BY HANK REICHMAN What might celebrated incidents of “academic misconduct,” specifically plagiarism and falsifications, tell us about the crisis of academia? Recent events offer some suggestions. Jason Arday, who days earlier had resigned as professor of sociology at Cambridge University in the wake of credible charges of plagiarism and fabrication, was found dead August 14. …
BY HANK REICHMAN “If at first you don’t succeed . . .” The Trump administration is at it again. With their much-ballyhooed “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education” a fantastic flop and their campaign of intimidation generating growing resistance, they’re now trying a new tactic in their ongoing efforts to reshape higher education to accord…
BY HANK REICHMAN Today the AAUP released a major new report—”Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance”—prepared by a joint subcommittee of Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure and the Committee on College and University Governance exposing how the Trump administration has extended its pay-to-play approach to governance into higher…
BY HANK REICHMAN In a long-awaited ruling a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, on July 7 ruled that Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act” restricting how race and gender can be taught in colleges and universities violates the free speech rights of professors. As the AAUP’s Special Committee Report on…
BY HANK REICHMAN In a major victory for academic freedom and freedom of expression, on June 19 an arbitrator reversed San Jose State University’s despicable decision to dismiss a tenured full professor for her participation in pro-Palestinian protests, ordering her immediate reinstatement. The case of Professor of Justice Studies Sang Hea Kil has gained international attention. …
BY HANK REICHMAN The Andrei Sakharov Prize, awarded biennially by the American Physical Society (APS), “recognizes outstanding leadership and achievements of scientists in upholding human rights.” The Prize is named in honor of the late Soviet physicist and human rights activist Andrei Sakharov and endowed by contributions from friends of Sakharov. In March, the APS…
BY HANK REICHMAN Today, February 24, marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In a powerful extended essay, with striking visuals by Ukrainian photographer Mila Teshaieva, New York Times columnist M. Gessen reflects on the impact of the conflict, whose duration now matches that of the epic Soviet war with the Nazi…
BY HANK REICHMAN Yesterday (February 5), while some 200 people protested outside the campus, two recruiters for the US Border Patrol staffed a booth at a Brigham Young University career fair in Provo, Utah. Inside the event, The Salt Lake Tribune reports, “students flocked to the ballroom for the chance to talk with recruiters from…
BY HANK REICHMAN The appointment of Scott C. Beardsley, an inside candidate, as president of the University of Virginia has garnered more than its share of controversy, as Inside Higher Ed has reported here and here. The vacancy resulted from the departure of President James Ryan, who resigned under pressure as Virginia Board of Visitors…
BY HANK REICHMAN This week the AAUP released a report, In Defense of an Independent and Representative Faculty Voice: The Case of Faculty Senates, prepared by a subcommittee of the AAUP’s Committee on College and University Governance. I am a member of this committee and helped write the report, which demonstrates how recent state legislative actions…