A Century of Change

BY AAUP STAFF In the January–February 2015 Academe issue, Ann H. Franke provides an overview of the AAUP’s century-long role in upholding and protecting the principles of academic freedom and tenure. In her article, “A Century of Change,” Franke offers her thoughts about “how things have been going and where they may be headed with that…

Ten Decades of AAUP Investigations

BY AAUP STAFF In the January–February 2015 Academe issue, Jordan E. Kurland—the AAUP’s associate general secretary—reflects on ten important AAUP investigations, one from each decade the association’s history. From the 1915 report of an investigation at the University of Utah to the 2007 report on Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans Universities, Kurland, an AAUP staff…

The academic equivalent of a corporate campaign.

Does your university have troubles? At the risk of turning this post into the academic equivalent of Monty Python’s “Four Yorkshiremen” sketch, your school probably has nothing on Northern New Mexico College. The situation there has come up before on this blog, and to summarize let’s just say their administration hasn’t exactly covered itself in…

The Je Suis Charlie Movement Ends Wednesday

Michael Katims is a screenwriter and translator. Sunday morning I went to the supermarket around the corner from my apartment in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, where I have lived for the past 18 years. Near the turnstiles at the entrance, and at every checkout register, were signs saying “JE SUIS CHARLIE”. Printed in white…

Private Colleges and the White Middle Class

In a recent blog in the Washington Post, Max Ehrenfreund suggests that private colleges are a waste of money for white, middle class kids. He asks: “Is it worth unloading your life’s savings or having your child take on tens of thousands of dollars in student loans?” Mr. Ehrenfreund notes the disparity in the average…

Let’s Hope That This Isn’t the Higher Ed Version of the NAFTA

When the North American Free Trade Agreement was formally initiated, its advocates predicted an economic boom that would benefit everyone, while its detractors warned that it would be a disaster for American workers and the natural environment. Predictably, neither side seems to have been completely right. NAFTA has resulted in the largest trading bloc in…

The Pie Is Getting Bigger . . . American Workers Helped Bake It . . . But Most of Them Aren't Getting a Bigger Slice

Remarks By  U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, AFL-CIO National Summit on Raising Wages, Washington, D.C., January 7, 2015 [as prepared for delivery] Good morning brothers and sisters! MaryBe, thank you so much for that generous introduction—and more importantly for your great work and leadership in North Carolina. Thank you, Rich Trumka, for this…