AAUP Town Hall on New OIE Policies
Dear colleagues,
Since receiving Vice Provost Shannon Shumpert’s email on July 2nd about new OIE policies on Title VI enforcement, we have discussed it with National AAUP counsel, with ACLU Maryland, and with other colleagues and allies. We also heard from many faculty members across Hopkins’ different schools, who have shared their concerns and ideas.
After this broad consultation, we continue to believe that the OIE investigative process will contribute to the weaponization of Title VI and will have a chilling effect on free speech on campus. All of this, we believe, will distract the Hopkins community from the important task of protecting community members from discrimination and harassment—a goal to which we are all committed.
We invite all faculty to attend a Hopkins AAUP town hall on Monday, July 21st, at 9:00 a.m. EST to discuss their concerns about these developments: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86117753545 (you can find additional details below). At the Town Hall, we will share information, resources, and best practices, as well as collectively discuss our plans moving forward.
We remain convinced that combating discrimination and harassment at Hopkins will be most effective by:
Upholding the academic freedom of faculty members to publicly discuss their areas of expertise and to conduct their work as scholars, researchers, and teachers;
Ensuring that OIE investigative processes are not used to infringe upon faculty’s free speech and constitutional rights to express their opinions both as public intellectuals and private individuals; and,
Affirming transparency, openness, and due process in all OIE investigations.
Based on the above, we are taking the following measures:
We will recommend to the University Administration that the rules and current practices governing these investigations should be made public and available.
We believe that the OIE should hold an open town hall to discuss the new policies with faculty and answer their questions; the Hopkins AAUP could serve as host and facilitator of this event.
We encourage any faculty member subject to an OIE investigation to notify Hopkins AAUP leadership; we will support such faculty members by, for example, accompanying them to meetings with OIE lawyers and investigators.
We are launching a new action group that will include faculty volunteers willing and able to support faculty members under OIE investigation. We invite all faculty interested in and able to volunteer to join this group by completing this form. We will organize training for volunteers to ensure that we have sufficient infrastructure to support faculty around campus.
We will continue to update faculty on this evolving situation. Please forward this email to colleagues who may not have received it, and advise them to sign up for our mailing list to ensure they receive all the updates and information.
We look forward to seeing you at the Town Hall on Monday, July 21st, at 9am!
In Solidarity,
Lisa, Ahmed, Siobhán, and Graham
AAUP Townhall on new Title VI policies:
When: Monday, July 21st, 2025; 9.00 am EDT
Where: Over Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86117753545
Please fill out this form to RSVP and share anonymous questions or comments. (RSVP is not required to attend)
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Lisa Siraganian, President
Ahmed Ragab, Vice-President
Siobhán Cooke, Secretary
Graham Mooney, Treasurer
Hopkins Chapter of the American Association of University Professors