handful of buttons that say VOTE in patriotic colors

Vote, Volunteer, Organize

BY IRENE MULVEY AAUP president Irene Mulvey issued the following statement on September 29. I write to you today, as voter registration deadlines fast approach, with an urgent call to action. These are extraordinary times and much is at stake. Since its founding in 1915, the AAUP has never endorsed a candidate for office or…

ASEEES Statement of Concern Regarding Firing of Faculty without Due Process and Loss of Programs

POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN The following statement by the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) was published on September 27.  We all recognize that this is an extraordinarily difficult time for everyone in higher education. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased costs, yet state support is being cut back and enrollments…

And Then There is Zoom

BY HANK REICHMAN If you weren’t familiar with Zoom before the COVID-19 pandemic, you must be now.  Everyone is using it — for faculty and staff meetings, seminar talks and panels, political and union organizing, socializing with friends and family, holding remote weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, and, of course, teaching online classes.  And, yes, we’re…

UC Berkeley Lab Apparently Reverses Decision to End Diversity Initiatives

BY HANK REICHMAN The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has apparently restored its diversity, equity and inclusion program after lab Director Mike Witherell told employees that the program would be suspended on orders from the White House, which called such initiatives “un-American propaganda training sessions.”  In a second memo, issued over the weekend, Witherell said a…

Wavy the bear at the computer

Wavy the Bear in . . . “Pitchfork Wavy!”

BY WAVY THE BEAR Hi! I’m Wavy the Bear, senior stuffed brand ambassador at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn! The nice folks at the AAUP liked the story about “managerial techniques” and “academic freedom” that I sent them for their journal, so now I’m “blogging”! Can I get a “wow”?!? I wrote that story back…