Think Colleges are Liberal? The View from Shared Governance

BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Governance is sometimes a messy business. On the national political level, for example, the intersection of ideology, political posturing, and the demands and inflexibility of competing interests within the two political parties and between the branches of government has led to the deep dysfunction that angers voters. College Campuses are Generally…

Questions about One BoT Appointment Reflect Broader Issues

  The editor of the Toledo Blade just published an editorial titled “A Bauble for a Buddy,” questioning both the appropriateness and the efficacy of John Kasich’s appointment of Richard Ross, a former state school superintendent, to the Bowling Green State University board of trustees. The appointment needs to be approved by the State Senate,…

Akron-AAUP Response to Scarborough Resignation

  Some of you may have seen the item in the Chronicle of Higher Education on Scott Scarborough’s resignation as President of the university of Akron [http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/akrons-controversial-president-will-step-down-immediately/111739?cid=pm&utm]. That article includes the official statement released by the university’s Board of Trustees. A follow-up article, “U of Akron Chief’s Resignation Ends a Rocky Presidency,” is available at:…

Against monoculture.

BY JONATHAN REES Last week, the learning management system (LMS) at the University of California – Davis went down right before finals week. It didn’t take too long for the vendor to restore it, but this kind of message from the administration there, quoted by Phil Hill at the blog e-Literate, probably didn’t inspire very…

Seeking Diversity at Yale

BY HANK REICHMAN Last fall Yale University was one of the more prominent institutions where student demands for diversity and racial justice made headlines. I previously commented at some length on the Yale events in a November post, “Racism and Academic Freedom at Yale.”  In a second post a few months later I commented as…

UW Colleges Join "No Confidence" Movement

The Faculty Council of the University of Wisconsin Colleges — the 13-campus community college segment of the UW system — today became the latest UW faculty to vote “no confidence” in the administration of UW System President Ray Cross and the Board of Trustees.  The colleges join a growing bandwagon of colleagues at Madison, Milwaukee,…

More Nonsense Numbers from Gov. Walker

Add the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to the growing list of UW faculties that have approved resolutions of no-confidence in UW System President Ray Cross and the Board of Regents.  Previously, just before the Milwaukee faculty voted unanimously to approve the no-confidence resolution, Governor Scott Walker issued a press release chock full of cherry-picked and…