The Political Divide in the Perception of Higher Ed

POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Here is a chart summarizing a recent Pew Research survey on how political ideology affects the perception of American institutions: The complete survey, including a link to a detailed breakdown of the results in PDF, can be found at: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/26/from-universities-to-churches-republicans-and-democrats-differ-in-views-of-major-institutions/ Education Dive has provided the following “highlights” of and “insights” about…

Not clickable: Congress Subcommittee Review of Tax-Exempt College University Endowments

Congress & the Myth of Big Endowments

BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL On September 13, a House subcommittee holds a hearing that, according to Janet Lorin in Bloomberg , “is set to look at how colleges, through their tax exempt endowments, are trying to reduce tuition.” The subcommittee hearing features testimony from policy experts and college officials. It’s an interesting time to examine college endowments. As Ms.…

Michigan—Like Ohio, But Somewhat Worse

POSTED BY MARTIN KICH The Michigan League for Public Policy has issued a report on the funding of public higher education in the state. The full report is available here: http://www.mlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Back-to-school_2016.pdf.   Writing for Michigan Live, Brian McVicar provides this summary of the report’s most salient findings: “Michigan has failed to adequately invest in higher…

“Saving Jobs” in Indiana while Losing Twice as Many Jobs

POSTED BY MARTIN KICH This is from CNN’s Politics Nightcap newsletter of August 29, written by Eric Bradner:   “Indiana’s Business Tax Breaks under Pence Scrutinized “Under Gov. Mike Pence, the Republican vice presidential nominee, Indiana companies are getting tax breaks even though they’re outsourcing jobs, the Indianapolis Star‘s Tony Cook reports. “How does this work? It’s complicated, but…

Not Just Students Are Leaving Illinois

POSTED BY MARTIN KICH In an article for Crain’s Chicago Business, Steven R. Strahler reports on the growing exodus of faculty from Illinois public universities and colleges. In some cases, the faculty have been forced to look for positions elsewhere after being furloughed in response to budget shortfalls. But in most instances, the faculty have…

UT Faculty Sue over Campus Carry

  The following is taken from an article by Benjamin Wermund written for the Houston Chronicle: “Jennifer Lynn Glass, Lisa Moore and Mia Carter want a federal judge to block a new Texas law that would allow people to carry concealed handguns throughout college campuses beginning August 1. They are suing Texas Attorney General Ken…

Sherrod Brown on Charter-School Waste

  The following letter was sent by Sherrod Brown to Secretary of Education John King. (I have omitted a half-dozen footnotes that cite the sources for the details that Senator Brown highlights.) The letter illustrates why Sherrod Brown is a very effective and widely respected progressive Senator in a “purple” state. _________________________ June 20, 2016…

Trump is a William McKinley Protectionist, Not a Bernie Sanders Populist

  This post was written by Bill Scher for the daily Progressive Breakfast newsletter of the Campaign for America’s Future [http://ourfuture.org/], which has become a driving force behind the New Populist Movement. The group’s report, Organizing to Take Back America: The New Populist Movement, is available at: http://y.ourfuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/New-Populist-Movement-Organizing.pdf. Prepared by Roger Hickey, the co-director of the Campaign…