The following is an open letter from Professor Nancy Kendall to members of the University of Wisconsin at Madison Faculty Senate, which met today to consider a proposed new tenure and layoff policy in the wake of the passage in July of the infamous Act 55 removing tenure and shared governance protections from statute. In…
First Item: Nation of Change has published a very succinct overview of the Koch family’s various foundations, an article that includes links to further and fuller information on each of the entities. Written by Dave Levinthal of the Center for Public Integrity, the article is available at: http://www.nationofchange.org/2015/10/31/the-koch-brothers-foundation-network-explained/. Second Item: A website called Inspiration…
Dr. Kevin L. Cope — professor of English at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; chair of the LSU Faculty Senate; and member of the AAUP’s national Council — has received the inaugural Outstanding Service to Higher Education award from the Association of Louisiana Faculty Senates (ALFS), who also named the annual award as the Kevin…
While a lengthy exposition of Marx is more appropriate for a “scholarly” venue, I have long believed the academic community’s nineteenth-century persecution of Marx, and one of his colleagues has not been sufficiently exposed. Would Marx and Bruno Bauer have benefited from an AAUP, that was formed thirty-two years after the former’s death in 1883? The AAUP would have probably…
In a piece published last week by Huffington Post, Laurie Jones and Wanda Evans-Brewer ask and answer that rhetorical question in promoting a new short film called Professors in Poverty. The last three paragraphs of the article are particularly strong: “The sub-contractor business model is becoming increasingly popular in our “shared economy” society. But is…
A crisis can end what you thought was ongoing. My husband and I moved to Wisconsin eleven years ago with our two young daughters, to take jobs teaching at UWM. We put down roots here. We made the kind of ‘family of choice’ you make when your family of origin lives thousands of miles away:…
Last week the Chronicle of Higher Education reported on the fundraising achievements of the top ten public and private colleges and universities in America The results are sobering and instructive. The top recipients of private donations are all major research universities with clear global brands, comprehensive university-sized scale, and well-established giving networks. Harvard University topped…
In a post published yesterday on this blog, Aaron Barlow replied to a Weekly Standard review, by Professor Jonathan Marks of Ursinus College, of Joerg Tiede’s recently published study of the founding of the AAUP, University Reform. But Aaron focused more on a New York Times column by Arthur Brooks so his discussion of Marks…
In a comment on a post of mine yesterday, Frederick Glaysher wrote, “Human experience is much deeper and profound than what the humanities has come to allow in our time, creating a disharmony that has deeply damaged itself and contemporary culture.” Indeed, many in humanities departments across American have created—or have allowed the creation of—an…
I think that Carbondale, Illinois, the home of Southern Illinois University, must have just about the most options for celebrating Halloween of any college town in the United States. If you want the full list of events related to the holiday, go to the events page on the website maintained by CarbondaleRocks.com: http://www.carbondalerocks.com/taxonomy/term/191. Even if…