An Open Letter to College and University Faculty
We are a diverse group of faculty at all levels, at institutions throughout the United States. We would like to invite any interested faculty, from teaching assistants and adjuncts to tenured professors, to join us in founding nonpartisan national and state-level faculty networks to ensure student voting rights on and off campus.
We believe ensuring students’ ability to exercise their right to vote is an important priority for all educators. As this year of crisis plays out, we need to be on guard against stepped-up attempts to suppress voting by students. Student voters are a particularly vulnerable population because many have never registered to vote before, or are attending school in states where they have never lived and don’t know the law or procedures. They may not be able to rely on the advice of family or friends who might live in entirely different jurisdictions spread throughout the country.
In this context, the 1.3 million college and university faculty have a key role to play. We propose to create a Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights to activate faculty on behalf of their students. This new organization will help organize cross-institutional coalitions of faculty at the state level, since that is where election laws are made, and where the specific knowledge of faculty members who may be long-time residents of the state they teach in can be extremely useful to their students. Its focus will be connecting individual academics with student-led groups in their states, cities, and specific institutions to help provide support to students who are helping others navigate the sometimes frustrating process of registering to vote and then exercising their franchise.
Mission: The Faculty Network supports and empowers faculty of all disciplines in higher education to contribute to the development of students and faculty as engaged voters and full participants in a democratic society.
Vision: We envision a higher education landscape where colleges and universities actualize their institutional commitments as centers of democratic and voter engagement to foster democracy as a way of life for all members of their campus communities and beyond.
The network will provide:
- Training materials, information on how to adhere to nonpartisan guidelines, and FAQs, drawing on national organizations like the Brennan Center for Justice;
- Access to local, regional, and national networks focused on student voting;
- A “Faculty Pledge” wherein instructors commit to helping register students, publicizing elections-related information, and lobbying campus administrations on behalf of their students’ right to vote;
- A rapid response network to respond to attacks on students and faculty who advocate for campus voting.
To support students on your campus, and in your community and state, take our Faculty Pledge to Support Student Voting Rights [hyperlinked], which includes listing your name and affiliation publicly on our website.
Signers [institution listed for identification purposes only]
First Name: | Last Name | Institution: | State: |
Peggy | Biga | University of Alabama at Birmingham | Alabama |
Pamela | Murray | University of Alabama at Birmingham | Alabama |
Lisa | Aubrey | Arizona State University | Arizona |
Dick | Bennett | University of Arkansas, Fayetteville | Arkansas |
Melissa | Michelson | Menlo College | California |
Adam | Bonica | Stanford University | California |
Jean | Beaman | University of California, Santa Barbara | California |
Keramet | Reiter | University of California, Irvine | California |
Eileen | Boris | University of California, Santa Barbara | California |
Steve | Posner | University of Southern California | California |
Kathleen | Young | California State University, Northridge | California |
Joe | Berry | City College of SF | California |
Jonathan | Petropoulos | Claremont McKenna College | California |
Michelle | Stonis | Glendale Community College | California |
Guy | Aronoff | Humboldt State University | California |
Robert | Cliver | Humboldt State University | California |
Paul | Geck | Humboldt State University | California |
Leena | Dallasheh | Humboldt State University | California |
Esther | Rothblum | San Diego State University | California |
Gordon | Chang | Stanford Univeristy | California |
Lisa | Medoff | Stanford Univeristy | California |
Rafael | Pelayo | Stanford Univeristy | California |
David | Palumbo-Liu | Stanford Univeristy | California |
Tom | Mullaney | Stanford Univeristy | California |
Estelle | Freedman | Stanford University | California |
Jessica | Riskin | Stanford University | California |
Mikael | Wolfe | Stanford University | California |
Kathryn | Olivarius | Stanford University | California |
Daniel | Lassiter | Stanford University | California |
Christopher | Newfield | University of California, Santa Barbara | California |
Chris | Tilly | University of California, Los Angeles | California |
Ellen | DuBois | University of California, Los Angeles | California |
Heidi | Tinsman | University of California, Irvine | California |
José Juan | Pérez Meléndez | University of California, Davis | California |
Judy | Wu | University of California, Irvine | California |
Manny | Azizi | University of California, Irvine | California |
Rebecca Jo | Plant | University of California, San Diego | California |
Ronald | Sundstrom | University of San Francisco | California |
Ann | Crigler | University of Southern California | California |
Jennifer | Helgren | University of the Pacific | California |
Rochelle | Smarr | California State University San Marcos | California |
Cecilia | Orphan | University of Denver | Colorado |
Jordan | Davis | Colorado State University | Colorado |
Raphael | Sassower | University of Colorado, Colorado Springs | Colorado |
Catherine | Lutz | Brown University | Connecticut |
Melina | Pappademos | University of Connecticut | Connecticut |
Jennifer | Tucker | Wesleyan University | Connecticut |
Christina | Crosby | Wesleyan University | Connecticut |
Judith | Brown | Wesleyan University | Connecticut |
Molly | O’Connor | University of Connecticut School of Law | Connecticut |
Kerri | Raissian | University of Connecticut | Connecticut |
Patricia | Aufderheide | American University | District of Columbia |
Priya | Doshi | American University | District of Columbia |
Cathy | Schneider | American University | District of Columbia |
Barbara | Wien | American University | District of Columbia |
Leonard | Steinhorn | American University | District of Columbia |
Peter | Kuznick | American University | District of Columbia |
Eileen | Findlay | American University | District of Columbia |
Paul | Croce | Stetson Univeristy | Florida |
Josh | Young | Miami Dade College | Florida |
Robert | Scott | Augusta University | Georgia |
Vialla | Hartfield-Mendez | Emory University | Georgia |
Akinyele | Umoja | Georgia State University | Georgia |
Cindy | Lutenbacher | Morehouse College | Georgia |
Johanna | Gosse | University of Idaho | Idaho |
Jill | Dunlap | DePaul, St. Xavier | Illinois |
Suzanne | Chod | North Central College | Illinois |
Michael | Peshkin | Northwestern University | Illinois |
Elizabeth | Portes | DePaul University | Illinois |
Clinton | Nichols | Dominican University | Illinois |
Crystal | Harris | Governors State University | Illinois |
Margaret | Power | Illinois Institute of Technology | Illinois |
Arlen | Moller | Illinois Institute of Technology | Illinois |
Andrew | Hartman | Illinois State University | Illinois |
Kristina | Sawyer | Loyola University Chicago | Illinois |
Lewis | Erenberg | Loyola University Chicago | Illinois |
Laura | Gawlinski | Loyola University Chicago | Illinois |
Demetri | Morgan | Loyola University | Illinois |
Ji-Yeon | Yuh | Northwestern University | Illinois |
Jacob | Wilson | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Illinois |
Carlos | Murillo | The Theatre School of DePaul University | Illinois |
Rachel | Rubin | University of Illinois at Chicago | Illinois |
Scovia | Aweko | Purdue University | Indiana |
Marissa | Moorman | Indiana University | Indiana |
Lionel | Jensen | University of Notre Dame | Indiana |
Jay | Brandenberger | University of Notre Dame | Indiana |
Rachael | Muszkiewicz | Valparaiso University | Indiana |
Douglas | Hess | Grinnell College | Iowa |
Karen | Kedrowski | Iowa State University | Iowa |
Sanford | Hinderlie | Loyola University New Orleans | Louisiana |
Ross | Louis | Xavier University of Louisiana | Louisiana |
R.M. | Herzig | Bates College | Maine |
Rob | Glover | University of Maine | Maine |
Toby | Ditz | Johns Hopkins University | Maryland |
David | Bremenstuhl | Maryland | |
Diane | McMahon | Allegany College of Maryland | Maryland |
Ben | Railton | Fitchburg State University | Massachusetts |
Nancy | Thomas | Institute for Democracy & Higher Education, Tufts University | Massachusetts |
Rachael | Cobb | Suffolk University | Massachusetts |
Sarah | Sobieraj | Tufts University | Massachusetts |
Kevin | Young | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Massachusetts |
John | Saltmarsh | University of Massachusetts, Boston | Massachusetts |
Prasannan | Parthasarathi | Boston College | Massachusetts |
Brendan | Sullivan | Emmanuel College | Massachusetts |
Christine | Desan | Harvard Law School | Massachusetts |
Timothy | McCarthy | Harvard University | Massachusetts |
Alan | Solomont | Tufts University | Massachusetts |
Natasha | Warikoo | Tufts University | Massachusetts |
Karen | Kurczynski | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Massachusetts |
Andrew | Dausch | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Massachusetts |
Mary | DAngelo | University of Notre Dame (Emerita) | Massachusetts |
Mara | Dodge | Westfield State University | Massachusetts |
Neil | Roberts | Williams College | Massachusetts |
Mark | Axelrod | Michigan State University | Michigan |
Nazita | Lajevardi | Michigan State University | Michigan |
Edie | Goldenberg | University of Michigan | Michigan |
Pei-Lan | Tsou | Grand Valley State University | Michigan |
Kelly | Parker | Grand Valley State University | Michigan |
Lisa | Brock | Kalamazoo College | Michigan |
Bruce | Mills | Kalamazoo College | Michigan |
Binney | Girdler | Kalamazoo College | Michigan |
Geoff | Eley | University of Michigan | Michigan |
Anne | Pitcher | University of Michigan | Michigan |
Scott | Greer | University of Michigan | Michigan |
Jody | Lori | University of Michigan | Michigan |
Rebecca | Scott | University of Michigan | Michigan |
Rob | Mickey | University of Michigan–Ann Arbor | Michigan |
Robert | Entenmann | St. Olaf College | Minnesota |
MJ | Maynes | University of Minnesota | Minnesota |
Jim | Scheibel | Hamline University | Minnesota |
Na Youn | Lee | University of Mississippi | Mississippi |
Thessalia | Merivaki | Mississippi State University | Mississippi |
Marc | Becker | Truman State University | Missouri |
Jerrold | Hirsch | Truman State University | Missouri |
Daniel | Mandell | Truman State University | Missouri |
Christine | Harker | Truman State University | Missouri |
Tyler | Gahrs | Washington University in St. Louis | Missouri |
Alicia | Briancon | College of Southern Nevada | Nevada |
Elizabeth | Leger | University of Nevada, Reno | Nevada |
Amy | Koritz | Drew University | New Jersey |
Kirk | McDermid | Montclair State | New Jersey |
Anastasia | Mann | Princeton University | New Jersey |
Elizabeth | Hull | Rutgers University | New Jersey |
Radhika | Balakrishnan | Rutgers University | New Jersey |
Felicia | Steele | The College of New Jersey | New Jersey |
Elizabeth | Matto | Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University | New Jersey |
Jessica | Goodkind | University of New Mexico | New Mexico |
Arthur | Caplan | New York University | New York |
Deborah | Valenze | Barnard College | New York |
Barbara | Caress | Baruch College/CUNY | New York |
Nancy | Romer | Brooklyn College | New York |
Barbara | Winslow | Brooklyn College | New York |
Helen | de Pinho | Columbia University | New York |
Amy | Chazkel | Columbia University | New York |
Eric | Foner | Columbia University | New York |
Joanne | Csete | Columbia University | New York |
Martha | Howell | Columbia University | New York |
John | Robertson | Columbia University | New York |
Bill | Bower | Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health | New York |
Mobina | Hashmi | CUNY – Brooklyn College | New York |
Ruth | O’Brien | CUNY Graduate Center | New York |
David | Waldstreicher | Graduate Center, City University of New York | New York |
Carolyn | Eisenberg | Hofstra University | New York |
Alan | Singer | Hofstra University | New York |
Linda | Miles | Hostos Community College | New York |
Sandy | Figueroa | Hostos Community College | New York |
Sarah | Hoiland | Hostos Community College | New York |
Tami | Gold | Hunter College | New York |
John | Hammond | Hunter College and Graduate Center CUNY | New York |
Joan | Scott | institute for Advanced Study and Graduate Center CUNY | New York |
Judith | Walkowitz | Johns Hopkins University | New York |
Jerise | Fogel | Montclair State University | New York |
Cristina | Beltran | New York University | New York |
Sally | Guttmacher | New York University | New York |
Christine | Kovner | New York University | New York |
Sibylle | Fischer | New York University | New York |
Cheryl | Healton | New York University | New York |
Barbara | Weinstein | New York University | New York |
Molly | Nolan | New York University | New York |
Heather | Novak | Pace University | New York |
Erin | Mysogland | Pace University | New York |
Vikki | Terrile | Queensborough Community College CUNY | New York |
Kimberly | Christensen | Sarah Lawrence College | New York |
Claire | King | Stella and Charles Guttman Community College at CUNY | New York |
James | Swarts | SUNY Geneseo | New York |
Allison | Rank | SUNY Oswego | New York |
Detra | Price-Dennis | Teachers College | New York |
Andor | Skotnes | The Sage Colleges–retired | New York |
Andrew | Feffer | Union College | New York |
Bernadette | Ludwig | Wagner College | New York |
Shanti | Singham | Williams College | New York |
Farzana | Kapadia | New York University, School of Global Public Health | New York |
Gunther | Peck | Duke University | North Carolina |
Dennis | McCunney | East Carolina University | North Carolina |
Laura | Ammon | Appalachian State University | North Carolina |
James | Bazán | Central Piedmont Community College | North Carolina |
Irene | Silverblatt | Duke University | North Carolina |
Reeve | Huston | Duke University | North Carolina |
David | Scobey | Elon University | North Carolina |
Evan | Gatti | Elon University | North Carolina |
Sonalini | Sapra | Guilford College | North Carolina |
Sonia | Laurie | Johnson C. Smith University | North Carolina |
Eduardo | Corral | North Carolina State University | North Carolina |
Ashley | Moraguez | UNC Asheville | North Carolina |
Tamara | Johnson | UNC Charlotte | North Carolina |
Nicole | Peterson | UNC Charlotte | North Carolina |
Eric | Heberlig | UNC Charlotte | North Carolina |
Lisa | Rasmussen | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | North Carolina |
Beth | Whitaker | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | North Carolina |
Mark | Sanders | University of North Carolina Charlotte | North Carolina |
Reginald | Raymer | University of North Carolina Charlotte | North Carolina |
Erin | Godly-Reynolds | University of North Carolina Charlotte | North Carolina |
Spoma | Jovanovic | University of North Carolina, Greensboro | North Carolina |
Chelsea | Kaufman | Wingate University | North Carolina |
Ashley | Nickels | Kent State University | Ohio |
Peter | Shane | Ohio State University | Ohio |
Stewart | Burns | Union Institute & University | Ohio |
Lori | Kumler | University of Mount Union | Ohio |
Naneida | Lazarte | Okalahoma State Department of Education | Oklahoma |
Michael | Crespin | University of Oklahoma | Oklahoma |
Andrea | Benjamin | University of Oklahoma | Oklahoma |
Stephanie | Stokamer | Pacific University | Oregon |
Morgan | Knapp | Pacific University | Oregon |
Annelise | Heinz | University of Oregon | Oregon |
Dani | Nedal | Carnegie Mellon University | Pennsylvania |
Van | Gosse | Franklin & Marshall College | Pennsylvania |
Kim | Beck | Carnegie Mellon | Pennsylvania |
Carla | Bevins | Carnegie Mellon University | Pennsylvania |
Thomas | Quinn | Central High School, School District of Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
Fred | Evans | Duquesne University | Pennsylvania |
Maria | Mitchell | Franklin & Marshall College | Pennsylvania |
Lisa | Gasbarrone | Franklin & Marshall College | Pennsylvania |
Carah | Ong Whaley | James Madison University | Pennsylvania |
Caroline | Lee | Lafayette College | Pennsylvania |
Elsbeth | Escher | Muhlenberg College | Pennsylvania |
Jessica | Cooperman | Muhlenberg College | Pennsylvania |
Christopher | Heaney | Penn State University | Pennsylvania |
Lior | Sternfeld | Penn State University | Pennsylvania |
Lori | Ginzberg | Penn State University | Pennsylvania |
Mark | Sentesy | Penn State University | Pennsylvania |
Nan Elizabeth | Woodruff | Pennsylvania State University | Pennsylvania |
Shari | Jacobson | Susquehanna University | Pennsylvania |
Scott | Kershner | Susquehanna University | Pennsylvania |
Benjamin | Berger | Swarthmore College | Pennsylvania |
Rogers | Smith | University of Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
Lisa | Servon | University of Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
Patrick | Manning | University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
Barbara | McCloskey | University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
Rob | Ruck | University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
Michael | Goodhart | University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
Amanda | Godley | University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
Barry | Ames | University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
Mark | Kramer | University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
Laura | Lovett | University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
Peter | Trachtenberg | University of Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
Denise | Davis | Brown University | Rhode Island |
Suzanne | Stewart-Steinberg | Brown University | Rhode Island |
Carolyn | Betensky | University of Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
Brendan Skip | Mark | University of Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
Natalie | Pifer | University of Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
Bridget | Trogden | Clemson University | South Carolina |
Katarina | Moyon | Winthrop University | South Carolina |
Rebecca | Lucas | Maryville College | Tennessee |
Katie | Cahill | University of Tennessee, Knoxville | Tennessee |
Mikail Marie | McIntosh-Doty | Concordia University Texas | Texas |
Sara | Gubala | Lamar University | Texas |
Josef | Barton | Northwestern University | Texas |
Joan | Johnson | Tarrant County College – Northeast Campus | Texas |
Guillermina | Solis | The University of Texas at El Paso | Texas |
Aurelia Lorena | Murga | The University of Texas at El Paso | Texas |
Leandra | Zarnow | University of Houston | Texas |
Sandra | Deutsch | University of Texas at El Paso | Texas |
Patricia | Juarez-Carrillo | University of Texas at El Paso | Texas |
Edward | Castaneda | University of Texas at El Paso | Texas |
Dr. Areli | Chacon Silva | University of Texas at El Paso | Texas |
Dennis | Bixler-Marquez | University of Texas at El Paso | Texas |
Josiah | Heyman | University of Texas at El Paso | Texas |
Leah | Murray | Weber State University | Utah |
Jeanne | Albert | Middlebury College | Vermont |
Peter | Matthews | Middlebury College | Vermont |
Jennifer | Victor | George Mason University | Virginia |
Amna | Aslam | George Mason University | Virginia |
Benjamin | Blankenship | James Madison University | Virginia |
Carl | Sachs | Marymount University | Virginia |
Connie | Jorgensen | Piedmont Virginia Community College | Virginia |
Steven | Fesmire | Radford University | Virginia |
Jessica | Davis | Virginia Tec | Virginia |
Sarah | Quinn | University of Washington | Washington |
Kevin | Decker | Eastern Washington University | Washington |
Sara | Curran | University of Washington | Washington |
Amber | Wichowsky | Marquette University | Wisconsin |
Diane | Soles | Madison College | Wisconsin |
Raymond | Spoto | University of Wisconsin Platteville | Wisconsin |
Mary Louise | Roberts | University of Wisconsin Madison | Wisconsin |
Douglas | Margolis | University of Wisconsin–River Falls | Wisconsin |
April | Haynes | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Wisconsin |
Chad Alan | Goldberg | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Wisconsin |
Anna | Paretskaya | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Wisconsin |
Andy | Felt | University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point | Wisconsin |
Jennifer | Collins | UW-Stevens Point | Wisconsin |
Khalil | Dokhanchi | UW-Superior | Wisconsin |