Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 3

Record Corporate Profit Margins “One item that hasn’t gotten much attention lately is corporate profit margins, which are near record highs. Since the financial crisis, companies have been cutting operating costs, trimming debt, and increasing exposure overseas — all actions that have boosted margins. But as the bull market and economic recovery have aged, we have heard…

Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 4

Soaring CEO Compensation “America’s corporate leaders have recovered nicely since the recession. The average worker? Not so much. “The annual pay for CEOs soared 12.1% last year, the fastest increase since 2010 and up from a median increase of just 1.6% in 2013, according to an analysis by professional services firm Towers Watson & Co.…

Academic Freedom and Tenure: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The following is excerpted from the main AAUP website.  Please go there to see the report in its entirety: I. Introduction In the middle of summer 2014, Dr. Steven Salaita, associate professor of English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, having resigned his tenured position, was preparing to relocate to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he had more…

College Minority Recruiting

As the first numbers on the composition of incoming freshman classes trickle in next month, many colleges and universities take substantial credit for increasing their pool of minority enrollment. They link their claim to ambitious and noble goals usually expressed as a pillar of the college’s strategic plan. The higher education community is right to…

Higher Ed’s Version of the Revolving Door

One often hears complaints that legislators, especially at the federal level, court donations from powerful interests, introduce and seek to advance legislation that serves those interests, and then, when they leave office, continue to promote those interests as paid lobbyists. Although the monies involved might be somewhat smaller, depending on the state, the same thing…

President Obama’s Bucket List and Anger Translator

This is a transcript of President Obama’s remarks at last night’s White House Correspondents Dinner. _________________________ Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the White House Correspondents’ dinner. A night when Washington celebrates itself. Somebody’s got to do it. And welcome to the fourth quarter of my presidency. It’s true — that’s Michelle cheering. The fact is…