Friedrichs Deadlock Announced

Today the Supreme Court announced the expected impasse on Friedrichs vs California Teachers Association: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was unable to resolve a major challenge to organized labor, and the result was a defeat for a group of California teachers who claim their free speech rights are violated when they are forced…

“Nickel and Dime” Data Breaches

Writing for the Pantagraph, Lenore Sobota reports: “Thirteen faculty and staff members at Illinois State University were the apparent victims of an information breach that allowed someone to divert their direct-deposit payroll payments to another account, according to university officials.” So, as if the furloughs caused by Illinois’ budget impasse and the further austerity that…

Refocusing on the “Pure, Sober” Rapes

BY MARTIN KICH Myra Crownover, R-Denton, said during a House Committee on Higher Education discussion on college sexual assault: “I was listening for mention of drug or alcohol abuse and, you know, I think those two conversations are so intertwined. I would be curious to see how many times a pure, sober sexual assault happened.…

ACLU Files Suit on Behalf of Danny Ledonne

DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado filed suit this morning on behalf of Danny Ledonne, a former professor who was banned by school officials from the Adams State University campus in Alamosa, CO after he created a website criticizing various university administration practices. From May 2011 to June 2015, Ledonne taught in the Mass Communications…

U of Chicago Faculty Member Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Resigns

BY MARTIN KICH Writing for New York magazine Jessica Roy reports on the resignation, under threat of termination, of Jason Lieb, a molecular biologist at the University of Chicago. Lieb had been accused of making “unwelcome sexual advances to multiple female grad students,” most notably at an “off-campus retreat,” and of engaging “in sexual activity…

Lawsuit Filed in Teresa Buchanan Case

BY HENRY REICHMAN Teresa Buchanan, the Louisiana State University (LSU) education professor terminated over strong objections from a faculty review committee and the Faculty Senate, last week filed a federal First Amendment lawsuit against the  president of LSU and other top administrators for violating her free speech and due process rights by firing her last…

Florida State Settles with Jameis Winston’s Accuser

BY MARTIN KICH Trying to find and provide any sort of coherent explanation for how all of the threads of this story can be concurrently accurate would be like trying to pull apart a 500-pound ball of scotch tape: “Florida State University has settled a lawsuit filed by Erica Kinsman, the woman who accused Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston of rape back in…