POSTED BY MARTIN KICH This post is an edited synthesis of two communications sent to the bargaining unit faculty members (BUFMs) at Wright State University about what we know about the reductions to the budgets of the administrative and the academic units at the university. The details will probably be of little interest to faculty…
BY HANK REICHMAN In a widely publicized letter to incoming freshmen this week, University of Chicago (UC) Dean of Students John Ellison offered a bold defense of academic freedom and freedom of expression, which included this sentence: Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called trigger warnings, we do not cancel…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL It’s August. For many families, it’s time to participate in a celebrated American ritual: moving a son or daughter to college. While thousands of parents and children bid each other farewell after moving belongings into a dorm room, the experience is acutely personal. Every child has a different and unique relationship…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Writing for Yahoo News, Jon Ward describes efforts to track the outsourcing of products sold by Donald Trump’s various companies: “Trump, like most celebrities who monetize their fame, does not always manage the day-to-day operations of the companies that make goods with his name on them, instead making licensing deals and…
BY PETER N. KIRSTEIN Five years ago my university, Saint Xavier, prevented the counting of adjunct ballots for the purpose of organizing collectively with the Illinois Education Association (I.E.A.). I testified before the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago. I was under subpoena and it was very intense. In the room were…
BY JOHN K. WILSON It’s praiseworthy that the University of Chicago has announced to its students a “commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression.” But there is a problem: in this announcement, the University actually calls for limiting freedom of expression, and University of Chicago policies also severely limit free inquiry and student rights. According…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH On Bloomberg’s With All Due Respect, hosted by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, they aired a video highlighting Donald Trump’s most frequently used words and phrases. Called The Trump ABCs, the video is available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/videos/2016-08-18/the-trump-abcs.
BY MARTIN KICH University Business has published an article that initially caught my eye because of its title–“A Pillar of the American Dream: Higher Education as a Public Good.” But what really caught my eye was the list of co-authors: Lloyd A. Jacobs is president emeritus and professor at the University of Toledo; Janine E.…
BY JOHN K. WILSON Today, Ann Coulter published her latest book, sure to be another best-seller: In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome. I know, the very stupid subtitle makes no sense, in Latin or English, because Coulter hates immigrants and thinks America is being destroyed by too much “pluribus.” Maybe her publisher thought “Unum…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Writing for the Reading Eagle, David Mekeel reports that Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF), the union representing the faculty of the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), has made little progress in its continuing efforts to negotiate a new contract. The previous…