ABSTRACT
The primary purpose of John Dewey’s address to the Association of American Universities (AAU) on August 27, 1915, was to present to this organization of administrators the rationale for the foundation of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Dewey’s speech to the AAU presidents focused on the “monopoly” of university authority held by university trustees which was, in his view, a breach of the university’s autonomy and by extension, a threat to the university’s public mission. His proposal to the university presidents in attendance emphasized the need for shared governance as a means for enacting democratic communication between institutional leaders, trustees, and faculty and the need for faculty autonomy in the selection and dismissal of faculty, both necessary conditions for the preservation of the university’s liberal mission (Dewey, 1915 /1979b). In Dewey’s mind, at the heart of faculty’s desire for greater autonomy, a share in academic policy making, and professional protections was faculty’s vocational character. Because faculty represented “the teaching interests,” Dewey (and other faculty) reasoned that they would fi nd “mutual sympathy and cooperation” with university presidents. As representatives of “primarily the administrative interests” of universities, presidents had “many matters of common interest” with faculty and it stood to reason that each professional organization would be mutually supportive (p. 116).
