Culling the Faculty… Part II

Yesterday, I posted without comment the text of a bill proposed by Iowa State Senator Mark Chelgren. The bill is so absurd that it had absolutely no chance of becoming law. I posted it to draw attention to the increasing legislative attacks on teachers throughout the country. I succeeded far beyond my expectations—over 3,000 Facebook…

Some Guarded Good News from Ohio—When Any Good News Is Certainly Worth Celebrating

This post is an elaboration on a message that was sent to the members of our chapter at Wright State University, which itself was collaboratively drafted and developed from a message distributed by the chapter leadership at the University of Cincinnati. (In these kinds of things, it is “collaboration” and “sharing,” not “plagiarism.”) We have…

2015 Jefferson Muzzle Awards

Since 1992 the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression at the University of Virginia has celebrated the birth and ideals of its namesake by calling attention each year to those who would censor free expression.  Announced on or near April 13—the anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson—the Jefferson Muzzles are awarded as…

N.L.R.B. Rules Worker Wrongly Fired for Uncivil, Expletive-Filled Speech

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that a worker using profanity on Facebook that criticised an employer cannot be used to fire the worker. The N.L.R.B. has jurisdiction over labour and union issues at private post-secondary institutions. It is possible that this ruling could have major academic freedom implications when civility is claimed as…

Salaita Update: American Jewish Committee Denied Amicus by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

The issue of naming John Doe donour defendants in Professor Steven Salaita’s lawsuit against the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was one of the more creative and interesting aspects of this case. Donour pressure has frequently been a fulcrum in suppressing academic freedom as institutions run for cover when controversy arises, and the corporate university…

Culling the Iowa Faculty

This proposed bill in the Iowa legislature reaches far past the abilities of my ‘word horde’: Senate File 64 – Introduced SENATE FILE 64 BY CHELGREN A BILL FOR An Act relating to the teaching effectiveness and employment of professors employed by institutions of higher learning under the control of the state board of regents.…

As the Rich Get Richer, What’s a ‘Poor’ College to Do?

Drawing upon a study by Moody’s Investors Service, Nick Anderson reported in the Washington Post last week that “the ten richest universities in America hold nearly a third of the total wealth, in cash and investments, amassed by about 500 public and private institutions. The 40 richest hold almost two-thirds of the total wealth.” He…

Stanley Fish’s Versions of Academic Freedom

Stanley Fish, Versions of Academic Freedom: From Professionalism to Revolution (University of Chicago, 2014) Reviewed by Steve Macek, North Central College Literary critic, law professor, one time New York Times columnist, former dean and noted public intellectual, Stanley Fish has made a name for himself as a wry commentator on college life and campus politics.…