ASCSU Resolution on Presidential Searches

The following resolution was approved unanimously by the Academic Senate, California State University (ASCSU) at its November 6 plenary meeting in Long Beach, California.  On November 3, the AAUP issued its own Statement on Presidential Searches.  ACADEMIC SENATE OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AS-3234-15/EX November 4-5, 2015 PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH PROCESS IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY…

Asking for a Friend: Is it Me or is it My Campus?

Photo: Stephen Kuusisto walking in academic convocation at Syracuse University with his guide dog Nira By Stephen Kuusisto I’m borrowing my title from Liza Featherstone’s new advice column in The Nation which is entitled: “Asking for a Friend: Is It Me or is it Capitalism?” Oh the sang froid of self help! One scarcely knows…

Workers' Control in Academia.

I was a labor historian earlier in my career. Sadly, I hardly ever get to teach that subject anymore because the class never fills. However, the lessons that most of the best labor historians I read during graduate school described in their work have never left me. Indeed, they seem more relevant to my own…

Disability, and It's a Long Way to Tipperary

By Stephen Kuusisto   “Well what do you want?” asks the ableist. “We have to weigh your request for assistance against all the other non-disabled people’s requests.” The ableist is in her forties, young enough to know better, was educated at a university, must have come into contact with feminism. Surely knows about equality. That’s…

Ohio, the (Congestive) Heart (Failure) of It All

Last night on The Nightly Show, Larry Wilmore reported on Ohio’s rejection of a ballot issue that would have legalized marijuana. Focusing on Ohio’s electoral importance as a presidential swing state, Wilmore described Ohio as “America’s designated driver” and suggested that, instead of indulging with weed, Ohioans prefer to engage in the state’s favorite recreational…

Former Adjunct Faculty Member Banned from Adams State University Campus in Colorado: Part 2

Here is the e-mail from the Chief of the Campus Police at Adams State University to the campus community: From: Adams State University Police Department <pgrohowski@adams.edu> Date: Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 8:05 AM Subject: Message from Chief Grohowski Open letter to campus staff, students and faculty, I want to take this opportunity to bring…

Marilynne Robinson Calls for Education not Training

Marilynne Robinson is best known for her award-winning fiction. All four of her novels have won major literary awards. Her second novel, Gilead, won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. The New York Review of Books recently published a two-part “conversation” between Robinson and President Barack Obama, a big fan of her work. In the 2015…