University of Northern Iowa President Wlliam Ruud has been in office for less than a full year, yet he might have to face a difficult situation this summer due to circumstances that he had no control over.
UNI is facing a possible censure from the American Association of University Professors. Their decision on the case is expected to come during the annual AAUP meeting in June.
According to the AAUP website, a censure results from the Associations findings that conditions for academic freedom and tenure are unsatisfactory at a college or university. The case against UNI stems from the universitys decision to terminate dozens of majors, minors and graduate programs in 2012 while Benjamin Allen was still president.
At their meeting last June, the AAUP decided to delay any censure action until 2014. The move was commended by Ruud, who assumed duties as president on June 1 of 2013.
If UNI is censured, AAUP could decide to remove it from the censure list next summer at the earliest.
The removal of a censure is a sign of an institutions academic health and of the continuing vitality of the principles and standards to which it has committed itself, according to the AAUP website.
