The “New Normal” Isn’t Normal

The following essay by University of California at Santa Barbara English professor Christopher Newfield appeared originally on the Remaking the University blog and is republished with permission.  Although the three institutions discussed are from the San Francisco Bay Area, the issues addressed are ones we faculty members are confronting everywhere.  The New Normal Isn’t Normal–It…

“You get raises?”

BY JONATHAN REES Last week, I went to a meeting with our system’s Chancellor, Tony Frank, who is also the President of the Colorado State System’s flagship campus, CSU-Fort Collins. I was sitting in on a Faculty Senate meeting with no planned agenda except to ask Frank questions.  Nonetheless, almost every single question was something…

Illinois Governor Turns Back on the Needy and Higher Education

BY PETER N. KIRSTEIN Right-wing ideologue, Governor Bruce Rauner, has indeed demonstrated his disdain for the vulnerable and marginalised working class of Illinois. A bright, luminous red-state reactionary in blue-state, pro-union, pro-labour Illinois, he has vetoed a bill that would have given $721,000,000 to help fund higher education for income-challenged students. The Illinois General Assembly, which marked…

As Illinois Becomes Louisiana

BY MARTIN KICH Governor Bruce Rauner is doing Scott Walker one better and turning Illinois into Bobby Jindal’s Louisiana without even pausing along the way to replicate what Walker has done in Wisconsin. What is occurring in all of these states is also occurring in Kansas, in Maine, and in a slew of states in…

“They Are Using My Video As an Excuse”

BY HANK REICHMAN The student videojournalist who was threatened by professor Melissa Click, leading to a municipal assault charge, said Friday that he wants state lawmakers to stop using the incident to justify budget cuts for the University of Missouri (UM), according to a report in the Columbia Tribune.  Mark Schierbecker’s video of Click —…

More on the Proposed California Higher Ed Budget

Yesterday I posted a piece on California Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed budget, with specific reference to higher education.  Today UCLA History professor Michael Meranze posted his response to the Brown proposal on the Remaking the University blog that he runs with UC Santa Barbara English professor Christopher Newfield.  Michael’s take is similar to mine, but…

Back to School in Higher Ed: Who Needs Faculty

This past fall, I somehow failed to post this notice on the most recent working paper published by the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education (CFHE). The CFHE website is located at http://futureofhighered.org/ _________________________ Executive Summary Although 50 years of research has shown that faculty/student interaction is crucial to student success, recent trends and…