POSTED BY MARTIN KICH This holiday is not as well-known as May Day, Memorial Day, or Labor Day. But, especially during this pandemic, when many non-unionized, low-wage workers are in the “front lines” with insufficient personal protections and insufficient healthcare and paid sick leave, this day seems more “essential” than ever. The commemorative day was…
BY AARON BARLOW What does it mean to be a college in the contemporary milieu? Can we continue with expectations now decades out of date? Can we continue to carry the deadwood, both administrators who are mired in models of education only applicable to expanding economies and professors who have refused to update pedagogy to…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH The Atlantic’s weekly collection of news photos included one of the cadets graduating from the Air Force Academy. It prompted me to look for a fuller selection of photos of the ceremony. I know that the anything military is going to be more regimented than a civilian equivalent, but this just…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH These statements on COVID-19’s impact on the publishing industry have been issued to mark the 26th annual World Book and Copyright Day on April 23. An Industry ‘Already Struggling for Oxygen’ We, the undersigned representatives of the global book industry urge governments all over the world to recognize, support and celebrate…
BY CHRISTOPHER NEWFIELD The following is reposted from Remaking the University, where it appeared as the third in a series, Our Converging Crises. For the first two installments in the series go here and here. Christopher Newfield is Professor of English at the University of California at Santa Barbara, co-editor of Remaking the University, and…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH This photo taken by Alyson McClaran for Reuters should provoke immediate associations for most readers of this blog: I know that I was immediately fascinated by and moved by the photo. I felt inspired by the nurse’s using his “down time,” which must be especially precious to him and most other…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH In honor of World Book and Copyright Day, celebrated yesterday, the following books are available for free download 11:59 p.m. Pacific PT: The selection of titles for this celebration has become an annual event. The books are available for download at https://www.amazon.com/article/read-the-world-2020. Publishing Perspectives [https://publishingperspectives.com/] has provided the following concise overviews…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH AAUP-OSU Statement on the COVID-19 Crisis: What Does OSU Value and How Should It Respond? COVID-19 has led to unprecedented challenges to the work and wellbeing of those at The Ohio State University, and these pressures will continue to be felt in the months and years ahead. In their communications over…
BY CATHERINE E. SAUNDERS, VIRGINIA HOY, AND DEBORAH M. SÁNCHEZ This is the third in a series of three George Mason-AAUP Academe Blog posts on lessons learned from the presidential search campaign. Read the first posts on GMU’s campaign and the costs of secret presidential searches here and here. The trend toward increasing secrecy in…