freedom Definition caused UNC-Chapel Hill to back down on their proposed recording policy.

March 2026

• Endorsed Candidates for WCU Staff, College, and University Elections. Five of our endorsed candidates won their elections, and a CONEC representative confirmed that our endorsements and get-out-the-vote efforts directly impacted when people voted and increased participation in voting.

• 2 of our members were tapped to serve on the AAUP NC's Election Committee to help facilitate the election of state officers and delegates.

• Hosted two Events: "Toasting the End of Spring Break" with about 25 participants and "Coffee With Comrades" which formally introduced us to the Revolutionary Book Club—a Registered Student Organization—that we were very excited to partner with.

• Participated in "No Kings" rallies in both Waynesville and Sylva.

• We hit 20 members! Another important milestone for qualifying for dues-sharing.

April 2026

• Our very own Nora Radway-Moore was elected as the only NC delegate to the AAUP National Biennial Meeting.

• Tabled at WCU's "Supporting Faculty Facing Occupational Intimidation" event.

• Presented to HESA about the benefits and purpose of AAUP.

• Placed third in the Scotsman's Trivia Night Challenge. Curse the "Songs with 'fool' in the Title" and "Canadian Provinces and Cities" categories.

• Advised an organizer from Queens College of Charlotte on starting an AAUP chapter.

• Hosted an in-person watch party for the AAUP NC Conference.

• Coordinated with Indivisible Common Ground WNC, The Revolutionary Book Club, and College Dems to begin planning our May Day Rally.

• Officially signed paperwork to get our EIN and Bank Account. The penultimate requirement for qualifying for dues-sharing.

May 2026

• Hosted a May Day Rally at the Catafount that was attended by 90 people over the event's 2-hour run time. The Rally was covered by Smoky Mountain News and by the NC News Digest. We were also interviewed by a student reporter from The Western Carolina Journalist, but have yet to see that story published.

• Our Newsletter jumped to 80 subscribers!

• Hosted our Second All-Member Meeting with 10 members and 1 student representative present.

• Adopted a resolution opposing CPHE that we will be sending to Faculty Senate in the fall.

• WCU AAUP President Vincent Russell was invited to become Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the NC-AAUP Foundation.

Invisible Accomplishments

In addition to these tangible outcomes, I do want to take a moment to shout out the invisible work that was accomplished this year by our active members.

• 1-on-1's galore! The organizing committee emailed, knocked on doors, and met with countless faculty/staff/graduate students to talk about AAUP and invite them to our events.

• Writing, graphic design, and managing platforms. The communications committee is comprised of three people who have spent hours upon hours writing (and editing) content for the newsletter and website, creating gorgeous graphics for every event, and maintaining our social media platform for growth and engagement.

• Meeting participation and notes. We have gone to so many webinars, trainings, info sessions, and leader meetings to stay up-to-date and involved in the wider higher ed conversations to be able to best respond to situations on our campus and/or prepare for what might be coming.

Summer Goals

1. Finalize our Due-Sharing eligibility.

2. Meet with Provost Starnes to establish a relationship and explain our purpose on WCU's Campus.

3. Map the campus to lay the groundwork for the launch of our Issue Campaign in the Fall.

4. Host a Summer Social Event to continue building community.

5. Organize a "Week Zero" Syllabus Workshop for all WCU Faculty.