The Role of the Public Intellectual in a Time of Crisis

In his new book, Neoliberalism’s War on Higher Education, Henry Giroux writes that, “as public intellectuals, academics can do more.” We know that, of course, but it never hurts to hear it again, especially as the crisis in American education–and, following necessarily, in American society–grows. But what does it mean to be a public intellectual? What, in other…

What We Do with Our Time

John Ziker, chairman of the Anthropology Department at Boise State University, typically conducts field research in the Taimyr Autonomous Region of north-central Siberia, studying the Ust’-Avam, where people depend on hunting, fishing, and gathering for the majority of their food. But he and his colleagues Katherine Demps, David Nolin, and Matt Genuchi, have now turned their…

Tradition and Innovation: Essential to Small Liberal Arts Colleges (Part 1)

At The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Presidents Institute this past January, the theme was Leading Wisely: Linking Tradition and Innovation. The conference “explored ways presidents can tackle today’s unprecedented leadership challenges with a mix of time-tested solutions and new approaches.” CIC’s focus on ways for leadership at small and mid-size liberal arts colleges to…

Bobby Jindal’s Funding of Higher Ed Is So Jerry-Rigged That Louisiana Has Had to Take Out Loans to Keep the State’s Public Colleges and Universities Solvent

In a previous post, I highlighted the consistent reductions in the state support to public higher education in Louisiana during Bobby Jindal’s terms as governor. More specifically, the governor recently announced what he has declared is a large increase in state support for higher education, but it turns out that more than half of the…

Labor under Fire, Literally, in Turkey

This is from Labour Start, which promotes trade unionism internationally: “Turkey’s first mass May Day demonstrations in Istanbul’s Taksim Square took place in 1976, with the participation of hundreds of thousands. A year later, half a million people took part — but 37 were killed by gunfire. “No one has ever been prosecuted for this…

Truth and Advertising: How to Judge What a College Values

In a world increasingly dominated by social media, it is no longer possible for a college community to present what it values “in plain sight.” Prospective applicants and their families judge a college today largely by what they find on the web. In the old days, crafting an image was perhaps easier. Marketing was more…

Three Solutions to Rising College Costs That the Far Right Finds Attractive

Writing for Bankrate.com, Christina Crouch has surveyed in some detail “Three Radical Plans” for reducing college costs [http://www.bankrate.com/finance/college-finance/rethinking-college-costs-radical-plans.aspx]. The first two of these “three radical plans” have been addressed previously in posts to this blog: the “pay it forward” plan that originated in Oregon, that has been adopted or adapted in some form in 15…

Are Charter Schools a Good Choice for Students? Not in Ohio

We have heard a lot from Republicans and even some Democrats about how charter schools are a much-need alternative to our “failing” public schools. But that argument has been long on assumption and assertion and short on statistical support. The group Innovation Ohio has recently taken a close look at the performance of charter schools…

Al Bundy Says That He Is Very Sorry

On behalf of my wife Peg and our kids, Kelly and Bud, as well as our deceased dog Buck and his female reincarnation as Lucky, I would like to apologize to America for all the dumb stuff that my distant cousin Cliven has been saying. Everyone who knows me well enough to say, “Hey, Al”…

Two Very Different Legal Stories from Higher Ed in Kentucky

The first of these stories seems to illustrate the potentially terrible consequences of abusing one’s position and violating one’s professional responsibilities. The second seems to suggest that there are ways to avoid such consequences. The first story was written by Cliff Peale for the Cincinnati Enquirer [http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/courts/2014/04/17/former-nku-athletic-directoreaton-going-to-jail/7818507/]. It concerns the guilty plea entered and the…