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…

The Art of Avoiding Prosecution

BY MARTIN KICH Donald Trump keeps floating the fantasy that Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign will be derailed by her prosecution and possibly her imprisonment for using a private e-mail server while serving as Secretary of State. This fantasy is the current obsession on the Far Right, succeeding the one that dominated the first eight months…

Can an “Open Meeting” Be Held in Secret?

BY HANK REICHMAN Last Fall the AAUP issued a “Statement on Presidential Searches” decrying the growing practice “by governing boards to conduct searches for new presidents or chancellors in secret, abandoning the previously standard practice of inviting a select group of finalists to visit the campus and meet publicly with faculty and other members of…

WMU-AAUP on State Divestment From Higher Education

The following comments were delivered to the Western Michigan University (WMU) Board of Trustees on March 23 by WMU-AAUP President and AAUP national Council member Lisa Minnick.  They are reposted from the WMU-AAUP blog. One thing everyone in this room has in common is our shared investment in higher education as a public good. We…

Academic Freedom under Siege in Egypt

BY SAFEI ELDIN HAMED Guest blogger Safei Eldin Hamed is Chair of the Center for Egyptian American Relations (CEAR). CEAR is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization founded in 2013 and incorporated under the laws of the state of Maryland in accordance with Section 501(c)(3). It was established as an educational and charitable organization, and focuses on promoting and strengthening…

Fact-Finder Rules for CFA; Strike Looms

BY HANK REICHMAN Things just got a lot more difficult for California State University management and the system’s lugubrious Chancellor Tim White.  For months the California Faculty Association (CFA), an AAUP affiliate representing 26,000 faculty members in the 23-campus system, has been saying that CSU teachers are long overdue and highly deserving of a 5%…

Walker’s Wisconsin

Writing for WiscNews, Nicco Savidge attempts to provide an overview and a gauge of “the Extent of Scott Walker’s Impact on UW.” Here is the opening section of Savidge’s article: “Gov. Scott Walker has had a bigger impact on Wisconsin’s public universities than any governor in decades, and he is among the most aggressive governors…

How Data Can Help Shape Higher Education Policy

BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Much of the discussion about how to fix the broken higher education business model sounds a little like conversation about how best to squeeze blood out of a turnip. Where can the cuts occur? What can be delayed? What new programs can produce revenue quickly? These are legitimate questions. They represent…

The Easter Bunny Has a “Glandular Problem”

For Easter, the New Yorker published an article by Jason Wilson titled “Eating the Easter Bunny.” The caption of the photo in the header functions as a sub-title: “A coveted ingredient in many global cuisines, rabbit meat has always been a hard sell among American diners.” Here are the first several paragraphs of the article:…