Capps, Benjamin. The Trail to Ogallala. New York: Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1964. The Trail to Ogallala is Capps’s most acclaimed novel, receiving the Spur Award of Western Writers of America, for best western novel of 1964, the Levi Strauss Golden Saddleman Award, for best western writing of 1964, and a citation by National Association…
The ongoing media concentration on cases of domestic abuse perpetrated by NFL players against their spouses and children has, for the moment, pushed the issue of sexual assaults on our college campuses largely to the margins of our national attention. Our ability to solve problems seems to be diminishing in proportion to the ability—or willingness–of…
Christopher Kennedy, chair of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees has never responded to my request for him to debate me when I speak on Monday in Urbana (Sept. 22, 7pm, Allen Hall, 1005 W. Gregory), but he has spoken to the Chicago Tribune and now the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette about his decision. His interview…
Here we go again. And there’s more. Corinthian Colleges, after having dashed any academic hopes of its students, is now also accused of predatory lending. That the wake and fiasco continue should come as no surprise, as online education continues to be the equivalent of fast food in many instances–too convenient and advertised with the…
In a recent opinion piece by William J. Bennett in the Wall Street Journal, “The Conservative Case for a Common Core,” with an unfortunate double-entendre title that misfires, one statement makes good sense: “Nearly all Americans agree that to prepare a child for civic responsibility and competition in the modern economy, he or she must be…
This is a guest post by Simeon Dreyfuss, a contributor to the recent September-October issue of Academe. Dreyfuss is chair of interdisciplinary studies and president of the AAUP advocacy chapter at Marylhurst University. He also served for fifteen years as director of Marylhurst’s liberal arts core program. The best that might be said about the effect Marylhurst University’s new…
On September 17, 2011, three years ago today, protesters gathered in downtown Manhattan intending to Occupy Wall Street (OWS). They ended up in nearby Zucotti Park, where they remained until forcibly evicted by police two months later. The Wall Street action inspired similar Occupy movements in dozens of cities across the country, including on some…
This is a guest post by David Kociemba, a contributor to the recent September-October issue of Academe. Kociemba is the president of the Affiliated Faculty of Emerson College AAUP chapter and the chair of the AAUP’s Committee on Contingency and the Profession. Getting adjunct faculty organized for the first time feels like a daunting task—finding resources, dodging soul-sapping negativity…
The American Association of University Professors censured Northeastern Illinois University at its annual meeting this past June. The annual meeting launched the centennial celebration of the Association’s founding. The censure was an appropriate sanction for the tenure denial of John Boyle, a linguistics professor at the university, who has since moved on to another institution.…
This is a guest post by Miranda Merklein, a contributor to the recent September-October issue of Academe. Merklein is the acting president of the Santa Fe Community College-AAUP chapter, where she works as an adjunct professor. She also teaches at Northern New Mexico College. Follow her on Twitter @MirandaMerklein. The organizing drive really picked up over the…