Faculty Petition for Representation

Update (July 31, 2026): Ohio University and the United Academics of Ohio University (UAOU) continue to engage in collective bargaining toward the development of the University's first faculty union contract. The University team remains committed to negotiating in good faith and looks forward to upcoming bargaining sessions as discussions continue on the remaining open articles.

Since bargaining began, the University and UAOU have met regularly and made progress on a number of contract provisions. The University remains focused on reaching an agreement that supports faculty while advancing the institution's academic mission and long-term success.

On May 7, 2025, the State Employment Relations Board certified a secret ballot process formalizing that UAOU, which is affiliated with the American Association of University Professors/American Federation of Teachers (AAUP/AFT), will represent approximately 800 faculty members at Ohio University in matters related to the terms and conditions of employment. 

The new union represents full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty, full-time non-tenure track instructional faculty and full-time non-tenure track clinical faculty, excluding faculty in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, select faculty in the College of Health Sciences and Professions, and part-time faculty, among other identified groups.