AAUP Bucknell’s Communications Committee sees its charge as facilitating communication among all employees at Bucknell, because we know that communication creates community, and community engenders power. The committee’s fall 2023 goal was to make AAUP Bucknell a consistent presence in people’s inboxes and across campus.
Toward this end, we began the monthly newsletter (which you’re reading) linked to regular blog posts on the AAUP Bucknell website. The website and newsletter inform readers about best practices for building collective power (“Strategies for Solidarity”), the impact of AAUP Bucknell and AAUP national (“the AAUP Difference”), news related to our 2023-24 goals (“Workplace Democracy” and “Work and Pay”). The newsletter also helps to build community by highlighting AAUP Bucknell members and participants in our newsletter-only “Member Profile.” In the spring, the committee is looking forward to broadening our reach by getting the newsletter into the inboxes (literal and figurative) of every Bucknell employee. Long term, we plan to increase AAUP Bucknell’s visibility and strengthen our community through activities to craft AAUP Bucknell pins, shirts, even a song book or playlist!
Anyone can help us in our work by sourcing or pitching stories relevant to our beats, our 2023-24 Chapter priorities, or the AAUP’s traditional goals. (Use the QR code in the newsletter if you prefer anonymity.) You can also sign up to help us flier departments and buildings to spread our newsletter to all faculty, staff, and students at Bucknell. Or join the committee—it’s only a 5-hour commitment per month! If we have the staffing, the committee would like to get AAUP Bucknell on social media, a crucial step for engaging student workers and reaching allies among students and alumni. Email Bret Leraul (dbl016@bucknell.edu) if you’re interested in helping out.