The Common Law of the Academic Profession: An Assessment

The academic common law may soon vanish, not simply as a result of court action but also due to the American Association of University Professors’s declining role in defending the common law of academic employment. This essay apprises members of the academic profession of changes that are taking place, examines the status of practices long regarded as immutable parts of American academic culture, and challenges the profession to maintain its legacy of independence from external control by reconsidering its own common law.