CAUT is exploring a closer working relationship with the American Association of University Professors. CAUT president Victor Catano and executive director James Turk met with their AAUP counterparts in Washington last month to discuss ways the two organizations could work together.

"We share so many priorities that it makes sense to see how we can help each other," Catano said. "These include common positions on issues such as academic freedom, collegial governance, intellectual property, trade agreements, commercialization and corporatization."

Last year, CAUT and AAUP were cosponsors of a conference on online education. "We are looking at sponsoring more conferences together," Turk said. "We are also considering ways of sharing our respective educational programs, working together in countering the deprofessionalization of faculty work and promoting accessibility."

The two organizations also are negotiating a reciprocal agreement to give visiting AAUP members access to CAUT membership when in Canada and visiting CAUT members privileges of AAUP membership when in the U.S.

Founded in 1915, AAUP has 45,000 members in more than 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations.