WORKERS & STUDENTS ARE DEFENDING PUBLIC EDUCATION AT THE UO

Higher education in the United States has arrived at a crisis point.

The rise of a market-oriented logic in higher education has transformed our colleges and universities into entities resembling private, profit-driven corporations. Students are increasingly regarded as sources of revenue, with escalating tuition costs leaving many deep in debt. And now the Trump administration has provoked assaults on free speech, student activism, and diversity efforts on our campuses, and is attempting to extort loyalty pledges from college and university leaders in exchange for funding.

Public universities are not corporations.

Universities are here to serve the public through our educational and research missions. In an era of corporatization and eroding democracy, protecting our universities means democratizing them.

That’s why we (campus unions, student organizations, and community partners) are asking you to take action to defend public education/research, institutional democracy, and our beloved university community.

On this site (run by UO’s faculty union, United Academics AFT-AAUP Local 3209), you can learn about our efforts to build greater institutional democracy; to protect academic freedom and free speech; to advocate for more transparency and shared governance in UO’s finances; and to build towards economic justice and protections for all of our university community members.

WHAT IS THE OREGON COMPACT?

The “Oregon Compact on Higher Education” is intended to contest the “Trump Compact” and to unite college and university students, staff, faculty, and allies across the state around our own positive vision for higher education reform.

We unite to preserve, protect and defend higher education:

I. For the Common Good

II. For Academic Freedom and Independence

III. For Democracy and Shared Governance

IV. For Fairness and Economic Justice

The UO’s Mission Statement

“The University of Oregon is a comprehensive public research university committed to exceptional teaching, discovery, and service. We work at a human scale to generate big ideas. As a community of scholars, we help individuals question critically, think logically, reason effectively, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically.”

OVERVIEW: COMBATTING AUSTERITY WITH INSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY

This fall we welcomed one of the largest incoming classes in UO history. At the same time, the UO administration cut and reduced 170+ positions for the workers who actually keep our campus running.

Ultimately, the duty of the President and Board of Trustees is to uphold the mission of the university. This is their primary obligation—not to donors, athletics, or their own salaries.

We are simply demanding accountability to the UO’s institutional mission and values—and we think democratizing UO from top to bottom is the way to accomplish this!

WHAT IS SHARED GOVERNANCE? WHAT IS FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY?

In an era of corporatization and eroding democracy, protecting our university means democratizing major decisions, including about university finances.

When we say shared governance, we mean that workers, students, the Board of Trustees, and the Administration all have important roles to play in decision-making. Including campus community members at every level in major decisions is what it means to be a strongly democratic institution that engages in broad, effective shared governance. UA’s Politics Committee has compiled research on shared governance models and principles here.

When we say financial transparency, we mean having an in-depth understanding of things like: who makes which decisions and according to which principles/processes; the current budget model; how decisions are made and by whom; what assumptions are baked into UO’s forecasts; the broader picture on why UO has decided to manage funds from athletics and the UO Foundation the way it does; and any alternatives UO has considered for its current model of fundraising, investments, and budgetary management. UA’s Politics Committee has outlined UO’s relevant legal obligations with regards to financial transparency here.

Democratic shared governance for financial power-sharing and oversight has already been implemented at other universities, including: University of Washington; John Hopkins; Boston University; Brown University; and Northwestern University. So, while we have big ideas about how UO could become more democratic, our ideas aren’t unheard of!

Learn More About Our Vision for the UO:

Our Goals

Learn more about our goals for the University of Oregon, as well as the ideals we are fighting for across higher education more broadly.

UO Finance FAQs

A beginner-friendly info hub with more context on UO’s finances, who makes financial decisions, and how financial reform can support greater democracy, worker wellbeing, and affordability.

Media & Press

Are you a member of the media/press researching a story? This button is for you! Whether you’re a member of the press or not, you can also read press coverage about our ongoing efforts.

QUICK ANSWERS

Who is United Academics? (The Owner of This Website!)

We are the representative of the faculty at the University of Oregon. We are a union affiliated with the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers. We promote and defend quality public higher education by working together to uphold the University of Oregon’s academic and research priorities.

What is the Oregon Compact on Higher Education?

The “Oregon Compact on Higher Education” is intended to contest the “Trump Compact” and to unite college and university students, staff, faculty, and allies across the state around our own positive vision for higher education reform.

Higher education in the United States has arrived at a crisis point. The rise of a market-oriented logic in higher education has transformed our colleges and universities into entities resembling private, profit-driven corporations. Students are increasingly regarded as sources of revenue, with escalating tuition costs leaving many deep in debt. And now the Trump administration has provoked assaults on free speech, student activism, and diversity efforts on our campuses, and is attempting to extort loyalty pledges from college and university leaders in exchange for funding.

In response to this erosion of our educational mission and assault on our freedoms, we stand in solidarity with one another in defense of higher education that is independent, democratic, and economically just, and that advances the common good.

What are students (on the UO campus and across the nation) doing to defend higher education?

See: StudentsRiseUp.org for the national students’ movement platform and action plan.

Where are you getting your numbers on UO’s finances?

UO is required to release certain financial data to the public on their Institutional Research website. This includes information for salaries, demographics, etc. Information about budgets and projections is found on the UO Business Affairs website. Some information about salaries of our comparators can be found in the annual Faculty Compensation Survey by the American Association of University Professors. Information about student enrollment is from UO Student Services and Enrollment Management.

We have done our best to provide accurate numbers and projections. However, UO purposefully makes it difficult to analyze the data they provide (for instance by using dashboards or providing data via pdf instead of in a spreadsheet), and so some numbers are necessarily estimates. As we get information to provide better estimates and projections we will update this page.

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