In response to the “cartoon contest” in Garland, Texas, that provoked an attack by two “Muslim extremists,” the news media has not been able to avoid making parallels to the much more devastating attack on the editorial offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Most of those commentators have felt uneasy enough with the comparison that…
On May 5 at the PEN Literary Gala, the magazine Charlie Hebdo will be awarded the PEN/Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award. At least 204 PEN members have signed a letter objecting to the honor, complaining that Charlie Hebdo offended Muslims and therefore is unworthy of any award. The anti-Charlie Hebdo…
In higher education, the imposition of “civility codes” and the institutional appropriation of the intellectual property rights formerly assigned to faculty have both started to emerge as major issues. What most faculty may not be aware of, however, is that many corporations have already imposed versions of both of these things not just on their…
When state revenues dip, those groups funded in areas where state officials have the most discretion often suffer more than other state-funded groups. It’s expected. At the top of the list for many state officials is public higher education. Governors and their education staffs often use the occasion to demand efficiencies, warn against corresponding tuition…
We are entering another season of commencement addresses. Given the unrest in many African-American communities over this past year, as well as the financial challenges being face by many HBCUs, Michelle Obama’s 2014 commencement address at Dillard University seems as timely now as it did then—perhaps all the more so. _________________________ UNO Lakefront Arena New…
This is an excerpt from an article distributed by the Far-Right news service Newsmax: “Wages for the overwhelming majority of Americans have fallen below 1970s levels as the percentage of the population that is foreign-born has surged. “A memo from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), released in response to a request for data from the…
Another list courtesy of University Business:
In a post to this blog from several days ago, I linked same-sex marriage and the civil unrest in Baltimore. I knew that it was a stretch, but I was attempting to say that our society and our media are all too willing to look at the surfaces of issues and not at the underlying…
Consider what has occurred during an extended period of unprecedented growth in administrative positions and administrative staffing. Our administrations have employed consultants, usually at exorbitant cost, to provide professional guidance on almost every sort of initiative imaginable. Although no one can be have expertise in everything, it seems peculiar, at best, that any major initiative…