Ulf Kirchdorfer’s post yesterday made me laugh out loud. But, as funny as his observations about persistently dismal writing are, that sort of writing itself is just terribly disheartening, especially when one is confronted with document after document that seem to suggest that it has become something close to pervasive. If I have a choice…
Testimony of John McNay, President of the Ohio Conference of AAUP, on House Bill 484, before the Ohio State Senate Finance Committee, on May 13, 2014 Chairman Oelslager, Ranking Member Sawyer, and distinguished members of the Senate Finance Committee: my name is John McNay and I am President of the Ohio Conference of the American…
I am writing this at the end of a work day, as if clearly-defined borders could be drawn between working and not working. For some time now I have hesitated to write about this topic, but I think it essential we begin a dialogue about it and also come up with some solutions to the…
At The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Presidents Institute this past January, the theme was Leading Wisely: Linking Tradition and Innovation. The conference “explored ways presidents can tackle today’s unprecedented leadership challenges with a mix of time-tested solutions and new approaches.” CIC’s focus on ways for leadership at small and mid-size liberal arts colleges to…
I will begin by quoting Florence Nightingale, (I heard the full quote at all three of our Nursing Pinning ceremonies over the past week and a half), “to stand still is to go back”. As we look at the strategies that different institutions are using to respond to the challenges that are facing small colleges…
Colleen Lye and James Vernon, co-chairs of the Faculty Association at the University of California, Berkeley, have a fantastic piece in today’s Chronicle of Higher Education on the threat posed to faculty intellectual property rights, academic freedom, and educational quality by university claims to copyright over faculty-created online course materials. “The Erosion of Faculty Rights”…
Our own Hank Reichman (click here to see a list of his posts) has contributed to a New York Times opinion section “Room for Debate” spread, “Tongue-Tied on Campus.” Not only is he an important contributor to this blog but Reichman is the AAUP’s first vice president and chairman of the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure. His most…
The Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club invited the Satanic Temple of New York City to conduct a Black Mass on the Harvard Campus. The announcement of the event prompted widespread opposition at Harvard and throughout the Boston metropolitan area. More than 60,000 Harvard faculty, staff, students, alumni, and “friends” signed an online petition asking that…
This weekend two studies on the compensation of university presidents appeared. The Chronicle of Higher Education released its annual report on “Executive Compensation at Public Colleges and Universities” and the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington D.C. think tank, released a report finding that student debt and low-wage contingent faculty labor are increasing faster at…
In response to news of the destruction of murals at Central CT State University, we have received dozens of letters from around the world. These messages speak to the value of our mural program and the incredible contribution that our students have made to this campus and the community beyond our walls. We should…