Karen Miller was President of Oakland University’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (OUAAUP)  from 2011-2013. She later served a second term from November 2020 to August 14, 2023. Some of Miller’s accomplishments included her oversight of COVID-19 related working conditions issues, the 2021 protracted labor contract renegotiations and recent budget cuts. 

Greetings Members,

My term as the OU-AAUP president is now over. Although we have seen some losses, we have had more successes. Our wins have been due to the efforts of a wonderful collection of people serving on the Executive Committee, who have helped me through many hard months since 2021. 

I would like to give special thanks to our Executive Director, Amy Pollard, who has helped to restrain my worst instincts, and channel my most productive ideas. Without Amy, we could not have accomplished what we did.

As I look back on my experience as OU-AAUP president, I am also awestruck by the support you, the members, have given me. You have not withheld your complements, your suggestions, or your criticisms. I have benefited from your candor and been buoyed by your support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Our problems at Oakland are not unique; public higher education is strained, with some institutions nearly crushed by the pressure. We suffer from a historic pattern of disinvestment by the state government over the past half century. We face a diminishing public confidence in the benefits of a college degree. Our morale has been sapped as we have been chided to do more with less, and to be grateful for what we have.

Still, Oakland has promise. We should not lapse into a despair over what we have lost, or the promises that remain unfulfilled. Oakland’s faculty is full of great teachers, great scholars, and dedicated community members. We live in a democracy where our opinions and our actions do matter. We can work collectively to make higher education a better experience for all. To this purpose, our partners at the AFT have shown us a path to make education a benefit for all who seek it. We have a strong union and we have the capacity to defend our interests, but also to improve our conditions.

Universities exist for the public good. The role of the university is not simply to train workers, or to create obedient citizens. The university provides a public forum for the exchange of ideas—ideas that can be unsettling, surprising, and even revolutionary. It is in this exchange that we build a more resilient culture and a genuine democracy. These are ideas that the AAUP has defended since it was formed in 1915.

Please join me in supporting our new president, Mike Latcha. Together, under Mike’s leadership, we have the means to improve higher education. It will be a struggle, and sometimes we will lose. But rest assured that the AAUP will always work to defend you and what you value.

Yours in Solidarity,

Karen A.J. Miller