I’ve been re-reading parts of Richard Hofstadter’s Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, a book I love even where I disagree–looking yesterday at the chapter “The Fate of the Reformer.” What Hofstadter presents is an interesting contrast to the “reform” movements in education today, particularly when he is dealing with civil-service reform in the 1880s. The government reformers…
More than four months after Northeastern Illinois University shut down the student-run radio station WZRD and banned the students from broadcasting, the lockout continues. On November 6, acting director of Student Leadership Development Veronica Rodriguez wrote a memo announcing her decision about the fate of WZRD. Rodriguez declared that WZRD could be restored to an…
Erica Goldberg, a Visiting Assistant Professor at Penn State Law School, has started a new blog about liberty and legal issues. She and I engaged in a back-and-forth discussion in the comments on her first post about the meaning of liberty and its application to restrictive student organizations. And I wanted to let everyone know…
Wayne Lanter retired from Southwestern Illinois College and wrote a book about his 25 years of experience with union battles at one of the most important sites of faculty labor activism. Lanter’s book, Defending the Citadel, details the ups and downs of these labor fights. John K. Wilson interviewed Lanter via email for Academe Blog…
Cary Nelson recently ended a six-year stint as president of the AAUP, and while in the office, he made a priority of media outreach. In “Media Matters,” Nelson’s article in the newest issue of Academe, he gives readers tips on successfully getting the AAUP name and viewpoint into the news and into public awareness. It’s…
Rand Paul has a new video online that is being distributed by the National Review. He asks viewers to sign a petition and make contributions in support of national “right to work” legislation. The video emphasizes three points about “Big Labor’s power of forced unionism”: It has crippled America’s competitive edge. It has forced countless…
This is a guest post by Zachary Schrag, a professor of history at George Mason University. He was a member of the subcommittee which released the report discussed below. Professor Schrag also maintains the Institutional Review Blog. A subcommittee of the Association’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure has released a new report, Regulation of Research on…