At the beginning of this year, we received notice from the attorney of the late Harmon Dean Cummings of a gift in the amount of $2,000 to the Ohio Conference AAUP. In his will, Cummings specified that the gift should be used “to provide assistance to faculty in need of an advocate.”

Dr. Cummings was the former head of the Music Department at Marietta College, which is a private liberal arts college located in Marietta, Ohio. Cummings was a graduate of Oklahoma State University and University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, where he earned his PhD.

At our latest board meeting in January, the OCAAUP board of trustees voted to use the gift to establish a fund that will assist private university faculty that may need legal or other support. We will provide more specifics about the fund and how to request a grant in the near future.