An “On the Issues” Post from the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org] _______________ The enormous ramifications—personal, national, social, and economic—of the college loan crisis are just now being widely and fully discussed. The consequences are serious for us all, whether or not we are paying back college loans for ourselves or our…
Although the number of administrators and of administrative staff, as well as the levels of administrative compensation, have continued to increase inexorably, those are hardly the only elements of administrative bloat. Paradoxically, although one would think that, at some point, there would be enough administrators to cover almost any administrative need, the “need” to contract…
Several months ago, I posted this brief item: Snarkiest Headline on the Torturously Slow Winding Down of the Afghanistan War I receive a number of e-mailed newsletters from political blogs, and this was the headline of the daily newsletter from HuffPost Hill: How Do You Ask a Drone to Be the Last Drone to Crash…
The Far-Right in North Carolina has received much national attention for passing blatantly anti-progressive legislation–most notably, more restrictive voting laws and dramatic reductions in funding for social safety-net programs. But, beyond the legislation that has generated the greatest controversy across the state and beyond, the Far Right legislature and governor—and the governor’s many appointees—have been…
Marquand, John P. Stopover Tokyo. Boston: Little, Brown, 1957. John P. Marquand was one of the most highly regarded social realists of his generation, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1938 for The Late George Appley. His novels were widely reviewed and widely read. But his reputation has faded somewhat over the past half-century, and he…
Like many of the “education reform” advocates, Campbell Brown is determined to put a benign face on what are persistent attacks on public education and on the public’s confidence in public education. The aim is not “reform” but the elimination of public education. The proponents of privatization have learned from the vilification of Michelle Rhee…
Mailer, Norman. Harlot’s Ghost. New York: Random, 1991. Mailer reportedly spent seven years writing this massive novel which treats the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency from the Berlin Airlift to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. What is more surprising than the book’s size is that, despite its size, it closes with the words…
SEIU has been pursuing a regional strategy to organize adjunct faculty in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. The campaign is called Adjunct Action. Thus far, the results have been mixed. In mid-June, adjunct faculty at Hamline University became the first adjuncts in Minnesota to form a collective bargaining unit, voting to unionize by a 72%-28%…
In an article titled “Outsourced in Michigan” written for Inside Higher Ed, Colleen Flaherty chronicles the movement among Michigan’s community colleges to outsource the hiring of adjunct faculty and the management of related “payroll duties” to a corporation called EDUStaff. EDUStaff had previously specialized in providing substitute teachers for K-12 systems. So, if you have…
In response to a complaint by a parent, Ohio State University launched a two-month investigation of its nationally renowned marching band. That investigation led to the firing of band director, Jonathan Waters. Waters had served as band director since October 2012, but he had been an assistant band director for a decade previous to that.…