AAUP accuses Emporia State of flouting academic freedom with faculty layoffs

The nation’s leading faculty group has accused Emporia State University of imperiling academic freedom when it laid off at least 30 professors last year over financial concerns.

The Kansas public institution said it dismissed the tenured or tenure-track faculty members because of pandemic-induced financial stress. But an American Association of University Professors investigation, the findings of which were made public Monday, casts doubt on that assertion.