Public Intellectuals and the AAUP

This is a guest post by Ellen Schrecker, a professor of history emerita at Yeshiva University. She also is a former editor of Academe and served on the AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure. Her article, “One Historian’s Perspective on Academic Freedom and the AAUP,” is in the January-February issue of Academe. Since I no longer edit…

Broader Economic Trends and Student Debt

There are many signs that the slow economic recovery may finally be picking up some steam. Economists are forecasting 4% growth for 2014. Both the official and the actual unemployment numbers have been declining, albeit very incrementally, month after month and are finally approaching levels that could be impacted meaningfully by targeted jobs programs—if, of…

The Ten Most Popular Majors among Millionaires

Recently, the New Statesman ran a short piece on a study that tracked the majors of millionaires by the baccalaureate and graduate degrees that they have completed [http://www.newstatesman.com/business/2013/10/top-ten-university-degrees-taken-millionaires]. The ten most popular degrees among this select group were reported as follows: 1. Engineering 2. MBA 3. Economics 4. Law 5. Business Administration

More on the Corporatization of Big-Time College Football and Our Institutions

In yesterday’s post, I highlighted the disproportion between the revenues being generated by major college football programs and the value of the scholarships provided to the 85 players per team permitted to receive scholarships. If the compensation being received by the players seems disproportionately low, that being received by the coaches heading major programs seems…