BY Z. W. TAYLOR AND PATRICIA SOMERS With the rise of the #metoo movement, sexual harassment and sexual violence in all venues, including educational settings, have received increased scrutiny. Several troubling lawsuits have alleged either that college students were assaulted on campus—and that institutions did not exercise due diligence in Title IX reporting—or that students…
BY RACHEL IDA BUFF In case you missed it—and in case you have time to write over the winter break—we’re sharing this call for papers again. The February 3 submissions deadline is approaching quickly! It is remarkable how quickly all strata in public universities—staff, faculty, administrators, students—have grown accustomed to the saturation of…
BY ANTHONY ALESSANDRINI Not long after the election of Donald Trump, I shared a message in support of the right of undocumented students to pursue their education at City University of New York (CUNY), produced by a group of faculty and students and intended for inclusion on syllabi, to a faculty email list at Kingsborough…
BY DAVID G. EMBRICK AND JOHNNY E. WILLIAMS While Israel is actively erasing Palestinians’ land, livelihoods, stories, personhoods, and histories, the United States is providing Israel with funding, technical assistance, hardware, and even language to carry out its ongoing brutal and violent absorption of Palestine into Israel. Though this violation of international law is widely…
I love flying Delta. When I moved from Germany to Minneapolis several years ago Lufthansa was no longer an option. It turned out that leaving behind the bare-bones Teutonic version of customer service was a good thing and I never looked back. Looking at Delta’s corporate values the other day when browsing the company’s website, I noticed the usual suspects—honesty, integrity, and respect—along with explanations seemingly targeted at preschoolers: Always tell the truth and don’t hurt anyone. Did that mean that Delta was run by a bunch of toddlers? No. I am told by my daughter, who works in public relations, that emphasizing basic virtues like honesty helps build consumer trust.
BY THE COMMITTEE ON COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE On November 1, following the announcement of current University of Wisconsin system president Ray Cross’s retirement, the president of the Board of Regents of the UW system appointed a nine-member presidential search committee. Breaking decades of institutional precedent, he did not include any faculty members on the…
For its next volume, scheduled for publication in fall 2020, the AAUP’s Journal of Academic Freedom seeks original, scholarly articles exploring the ways the myriad managerial techniques in use on campuses today affect academic freedom and democratic faculty governance. Actuarial concerns about liability result in decisions made beyond the purview of governance bodies and even campus administration. We seek submissions that contemplate professional life and practices of academic freedom in this context, as well as those engaged with the possibility of resistance to these new regimes.
BY MONICA OWENS Happy Halloween! For a real scare, check out the spooky stats from our survey of faculty about their perspectives on online program management companies. This week we launched the Faculty Anti-Privatization Network week of action. It’s a week to raise awareness and build faculty solidarity around the increasing risks that online programs are…
BY CAROLYN BETENSKY It’s Campus Equity Week, a week of action from October 21 to 25 when faculty, students, and other advocates on campuses around the country are calling attention to the increasingly precarious nature of academic employment and its negative implications for higher education. Guest blogger Carolyn Betensky focuses here on obstacles to research…
BY JENNIFER RUTH If you follow the news, you are already familiar with the controversy that erupted over a tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. To recap: On October 4, Morey tweeted, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” The NBA is hugely popular in China. The Hong Kong protests decidedly are not.…