As women’s history month draws to a close, it seems important to highlight this sort of list. To accompany Frank Rich’s essay on Carol, the Todd Haynes adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s classic lesbian novel, New York invited 28 people to share a specific piece of lesbian cultural history that moved them most. Here are their answers. Spring Fire by Vin…
BY ZACHARY R. WOOD Guest blogger Zachary R. Wood is a student at Williams College. Yesterday, Ferentz Lafargue wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, arguing that student objection to bringing speakers with offensive views to campus is a sign of strength. In the piece, Lafargue makes several points with which I concur: “Students whose families…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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%…
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…
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…