BY ROBERT A. SCOTT The average tenure of college and university presidents has declined from 8.5 years in 2006 to 6.5 years in 2016. The average, of course, masks the longer length of service of those appointed earlier with those appointed more recently, who often face shortened terms. If boards do not manage the transition…
BY BETHANY LETIECQ, TIM GIBSON, AND BETSY DEMULDER This is the first in a series of three George Mason-AAUP Academe Blog posts on lessons learned from the presidential search campaign. Presidential searches conducted at public universities have become secretive processes that exclude most if not all forms of public vetting and engagement. Historically, finalists for…
BY RUDY FICHTENBAUM AAUP president Rudy Fichtenbaum issued the following statement today on the coronavirus (COVID-19). As we are learning, COVID-19 (the coronavirus) has the potential to present a serious challenge to the health and safety of our campus communities. At this time, campuses in Washington State, New York State, California, Nebraska, and elsewhere have…
BY AARON BARLOW “All of my professors are talking about this,” commented the student, “but we’ve heard nothing from the administration.” Across the country, classroom teachers are hearing similar words as they prepare with their students for possible shut-downs sparked by COVID-19 (coronavirus) fears. We’re all doing what we can—which is a lot—with the limited…
BY 36 COMMUNITY COLLEGE SUPPORTERS In December 2017, as the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) system office was preparing its “Students First” consolidation plan, the system’s Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) presented an extended critique of the proposal. It was not supportive, recommended other paths, and contained the following warning: “We believe that there is…
BY MICHAEL SCHWALBE The higher education news from China late last year was chilling to all who value academic freedom. Three major universities—Fudan, Nanjing, and Shaanxi Normal—under the direction of the government’s Ministry of Education, deleted “freedom of thought” from their charters and added pledges to follow Communist Party leadership, according to reports from Reuters.…
BY HANK REICHMAN In a sudden and unexpected move, Heather Hiles, president and CEO of Calbright College, California’s new online community college, has resigned after less than a year on the job. The college’s board voted unanimously yesterday to accept a separation agreement with Hiles, who will step down effective March 31 but be on…
BY ERIC SANDGREN The following was published as an op-ed column on December 27 in the Wisconsin State Journal and is reposted with permission. The original column may be found here. Eric Sandgren is Professor of Experimental Pathology at UW Madison and vice-president of the Wisconsin state conference of the AAUP. The next University of…
BY THE COMMITTEE ON COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE On November 1, following the announcement of current University of Wisconsin system president Ray Cross’s retirement, the president of the Board of Regents of the UW system appointed a nine-member presidential search committee. Breaking decades of institutional precedent, he did not include any faculty members on the…
For its next volume, scheduled for publication in fall 2020, the AAUP’s Journal of Academic Freedom seeks original, scholarly articles exploring the ways the myriad managerial techniques in use on campuses today affect academic freedom and democratic faculty governance. Actuarial concerns about liability result in decisions made beyond the purview of governance bodies and even campus administration. We seek submissions that contemplate professional life and practices of academic freedom in this context, as well as those engaged with the possibility of resistance to these new regimes.