Resolution Adopted by the Executive Council of Rutgers AAUP-AFT
13 April 2016
Whereas Rutgers University is an institution of public higher education dedicated to a core
mission of disseminating knowledge, through teaching and research, within New Jersey and
beyond;
Whereas such teaching and research forms a bedrock of democracy and tolerance within the
United States;
Whereas undergraduate and graduate degrees from Rutgers University have long provided a
pathway to employment, security, and enfranchisement for individuals and families otherwise
marginal to the economic and political life in the United States;
Whereas the cost of those degrees has grown steadily beyond the reach of such families,
throwing many into long-term hardship and debt;
Whereas, in 2014-2015, the Executive Council of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the faculty of 54
academic units passed resolutions in favor of fair contracts and a tuition freeze;
Whereas the Administration raised tuition and fees for 2014-2015 to an extent that allowed it to amass a budget surplus of $74 million and an increase in unrestricted reserves of $70 million;
Whereas these profits are now available for the Rutgers Administration to employ towards
satisfying the University’s core mission for the benefit of New Jersey;
Be it Resolved that the Executive Council of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT faculty union calls upon
the Board of Governors to reduce tuition and fees for 2016-2017 – as compared with the current
fiscal year – by an amount commensurate with the University’s rate of profit.