The May–June issue of Academe starts out with Clark G. Ross’s discussion of tenure. We think we all know what the concept of “tenure” means, but, in light of recent challenges to tenure, we need to make sure that we do. Ross begins his article by taking a look back at the historical origins of…
In what passes for “business” these days, institutions of any sort become potential cash cows for those at the top, structures allowing extraction of wealth while providing a minimum in return. Until, say, twenty years ago, educational entities were somewhat exempt, operating on a slightly different paradigm. Their mission was not to enrich those at the…
In a news story about the move by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina System toward deleting 46 degree programs, Steven Long, one of the members of the Board, is quoted as saying, “We’re capitalists, and we have to look at what the demand is, and we have to respond to the…
This is what Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley said on the Senate floor on the proposed TransPacific Partnership: “We are creating a structure of a group of seven very poor nations with very low wages, five affluent nations with higher wages, and think about the difference between running an operation in Malaysia or Mexico, with a…
So how will the Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP, impact higher education? The truth is that the details of the trade deal have been shrouded in such secrecy that we simply don’t know. But if you would like to get some idea of what might be involved, you should take a look at a series…
The Conversation is an Australian website that seeks to synthesize academic and journalistic inquiry in order to provide very thoughtful commentary of Australian and international issues. Its mission statement includes the following principles: to inform public debate with knowledge-based journalism that is responsible, ethical and supported by evidence; to unlock the knowledge of researchers and academics to…
In a recent post to her blog, Diane Ravitch has reported on the ongoing effort to unionize the teachers in Detroit’s charter schools. At five of those schools, the AFT has held successful unionization campaigns. But when they attempted to organize the teachers at the seven University Prep Schools managed by Detroit 90/90, the school…
This is another guest post from Victoria Scott, an art historian. _________________________ I moved from Vancouver, Canada, via St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Binghamton, New York, population 47,376, to begin doctoral studies in art history at SUNY Binghamton August 8, 2001. I had been accepted at Cambridge and the Courtauld, but only Binghamton had offered funding:…
This is a guest post by Victoria Scott, an art historian with considerable experience as an adjunct faculty member. _________________________ Dimidium facti qui coepit habet: sapere aude, incipe. (Half done, she who hath begun: Dare to be wise, begin.) Horace, First Book of Epistles The two biggest obstacles to organizing scholars—graduate students, adjuncts, and…
Replace “technologies” with “reforms” and “economic” with “educational,” in Paul Krugman’s New York Times column today and he could be writing about our schools and colleges. He claims, “the whole digital era, spanning more than four decades, is looking like a disappointment. New technologies have yielded great headlines, but modest economic results. Why?” He goes…