Your Page Header Title

Santa Barbara Faculty Association Newsletter May 2026

The Fight Is on to Defend Higher Education

On April 13, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) launched a new policy platform ahead of the 2026 midterms to counter attacks and secure a strong future for public colleges and universities. A Blueprint for Strengthening and Transforming Higher Education outlines a vision in which colleges and universi­ties are treated as an indispensable public good crucial for a func­tioning democracy. 

The platform includes the fol­lowing pillars:

• Restored funding: Sustained reinvestment in public higher education to ensure that col­lege degrees are accessible and debt-free 

• Freedom to learn: New safe­guards for academic freedom, shielding researchers and faculty from political interfer­ence and ideological thought policing 

• Shared governance: Ensuring that faculty and staff—not cor­porate administrators—make final decisions on curriculum, research priorities, and institu­tional priorities 

• Labor reform: Ending the reli­ance on low-wage contingent labor and providing collective bargaining rights for all faculty and staff at public institutions 

“Together, the AAUP and the AFT are fighting to make higher education the public good it should be: affordable and accessi­ble, not a privilege for the wealthy; a central hub for world-leading research; a driver of a vibrant democracy. This platform out­lines a path forward to strengthen higher education by defending it from political capture, restoring public investment, respecting labor and recentering student learning so that students receive the education they deserve.”

The AAUP and the  Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA) have partnered as independent but allied entities. AAUP members are also members of the AFT/AFL-CIO, with all the rights and privileges, including AFT’s Professional/Occupational Insurance offering broad protection for legal defense costs and court judgments. Members of the Santa Barbara Faculty Association can add AAUP to your SBFA membership or sign up for both simultaneously. 

International Students and Higher Education: An Informational Forum

The situation for international scholars is increasingly precarious. In light of ongoing changes and proposed federal regulations affecting visas for international students, faculty, and scholars, the Area and Global Initiative (AGI) is hosting a forum to discuss the evolving situation and share campus resources. The forum will take place on June 3 at 2:00 in Girvetz 2320. All members of the UCSB community are welcome.

UCSB Cuts to Language Programs

Language programs across the UC system are being cut dramatically, ostensibly as budgetary necessities and in response to shifting enrollment patterns. At UCSB, over the past two years the French and Italian Department has seen a 60% cut in classes and the elimination of lecturer positions—including some long-time employees, with more cuts pending. In a petition to Chancellor Assanis and Executive Vice Chancellor Marshall, faculty warned that such disruptions “limit flexibility, disrupt student progression, and permanently shrink programs.”

The UC American Federation of Teachers (AFT) (a partner organization of SBFA), which represents lecturers, is mobilizing on campuses to support language programs and their employees. According to Lucy Peterson, UCSB’s UC-AFT representative, concerned faculty have been meeting bi-weekly on Fridays on Zoom to organize a campus campaign to defend language programs from further cuts. If you want to participate in these conversations or for more information, email lpeterson@ucaft.org.

Know Your Governing Board

The Coalition for Action in Higher Education (CAHE) is organizing a nationwide “Know Your Governing Board” campaign. SBFA’s Constance Penley and Timothy Kaufman-Osborn (author of The Autocratic Academy: Reenvisioning Rule in America’s Universities) co-chair CAHE’s Governance Caucus. The purpose is to enable faculty members to learn more about bodies that exercise control over universities and colleges, but too often do not receive the critical scrutiny that power warrants. Academic governing boards—for UC, the Board of Regents—exercise significant, and often final, legal authority over the institutions they rule. In recent years, governing boards across the country have authorized actions that undermine institutional autonomy, subvert faculty participation in governance, compromise academic freedom, and subordinate the conduct of higher education to the cause of ideological conformity. For more information or to get involved in these efforts, including completing the UC Regents analytic template, email: whorulestheacademy@proton.me.

We Invite Nominations for SBFA Board

The SBFA is launching the 2026 election for 4 open Board positions. If you want to become more involved in our activities to improve faculty jobs and workplace conditions, fight for affordable public higher education and academic freedom, and ensure the future of research for the common good, join us! Nominate yourself by sending your name, department, and a paragraph describing your qualifications for Board membership and/or specific issues you are interested in pursuing while serving on the Board.  Send your nomination to ucsbfaboard@googlegroups.com by Friday May 29.