TAUP

A mission is only as real as its records.
Universities produce produce plenty of talk about who they are and what they value.

🔮 Mission statements, strategic plans, annual reports, and presentations are all persuasive ways to describe the institution's vision for the future and aspirations.

⏰️ Budgets however, bring us back into the present. Budgets don't persuade, they show how resources have and will actually be allocated. Budgets are one of the clearest public records of institutional priorities—not because they tell us what a university believes, but because they document the decisions it makes.

If we want to understand a university's direction, we should pay attention to its budget in combination with its messaging.

Budgets are so much more than just spreadsheets, they're key tools in institutional transparency and accountability. Every budget proves what institutions value the most in practice, rather than the often opaque or vague "summarized" language of mission statements and public bulletins.

Through budgets we can see how decisions are being made about:
📚️ How much will be invested in teaching?
🤝 In student support?
🧪 In research?
🏢 In facilities?

📈 What will grow?
⚖️ What will stay the same?
👀 Who will be asked to do more with less?

What is cut from a budget is often more telling than what's left in. Looking at whats cut, we can immediately see how the university is changing.

📢 Members! Join us this Tuesday, June 16th, at 4pm on Zoom for an important budget cut focused Membership Meeting. We urge all members to attend and lend their voice to this important session.

Members can find the Zoom link in their 6/12 email

Higher education's mission is fulfilled by the faculty and staff who make it possible. Empowering the workers, empowers the mission of our University.

📢 Have you heard about whats happening to stipends in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA)?

🗞️ The Dean of The College of Liberal Arts (CLA) sent an email only to certain members of the college announcing that some stipends will be reduced or eliminated. It remains unclear why only some members of the college who receive stipends received this email while others did not, and many department chairs, directors, and other faculty and staff were completely unaware of the Dean's message or these changes to stipends.

❓️ What are Stipends for?
Service work, like advising, program planning, scheduling, recruiting, are all responsibilities that fall outside of regular faculty workloads. To acknowledge this important additional work, these faculty and staff are provided stipends to acknowledge and compensate for this additional work.

➡️ Swipe to read more

📎 Contingent Faculty: As rumors circulate about cuts and renewal terms, we’re asking all contingent faculty to share their renewal letters and contracts with us for review (whether you see changes or not).

➡️ Please find our survey in your 6/8 email, or email us directly at [email protected]

The Civil & Human Rights Committee of the will host a Know Your Rights Training on Monday, June 15, 2026, at 10 a.m. at the Council’s office located at 22 S. 22nd Street, 2nd Fl.
Trainings will be given by 's office and 's office.

This Saturday is the Memorial of George Floyd. Join Labor4BlackLives and community from across the city as we march forward for an afternoon of speakers, music, and healing.

Saturday May 30th
2:30 - 5:00 PM
Nile Cafe 6008 Germantown Ave

We had demanded a meeting with President Fry about the budget cuts, who directed our members to their Deans. Without substantive answers from either, we’ll be sharing our members’ questions here.

We deserve a voice in the future of our institution.