BY HANK REICHMAN In April I was privileged to appear on a program on academic freedom at New York University with Matthew Hedges and his wife, Daniela Tejada, sponsored by NYU’s AAUP chapter. Hedges is a British scholar who was held in solitary confinement in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for almost six months after…
BY HANK REICHMAN On July 11 I had the privilege of being a guest on Bryan Alexander’s “Future Trends Forum,” an online discussion venue focused in part on higher education issues. If you aren’t familiar with the forum or Bryan’s excellent work, you should check it out here. My session, which lasts about an hour,…
BY AARON BARLOW “Can I let you know? Why must I hesitate?” –Reverend Gary Davis Though I like the resolution passed by the House of Representatives condemning Trump’s tweets, maybe there’s something to be said for hesitating, for delaying a bit. The Democrats, though they did the right thing, walked right into Trump’s trap. For…
BY GALEN LEONHARDY Guest Blogger Galen Leonhardy teaches English and humanities classes at Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois. On Sunday and Monday, President Trump, offered tweeted comments we need to contemplate. On Sunday, he pointed out that minority representatives he claimed were from foreign countries should return to the places from which they…
BY JOHN K. WILSON T.J. Martinson, a widely acclaimed novelist and author of The Reign of the Kingfisher, was hired in April as an Assistant Professor of English at Olivet Nazarene University, a Christian college in Illinois. And on June 28, Vice President Carol Summers informed Martinson that he will not be allowed to teach.…
BY HENNING SCHROEDER Woody Allen got it right, years before leadership seminars became the latest craze in higher education. In the 1971 movie Bananas his character Fielding Mellish goes on a rant after he gets dumped by his girlfriend, “Can you believe that? She says I’m not leader enough for her—who is she looking for,…
BY MARIAH QUINN In the face of a devastating 41 percent reduction in state funding imposed by the governor, Alaska AAUP members are mobilizing to save their public university system. In an open letter to state legislators, AAUP president Rudy Fichtenbaum and Abel Bult-Ito, president of United Academics of the University of Alaska (AAUP/AFT), urged…
BY AARON BARLOW There’s another way: We don’t need to be conforming to artificial numerical scales (based on testing, grades or whatever) or to universal “outcomes” for teaching in order to improve or pedagogy and remain vigorous. All we teachers need to do is turn to each other. We were hired based on a demonstrated…
BY THE GLOBAL FORUM ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM, INSTITUTIONAL AUTONOMY, AND THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY June 21, 2019 DECLARATION The Global Forum on Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy was held at Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg on 20 – 21 June 2019 and co-organized by the Council of Europe; the International Consortium…
BY JANE S. GABIN College Counselors responsible for steering high school students towards college might not realize it, but they are crucial allies of instructors at those colleges and universities. Counselors connect admissions representatives with prospective students by scheduling college fairs with tables or booths and information sessions with individual college representatives. They are busy…