Please write Governor Gavin Newsom, Speaker of the Assembly, Anthony Rendon, and your local state legislators. Urge them to reject the task force proposal (see letter below) and preserve the "comprehensive study of American history and government" as the basis for a robust American Institutions requirement in the California State University.

In addition, please call the chair of the California Assembly Higher Education Committee, Jose Medina (916) 319-2061. His secretary will answer the phone and keep track of calls on the GE issue. If a committee member is from your district, call them too. They are as follows:

Steven S. Choi (916) 319-2068
Dr. Joaquin Arambula (916) 319-2031
Richard Bloom (916) 319-2050
Jesse Gabriel (916) 319-2045
Jacqui Irwin (916) 319-2044
Kevin Kiley (916) 319-2006
Mark Levine (916) 319-2010
Evan Low (916) 319-2028
Jim Patterson (916) 319-2023
Miguel Santiago (916) 319-2053
Shirley N. Weber (916) 319-2079

And:  If you are comfortable, here are some social media accounts for providing feedback:

Twitter and Facebook:  
https://twitter.com/calstate
https://www.facebook.com/calstate

With appreciation,
Bridget Ford



Dr. Bridget Ford
Professor of History
California State University, East Bay

American History and Civic Education stand at a crossroads in California.

Recent actions by the California State University, the nation’s largest university system, threaten to erode History and civic education for millions of Californians, potentially diminishing the reputation of the CSU, weakening public trust in higher education, and imperiling our state’s future.

Last summer, a surprise Executive Order by CSU Chancellor, Timothy White, gutted the teaching of World History and Western Civilization for tens of thousands of CSU students. At a campus like San Diego State University, near the US-Mexico border, the order means that students will no longer be required, or even encouraged, to study the history of any place outside the US.

This week, the CSU rolled out a similar plan for American History.

Working behind closed doors and skirting open meeting laws for nearly two years, a CSU “task force on general education” has prepared a plan to eviscerate the state’s requirement in “American Institutions,” which has been the backbone of US history and civic education in California for almost 60 years. In short strokes, the proposal cuts the requirement for civic education by half and severs what’s left from the study of history. Imagine a course on Environmental Regulation as the substitute for U.S. History and Government. If the proposal is
implemented, no CSU students will be required to study the history of any nation, including their own.

The consequences of this radical disruption of the most rigorous and successful civic education program in California’s public institutions should not be underestimated. For six decades, CSU American Institutions coursework has been an unsung hero of our state’s complex democracy, evolving to meet the needs of each era, and providing millions of Californians with the tools to
function as effective citizens.
Rather than celebrate this achievement, CSU leaders characterize it as an obsolete chore for students and an obstacle to speedier bachelor’s degrees, without any data whatsoever backing such claims. But easing graduation by reducing requirements is a solution unfit for the world’s most creative economy and a threat to its democracy.

As in so many areas of American life, California has been a leader in civic education. The 1961 mandate of the CSU requires that campuses “provide for comprehensive study of United States history and government including the historical development of American institutions and ideals.” The goal of this “American Institutions” requirement “is to ensure that students acquire knowledge and skills that will… enable them to contribute to that society as responsible and constructive citizens.”
This is an especially fitting role for the CSU. Its twenty-three campuses deliver affordable access to higher education for nearly 500,000 students. One third are first generation college students. Nearly 5 percent are veterans. Half are students of color. They are Californians from every walk of life who have a dream to rise and contribute to their society.

Make no mistake, the erosion of “American Institutions” at the CSU will affect civic education statewide, including most immediately, the 2.1 million students in California Community Colleges whose curricula articulate with CSU mandates.
Today, more than ever, these students need college-level training in American history and democracy.

Across the CSU, History courses convey context, experience and practice in democracy. They offer training in building evidence-based arguments. They analyze the origins of the Constitution. They explain turning points in our path toward ‘a more perfect union,’ and they model it, for historical study resembles closely what we do as members of a deliberative democracy, which is to sort out valid statements from spurious claims, identifying credible evidence and acting upon it. In an age when the internet has changed how Americans know the
past, history provides students with the skills to discern what is true and false and to practice the consensus-building habits necessary to a diverse democracy.

CSU students value this training. San Jose State students report that their study of history “make[s] us all informed citizens.” In “learn[ing] to see current events with more curiosity and insight,” students enjoy a newfound ability “to reflect on what we can do to improve society.” At CSU East Bay, students describe a sense of empowerment: “I feel that I can confidently participate in debates about politics and current events with greater understanding now,” explains one undergraduate. A Fresno State student felt pride in studying the sacrifices Americans made for democracy: “It makes you see how far America has come and see what America has overcome, so it makes you more of a patriot.”

American history and civic education is important in another critical respect: students’ bottom line. American Institutions courses sharpen skills that employers demand in today’s marketplace:
communication, critical thinking, analysis, collaborative problem-solving, and more.

History and civic education remain as important to the mission of the California State University today as at our founding. These courses boost students’ success in college and the job market. They furnish perspectives and practice in effective citizenship that are the bedrock of democracy. In light of the challenges we face as a society, history has seldom mattered more.

Bridget Ford, Professor of History, CSU East Bay
Brad Jones, Professor of History, CSU Fresno
Andrew Wiese, Professor and Chair of History, San Diego State University
The writers are members of the Council on History and American Institutions, a coalition of CSU professors of history.

The national office of the AAUP has recently shared the following information on AAUP awards, annual meeting registration, and the Journal of Academic Freedom.

Awards

The AAUP, AAUP-CBC, and AAUP Foundation offer a number of awards, which are made at the annual conference in June. Nominations for all awards are due March 15. You can access complete awards information here. Of particular interest may be the following.

The Outstanding Achievement Award goes to an individual AAUP member for outstanding chapter- or conference-level work in advancing academic freedom or shared governance; promoting the economic security of academics; helping the higher education community organize; or ensuring higher education's contribution to the common good.

The Georgina M. Smith Award goes to a person who has provided exceptional leadership in a given year in improving the status of academic women or in academic collective bargaining and through that work has improved the profession in general.

The AAUP-CBC’s Marilyn Sternberg Award is given annually to the “AAUP member who best demonstrates concern for human rights, courage, persistence, political foresight, imagination, and collective bargaining skills.”

The AAUP Foundation’s Konheim Travel Fund helps chapters send delegates to the AAUP annual meeting. To qualify for the awards to cover travel-related expenses, chapters must be engaged in advancing academic freedom; student rights and freedoms; the status of academic women; the elimination of discrimination against minorities; or the establishment of equal opportunity for members of colleges and universities.

Annual Conference Registration

Registration for the AAUP Annual Conference on the State of Higher Education will open next week. The conference runs June 12–16 and will include three different business meetings as well as informational sessions and plenary events. Some things to note:

In order to vote in the AAUP-CBC Regular Meeting, the Assembly of State Conferences Business Meeting, or in a weighted vote at the Annual Meeting, you will have to complete the appropriate delegate credential form. Full information is here.

As we wrote to chapter leaders in December, the June conference will include opportunities to discuss proposals to streamline the AAUP’s governance and organizational structure, as well as business sessions regarding restructuring planning and voting on the changes. The Council of the AAUP and the AAUP-Collective Bargaining Congress Executive Committee voted overwhelmingly at their November 2018 meetings to move forward with changes to our shared organizational structure, and specific proposals are being developed. All AAUP members will receive notification of the final proposals well ahead of the June annual meeting. Preliminary information is here.

In lieu of paper panels this year, we are organizing peer-to-peer sessions in which chapters, staff, and members can share information. Preliminary information about the program is here and we’ll share more details as they develop.

Journal of Academic Freedom Call for Papers

The deadline to submit an article to the AAUP’s Journal of Academic Freedom is fast approaching! All submissions are due March 1. If you have a chapter newsletter or email going out, please share the call for papers!

Best wishes,
Gwendolyn Bradley
AAUP Senior Program Officer