National AAUP President Calls on NU to Delay Terminations and Explore Alternatives
Happy New Year and welcome back to the madhouse that is the University of Nebraska lately. The first few days of 2026 have certainly gotten off to an interesting start with the announcement that the NU Board of Regents wants to spend $800 million to take full control over Nebraska Medicine/UNMC and the announcement that UNL Chancellor Bennett would be stepping down as of January 12. We will certainly have more coming soon on both of those issues, but first, an update on the ongoing saga of soon-to-be-former-Chancellor Bennett’s budget cuts.
On December 31, Professor Todd Wolfson, national President of the American Association of University Professors, sent a formal letter to President Gold outlining the AAUP’s concerns about the Regents’ December 5 vote to eliminate the departments of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Educational Administration, Statistics, and Textiles, Merchandising, and Fashion Design, including:
- Damage to the University’s goal of rejoining the AAU;
- Violations of the Regents’ own bylaws regarding bona fide program discontinuance and faculty terminations;
- Possible retaliation against AAUP members for protected activity;
- Potential harm to students in affected programs; and
- The disproportionate impact of these specific department cuts on the gender and racial diversity of the UNL faculty as a whole.
AAUP stands ready to engage in good faith to protect faculty rights, preserve academic integrity, and safeguard the best interests of the students UNL serves.
Todd Wolfson, President, American Association of University Professors
The full letter is included below. As of the time of posting, AAUP has not received a reply from President Gold.
The fight for UNL did not end with the Regents’ vote on December 5. Stay tuned for more.
