Can Reality Be an Oxymoron? (3)

First several higher-ed items: Concordia U Public Safety Director Fired for Masturbating in Office No Phones, Please. This Is a Communications Class   Other Items: 1,900 Killed in Syria during Peace Talks 2nd Order Mistake Leads to Drive-Thru Shooting at Grand Rapids’ McDonald’s Ariana Grande Will Not Be Charged In Donut-Licking Incident Border Patrol in…

NACIQI: Where is the Faculty?

Last week I posted an item about a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) that considered whether the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) — which accredits two-year institutions in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific islands, 95% of which are in California — meets federal regulations for…

ASU’s Global Freshman Academy Is a Complete Bust. Is Anyone Actually Surprised?

Education Dive [http://www.educationdive.com/] is a very good source of news about innovations and initiatives in digital education, but it does have a very pronounced bias in favor of the pedagogical potential of digital technologies. Sometimes that bias leads to analyses that border on the absolutely ludicrous. Each item from Education Dive includes a bulletted summary…

The Humbug of Copyright

A couple of days ago, I discovered that ¿Cuánto te Asusta el Caos?: Política, Religión y Filosofía en la obra de Philip K. Dick is available in a new digital edition with a new cover. I’m happy to see it (though no one told me about it), and hope there will also be a new…

Universities, Penthouses and C.E.O. Venality

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…

Joint Statement by BGSU Administration and BGSU Faculty Association (AAUP Chapter) on Criticism by Buckeye Firearms Association

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…

Bowling Green Newspaper Editor Fired over Gun-Related Editorial

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,…

Updates on the Detention of Chinese Labor Activists

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…