Tim Wolfe, president of the University of Missouri, resigned this morning under intense pressure. I’m still trying to figure out what Wolfe did wrong. The racism on campus seems no different from a thousand other campuses, or the rest of our society. The response of Wolfe to that racism, with indifference, platitudes, and apologies, also…
Nan Enstad, UW-Madison When I first arrived at UW Madison fourteen years ago, the renowned history professor emeritus (now deceased), Gerda Lerner, said to me in her thick, Austrian accent, “UW Madison is a world-class university. Into any field you venture, any new project you take on, you will find that there is a national…
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…
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…
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…
The following is the text of a statement issued on November 5 by the AAUP: On July 20, the AAUP and AFT‐Wisconsin released a joint statement condemning the attacks on tenure and shared governance in higher education that the Wisconsin Legislature included in its annual budget and in Act 55, which Governor Scott Walker signed…
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…
The following essay by Christopher Newfield, Professor of Literature and American Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, is reposted with permission from Chris’s and Michael Meranze’s Remaking the University blog. We’re many years now into the New Normal for public universities. We’ve known for a while that this means permanent budgetary austerity.…
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…
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…