The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has courted millions of dollars from universities while actively attempting to undermine the Trump administration, according to a report released Wednesday.
Since 2020, AAUP has received approximately $6 million from schools such as Rutgers, Kent State and Eastern Michigan University, an Open the Books report found. The organization has openly criticized the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), engaging in protests and filing lawsuits against the administration.
The AAUP disputed the report’s finding that it received $6 million from universities, instead telling the Daily Caller News Foundation that the funds were obtained through the voluntary dues of its union members who are employed by public universities. The salaries of public university employees are in part funded by taxpayers through federal funds and grants provided to colleges.
AAUP reportedly initiated a “McCarthy-like witch hunt” urging organization members to identify any “Trump-Musk allies” on university governing boards in an effort to root out individuals the organization believes have “conflicts of interest,” Open the Books found.
“We need to understand who is fueling this crisis on our campuses,” AAUP’s email to members read, according to Open the Books.
The organization also reportedly pays seven executives between $170,000 and $244,000 per year and has an annual revenue of $10.6 million, Open the Books found.
AAUP has referred to the administration’s efforts to deport foreign radical students who demonstrate support for terrorism as “ICE abductions” and urged universities not to provide any information that would identify student protesters. The association also told schools to “vigorously” disobey President Donald Trump’s order to root out divisive diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) topics from schools.
Nationwide, AAUP has organized protests in conjunction with other teachers’ unions and education associations as part of “A National Day Of Action” meant to counter what they describe as an “attack” on education. The event consists of a series of webinars on topics such as “Displacement: From Palestine To Mexico” and “Fighting Attacks On Higher Education In Red States,” as well as rallies and marches taking place across the nation.
“Politicians and right-wing organizations are pushing educational gag orders that prohibit the teaching of subjects, concepts and books in both higher education and K-12 schools,” a website dedicated to the cause reads. “They are rolling back historic advancements in diversity, equity, and inclusion. The majority of jobs in higher education are now low-paying, part-time and precarious, rendering academic freedom and shared governance increasingly hollow. Students bear a crushing debt load that limits their future for decades.”
A previous day of action organized by AAUP sought to protest Trump’s cut to indirect research funds, money that does not directly fund research but can instead be used for facility upgrades and administrative salaries.
AAUP also works closely with what Open the Books describes as “one of the country’s most powerful left-leaning unions,” the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which has co-organized several of the protest events with AAUP and has engaged in several separate actions against the administration. AFT in February sued the Trump administration over its effort to root out DEI and racial discrimination.
AAUP and AFT filed a joint suit against the administration in March after ED cut $400 million from Columbia University over the school’s failure to address antisemitism on campus, with the associations claiming the move was a “coercive tactic” forcing Columbia to “surrender its academic independence.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a clarification provided by the AAUP, which disputes receiving funds from public universities.
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