Culling the Faculty… Part II

Yesterday, I posted without comment the text of a bill proposed by Iowa State Senator Mark Chelgren. The bill is so absurd that it had absolutely no chance of becoming law. I posted it to draw attention to the increasing legislative attacks on teachers throughout the country. I succeeded far beyond my expectations—over 3,000 Facebook…

Some Guarded Good News from Ohio—When Any Good News Is Certainly Worth Celebrating

This post is an elaboration on a message that was sent to the members of our chapter at Wright State University, which itself was collaboratively drafted and developed from a message distributed by the chapter leadership at the University of Cincinnati. (In these kinds of things, it is “collaboration” and “sharing,” not “plagiarism.”) We have…

2015 Jefferson Muzzle Awards

Since 1992 the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression at the University of Virginia has celebrated the birth and ideals of its namesake by calling attention each year to those who would censor free expression.  Announced on or near April 13—the anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson—the Jefferson Muzzles are awarded as…

Culling the Iowa Faculty

This proposed bill in the Iowa legislature reaches far past the abilities of my ‘word horde’: Senate File 64 – Introduced SENATE FILE 64 BY CHELGREN A BILL FOR An Act relating to the teaching effectiveness and employment of professors employed by institutions of higher learning under the control of the state board of regents.…

As the Rich Get Richer, What’s a ‘Poor’ College to Do?

Drawing upon a study by Moody’s Investors Service, Nick Anderson reported in the Washington Post last week that “the ten richest universities in America hold nearly a third of the total wealth, in cash and investments, amassed by about 500 public and private institutions. The 40 richest hold almost two-thirds of the total wealth.” He…

So You Want To Be an Administrator…

The administrative superstructure that characterizes American higher education is coming under increased scrutiny. Yet administrators keep multiplying anyway, as do the “managerial pathologies” that Benjamin Ginsburg vividly described in his recent book The Fall of the Faculty. It seems like a good time, then, for someone to try to provide guidance to the growing number of faculty who are…

Income Inequality–among Universities

Moody’s has just released a report indicating that just ten universities control over 30% of the total institutional wealth in higher education. The first number in brackets is the previous year’s total; so it is very clear that, here as elsewhere, the rich are now getting much richer one year to the next. The second…