No Confidence at Marywood U.

Last week, Marywood University’s student newspaper reported that the faculty had taken votes of no confidence in the university’s president and its vice president of business affairs and treasurer. With 135 of the 182 eligible faculty voting, the percentages who expressed no confidence were 71 and 88, respectively. The vote, which took place online between…

What’s So Radical about Defending Public Education?

Being antagonistic to corporatization should not necessarily be conflated with being broadly antagonistic to corporations. Universities and corporations have long had mutually beneficial relationships that have caused relatively infrequent controversies. And, just to be clear, although some faculty with more progressive political values have been very skeptical of those relationships between their universities and corporate…

Op-Ed on Presidential Search at Miami University

The following op-ed titled, “AAUP: Miami U Making a Big Mistake,” was published several weeks ago in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The authors are Karen Dawisha and Keith Tuma, co-presidents of the Miami University chapter of AAUP, and John McNay, president of the AAUP’s Ohio Conference. _________________________ Last week, news emerged that the Miami University board…

Is the AAUP a Nakedly Partisan Left-Wing Group?

Jonathan Marks at Minding the Campus has denounced the AAUP, claiming that it “takes a sharp left turn.” Marks claims that the AAUP’s Centennial Declaration is “the most nakedly partisan document to emerge from the AAUP in recent memory.” Marks writes, “According to the Declaration, higher education faces one and only one enemy, corporations or business…

Akron-AAUP Circulates Faculty-Generated “State of the University”

The document offers a faculty perspective on the health and leadership of The University of Akron, as well as a vision for the future. Akron, OHIO – October 20, 2015 – As part of the Akron-AAUP organized event happening Tuesday, in conjunction with the ‘State of the University’ address, the Akron-AAUP has published and will…

U.S. Higher Education News from September 29, 2015

The board of trustees at the State College of Florida have voted to phase out continuing contracts for the college’s faculty. Those contracts have been available to faculty who have five years of seniority. Although the phasing out of such contracts seems consistent with Governor Rick Scott’s professed interest in restricting, if not eliminating, tenure…

BGSU Chapter President and Colleague Coordinate Presidential Poll in Ohio

At Bowling Green State University, Melissa Miller and David Jackson, both faculty members in the university’s department of political science, have worked with the university’s office of communications and contracted with Zogby Analytics to poll likely Ohio voters on their preferences among the presidential candidates of both parties. This poll is the first sponsored by…

The Rather Innocuous Introduction of a Bad Bill

Here is the “right to work” legislation introduced in the Ohio House this morning: HB 377 UNION DUES (Brinkman, T.) To prohibit any requirement that employees of private employers join or pay dues to any employee organization and to establish civil and criminal penalties against employers who violate that prohibition. En. 4119.01, 4119.02, 4119.04, 4119.05, 4119.06,…