University Endowments and Student Aid
In “OSU Fund Managers Pig Out: Scholarships Not Awarded to Students,” an article published by the Columbus Free Press, John Lasker has focused on Ohio State University’s growing endowment and on the degree to which those assets are benefitting the students who attend the university. Here are some of the relevant facts, culled from Lasker’s…
University of Phoenix Loses Military Students
Earlier this month, Business Insider reported that Apollo Education Group, the for-profit education company that operates the University of Phoenix, “is getting destroyed” on the stock market. Dawn Bilodeau, Chief of the Defense Department’s Voluntary Education Program, had released the following statement: “The institution will not be authorized access to DoD installations for the purposes…
Politicized Secret Appointments Fuel Bogus Financial "Crises"
Recently we’ve seen a growing amount of attention paid to secret searches for university presidents and the appointment as a consequence of such searches of non-educators who may push a corporatizing agenda, including at the University of Iowa, Miami University, and the University of North Carolina. Last week David A. Sanders, Associate Professor of Biological…
What’s So Radical about Defending Public Education?
Being antagonistic to corporatization should not necessarily be conflated with being broadly antagonistic to corporations. Universities and corporations have long had mutually beneficial relationships that have caused relatively infrequent controversies. And, just to be clear, although some faculty with more progressive political values have been very skeptical of those relationships between their universities and corporate…
Op-Ed on Presidential Search at Miami University
The following op-ed titled, “AAUP: Miami U Making a Big Mistake,” was published several weeks ago in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The authors are Karen Dawisha and Keith Tuma, co-presidents of the Miami University chapter of AAUP, and John McNay, president of the AAUP’s Ohio Conference. _________________________ Last week, news emerged that the Miami University board…
Akron-AAUP Circulates Faculty-Generated “State of the University”
The document offers a faculty perspective on the health and leadership of The University of Akron, as well as a vision for the future. Akron, OHIO – October 20, 2015 – As part of the Akron-AAUP organized event happening Tuesday, in conjunction with the ‘State of the University’ address, the Akron-AAUP has published and will…
Hundreds Confront Regents Over New University of Iowa President
The following is excerpted from an article by Vanessa Miller, published in the Iowa City Gazette and reposted on the blog of the University of Iowa AAUP chapter. About 500 protestors marched into the Board of Regents meeting on the University of Iowa campus Wednesday, holding signs and demanding that each member be dismissed, along…
Craigslist Ad Satirizes the Corporatization of the University of Akron
The ad was placed by someone who is obviously incensed by the increasing corporatization of the university that has been reflected in the decisions made, without faculty input, by President Scarborough’s administration. About two hours after it was posted, the ad was removed by the Craigslist administrators. I would like to note that…
A Model for Union Activism against Neoliberal Education Reforms—from Mexico
The following paragraphs are from an article Lois Meyer and Ricardo Rosa published by Truthout on October 15: “The weakening of the public sphere in US education, painful as it is, is minor compared to recent developments in Mexico. For nearly two years, tens of thousands of Mexican teachers have mobilized against so-called ‘education reforms,’…