Editor's Note: Upon the recommendation of the Professional Division, the AHA Council approved at its May 1989 meeting the following advisory opinion and authorized its inclusion as an addendum to the Association's Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct. For a copy of the full statement and other addenda, write to AHA, 400 A Street, S.E., Washington, DC 20003.

Several disturbing instances of "academic mugging" have recently come to the attention of the AHA Professional Division. The division means by this term the practice of individuals attempting to influence the appointment process by, for example, refusing to cooperate with a candidate if he or she is appointed; circulating rumors or other unsubstantiated derogatory information; and pressuring a candidate by phone or mail. The division finds such actions inappropriate and counter to professional standards of conduct that should at all times govern historians in their relations with one another.