This essay originally appeared in Logos: a journal of modern society and culture. The first paragraph was edited to reflect subsequent revelations concerning the Association and the Great War. Howard Zinn died five years ago in 2010. The American Association of University Professors was founded 100 years ago in 1915 to defend academic freedom for professors…
The following is the text of my keynote address at “Hurdles on the Horizon: Governance & Student Success in the Connecticut State College & University System,” a conference organized by the Faculty Advisory Committee to the CSCU Board of Regents for Higher Education at Manchester Community College on April 10, 2015. Let me begin by…
The following is the text of a talk that I delivered on March 30, 2015 at Wright State University, in Dayton, Ohio, as part of the Spring Semester Centennial Speakers Series. The series celebrates the centennial of the AAUP and the contributions of all those who have served within leadership positions in the WSU AAUP…
Everyone seems to think that college is all about jobs. Even former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, in a column on his blog this past Sunday, “Why College Isn’t (and Shouldn’t Have to be) for Everyone,” writes, “all too often the jobs they land after graduating don’t pay enough to make the degree worthwhile.” That may…
If college campuses are to be safe spaces, the goal needs to be to make them safe for everyone—even faculty. With tenure reduced and enfeebled and secret investigations commonplace, I have seen seasoned professors tremble with fear. They feel unsafe and unsupported by administrators and staff and have seen how processes meant to protect can…
Writing under the pseudonym “Aurora Dagny,” a Canadian activist offers four pieces of advice for those working for any sort of cause: “Embrace humility…. Question yourself as fiercely as you question society.” “Treat people as individuals. For instance, don’t treat every person who belongs to an oppressed group as an authoritative mouthpiece of that group as…
The following is the text of a statement released earlier today by the American Association of University Professors on the denial of entry to the emirate of Abu Dhabi to NYU Professor Andrew Ross. Not long after the statement was issued, news arrived of another incident involving a faculty member in Abu Dhabi. According to…
Andrew Bacevich, political-science professor at Boston University, has posted a new essay, “Rationalizing Lunacy: The Intellectual as Servant of the State.” It’s a look back at the role of the public intellectual within the U.S. federal government since the time of the New Deal, focusing particularly on their impact on foreign policy, the Vietnam War in specific…
John McNay’s testimony was listed first in University Business’s daily overview of the most notable higher-ed news stories of the previous day The UB Daily item links to an article by Karen Farkus in the C leveland Plain Dealer. Here are the opening paragraphs in that article: “COLUMBUS, Ohio – College professors are taking a…