The new issue of the Journal of Academic Freedom was released yesterday, including Cary Nelson’s much-anticipated essay. As an argument for firing Salaita, Nelson’s essay is a complete failure. Robert Warrior writes a response, but it’s unnecessary because nothing Nelson writes provides any evidence to justify Salaita’s dismissal. The bulk of the essay is devoted…
Anderson, Nick. “At UCF, Bigger Is Better.” Washington Post 21 Sep. 2015: A, 1. ORLANDO – A small state school launched here in the 1960s to develop employees for the space program has morphed into one of the nation’s largest universities, using accessible admission policies and online instruction to fuel extraordinary growth in an…
In last week’s iteration of his syndicated column, Robert Reich takes on college rankings. After noting that the Obama administration has decided to give up on the idea of providing some sort of federal rankings to U.S. colleges and universities, Reich describes the most widely promoted college guide, that produced by U.S. News and World…
On September 17, the Washington Post’s daily Going Out Guide newsletter included as the lead story “Getting to Know D.C.’s College Towns.” When I followed the link to the story, it actually had a somewhat different headline—“Get Schooled on the D.C. Area’s Division I University Campuses.” Nonetheless, the opening paragraph had much the same slant…
The new volume of the AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom is out today! Below, guest editor Michael Bérubé describes the contents. You can read the complete editor’s introduction here.–Gwendolyn Bradley I’m pleased to announce that volume six of the AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom is being published today. Of its sixteen essays, eight discuss the case…
Kevin Carey, writing in The New York Times last July, said this of American colleges and universities: “These organizations are not coherent academic enterprises with consistent standards of classroom excellence. When it comes to exerting influence over teaching and learning, they’re Easter eggs. They barely exist.” This is humbug. It’s an attempt to channel the…
In a guest post below, an author of the essay “Civility and Academic Freedom,” which appears in the new volume of the AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom describes his involvement with the Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska and discusses the impetus for his essay: the Steven Salaita case.–Gwendolyn Bradley After Salaita: Keep Pushing for Academic Freedom!…
Here is what Scott Walker said in his exit speech: “The Bible is full of stories about people who are called to be leaders in unusual ways. Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive conservative message will rise to…
This from the Washington Post: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker suspended his presidential campaign today, effectively ending a once-promising GOP presidential bid that collapsed over the summer. “Walker, who tumbled from top-tier status amid tepid debate performances and other missteps, had pulled back from other early-voting states in favor of a heavy focus on Iowa, where…
In the September 17 issue of the New York Times, Manu Joseph argues that the Modi government has been “Protecting the Internet, but Depriving India’s Poor.” Joseph highlights the fact that about three out of four Indians have never accessed the Internet because they cannot afford to pay for an Internet connection—even though a very…