Earlier this month Harvard University announced a $400 million donation to its engineering college, as part of a $6.5 billion fundraising goal for its comprehensive campaign. Harvard’s endowment stands at $36 billion, with its total wealth estimated at $43 billion. Its endowment earned a 15 percent return on investment last year. Taken together with…
Dr Steven Salaita, denied academic freedom for his tweets on the Israeli operation in Gaza last year, has been the subject of a national conversation on free speech, academic freedom and academic due process. I was present during the vote and spoke on behalf of Illinois Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure that responded…
Reporting on comments by New Jersey governor Chris Christie in Iowa on Thursday, Casey Quinlan writes: “Christie said students shouldn’t expect to receive a degree that will significantly improve their earnings for nothing.” Christie also said: But it’s also the story of how our system is supposed to work – a system where we all…
At the end of an editorial in The New York Times on the Department of Education’s decision to forgive student loans owed to Corinthian Colleges, the Editorial Board wrote: Critics are already casting this as a windfall for former students. But it is important to remember that this loan money flowed to fraudulent institutions that…
Chancellor Rebecca Blank of the University of Wisconsin-Madison shared the following message by email with faculty on June 9 ahead of an emergency meeting of the Faculty Senate. The message was also posted on a web page maintained by the University and devoted to budget issues. As we prepare to meet, I want to again…
A colleague at San Diego State University recently sent the following email message to other CSU faculty members. I thought it worth sharing more broadly. June 6 marked the anniversary of President Kennedy’s 1963 Commencement Address at San Diego State University (then San Diego State College). During the Commencement exercises, JFK was awarded an honorary…
The following is the text of a statement released yesterday by Chancellor Rebecca Blank of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It is encouraging that the Chancellor pledges consistency with AAUP policies. It remains to be seen, however, whether or not Wisconsin politicians will permit that. Chancellor Blank’s reference to AAUP should remind us of the…
What follows is a letter sent today by 32 Instructors in the Writing Programs of Arizona State University (further information can be found at the asuagainst55 website): June 8, 2015 Dear Dr. Mark Lussier, English Department Chair, and Dr. George Justice, Dean of Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University: The…
Two thoughtful yet troubling articles, published within a week of each other, startled higher education leaders last week. In the great debate about which factors best explain the growing achievement gaps between rich and poor students, these studies reached important conclusions about the “drivers” contributing to the widening disparities. Isabel Sawhill, writing for the series…
Robert Reich’s website includes a series of short videos explaining Ten Ideas to Save the Economy. The videos are available at: http://robertreich.org/post/120107784670. The first seven of Reich’s ten ideas to make the economy work for the many and not the few include: 1. Increasing the minimum wage nationally. 2. Making work family-friendly. 3. Expanding Social Security. 4. Busting…