As the corporate university starves its adjuncts, graduate assistants and resists unionisation, there is always room for penthouse restoration and other lavish emoluments for the C.E.O. (the president). I found it noteworthy in the New York Times, that New York University would not reveal the salary of its incoming robber baronesque C.E.O. (president) Andrew Hamilton. His coronation will take…
December 10, 2015 Colleagues, The BGSU Administration and the BGSU Faculty Association are aware that several faculty members have been mentioned in communications by external groups regarding recent Ohio legislative measures. In addition, we are also aware of allegations that several faculty may have violated University policy regarding use of the BGSU email system. We…
I recently did a post on an Ohio gun group’s criticism of BGSU faculty and staff who contacted their legislators to oppose campus-carry legislation that has passed the Ohio House and is now being considered by the Ohio Senate: https://academeblog.org/2015/12/01/ohio-gun-group-castigates-bgsu-faculty-for-expressing-opposition-to-campus-carry-legislation/ In a very related story, the editor of the local newspaper, the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune,…
I recently re-posted a piece by Paul Garver on the detention of labor activists in China. Paul edits the Talking Union blog of the Democratic Socialists of America, and I included the re-post of his piece in a somewhat broader article on labor activism in China: https://academeblog.org/2015/12/10/supporting-the-emerging-chinese-labor-movement-on-international-human-rights-day/. That post was then re-posted on the Facebook…
This is an addendum to Aaron’s critique of Ranii Neutill’s piece on Salon, “Sixteen Years in Academia Made Me an A-Hole.” Before I was in graduate school and found a library job in the summer to supplement my grad-teaching stipend, I must have had 30 to 40 jobs–everything from being a dishwasher, a soda-jerk, and a…
One of the advantages of starting an academic career late in life is the understanding of the workplace and of people one brings into the new activities. One of the advantages, also, is that one is unlikely to have grandiose visions of a life in the ivied towers of a research institution. Unless one is…
On December 4, this announcement was sent out from Arne Duncan at the Department of Education: “If you’re like me, you probably dread an overdue notice, whether it’s for registering your car or returning a library book. For nearly a decade, our national K-12 education law has been overdue for revision, and parents, teachers and…
The “right-to-work” states are indicated in red, and the pro-labor states in white: Compare that map with this map indicating the state unemployment rates reported on December 18, 2015: In the Ohio House, legislation has been introduced to impose “right-to-work” restrictions on private-sector unions, with the primary argument for the measure being the…
A colleague of mine went on a public tirade this fall against the use of numbers of citations in decisions on tenure and promotion. Hers may have been an intentionally self-serving rant, but she has a point. The amount of attention a paper or book brings—or even its usefulness to other scholars—has little to do…
This week I had the honor and privilege to join more than 30 California community college faculty, students, staff, trustees and community allies attending a meeting of the National Advisory Commission for Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) in Alexandria, Virginia. NACIQI advises the U.S. Department of Education with regard to federal recognition of accrediting agencies…