The following year Edward Bemis was dismissed from a post at the University of Chicago and George D. Herron from one at Grinnell College in 1899.

Perhaps most prominent of these incidents was the 1900 dismissal of eugenicist, economics professor, and sociologist Edward Alsworth Ross from Stanford University.

[3] In January 1915, the Association of University Professors was formed after a series of meetings held at the Chemists' Club in New York City.

In February 1915, the dismissals of two professors and two instructors at the University of Utah by President Joseph T. Kingsbury—and the subsequent resignations of 14 faculty members in protest—launched the AAUP's first institutional academic freedom inquest.

The association's procedures ensuring academic due process remain the model for professional employment practices on campuses throughout the country.

"[11] The 1970 interpretation believes that the statement is not a "static code but a fundamental document to set a framework of norms to guide adaptations to changing times and circumstances."

In Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957), the Supreme Court of the United States acknowledged the essential role of academic freedom as a protected right under the First Amendment.

This case set a precedent that significantly influenced university policies across the United States, affirming the importance of academic discourse and inquiry without governmental interference.

"[12] In Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967), the constitutionality and legal basis for AAUP's principles of academic freedom were established.

Also, the purpose of the statement was not to provide principles for relations with industry and government although it establishes direction on "the correction of existing weaknesses."

[16] In 2024, AAUP president Todd Wolfson referred to United States Senator JD Vance as a "fascist," during that year's presidential election.

[19][20] In 1970, the AAUP criticized its 1940 statement, positing that most religious institutions "no longer need or desire" to place limits on academic freedom.

[21] In 1988, the AAUP offered up another interpretation, stating that the "1970 de-endorsement clause" requires a religious institution to forfeit its "right to represent itself as an 'authentic seat of higher learning.

Also, the AAUP does not have the power of receivership in its constitution and so it can not take over any of its affiliates, supplant any of its elected leaders, or dictate policy or bargaining proposals or agenda upon them.