FMU hosts statewide AAUP conference

The South Carolina Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) met on the Francis Marion University campus this past week to discuss matters important to higher education. The representatives from universities and colleges throughout the state also presented two awards.

FMU President Fred Carter was the recipient of the inaugural AAUP-SC Lifetime Achievement in Shared Governance award. The award honored Carter’s work with shared governance over the course of his career at FMU and with other academic and governmental institutions. Shared governance involves the collaboration of faculty, staff, trustees, and administration in the decision making processes and operation of higher education institutions.

The Conference also decided that the award itself would bear Carter’s name in perpetuity.

“Dr. Carter has been a steadfast champion of academic freedom and shared governance for many years in many different positions in and around academia in South Carolina,” said Dr. Shawn R. Smolen-Morton, state conference president of South Carolina’s AAUP and professor of English at Francis Marion. “From his time working in state government, to his 23 years as president of Francis Marion University, Dr. Carter has championed shared governance and enacted it, strengthening our institutions of higher education and working with faculty to make a safe and rich environment for academic freedom.”

“I am humbled by this honor,” Carter said. “Of course, the people who have truly earned this recognition are the faculty and trustees across South Carolina who work so hard to make higher education effective, accessible, and affordable. Now I am a little partial, but I do believe that the faculty and trustees at Francis Marion may be a good model for how this process works well.”

Faculty from USC-Aiken were also recognized during Saturday’s event. The group received the Economic Status and Faculty Welfare Award for highlighting the complexities associated with faculty receiving contingency, rather than permanent appointments. 

The AAUP is a national association of faculty and other academic professionals with members and chapters at colleges and universities across the country. The non-profit organization has a mission of shaping American higher education standards and procedures to maintain quality education and academic freedom.