Higher Education: Working Together to Imagine the Possible

For many who think and write about American higher education, the quality of the industry-wide conversation on how best to accommodate change seems increasingly defensive. It often appears that the strongest defense is a weak regurgitation of “look at me . . . look at me” rather than a deeper understanding of how pieces fit…

Cronyism and Conflicts of Interest, Addendum 1

This past week I posted about the impression of serious conflicts of interest in the personal relationships and financial dealings of Ohio Governor John Kasich, Ohio State President Emeritus Gordon Gee, and former JobsOhio director and venture capitalist Mark Kvame, as well as others in their circle. At the center of the current controversy is…

COCAL XI: The Way Forward

By Marcia Newfield This is the sixth in a series of Academe Blog guest posts arranged by the AAUP Committee on Contingency and the Profession in celebration of Campus Equity Week. For information on and resources for CEW, see the national website at http://www.campusequityweek.org/2013/.  COCAL XI will take place in New York City August 4–6,…

The Ted Cruz Crusade: Part 1, A Cause in Search of a Strategy—unless the Cause Was to Bring Ted Cruz to a Specific Kind of National Attention

The following piece was written by my former student and friend Mike Lamm. Mike is a reporter for the Decatur Daily Democrat. _________________________ A recent poll by NBC news and the Wall Street Journal confirmed what most of us already know; that despite a concerted effort by the GOP to cloud the facts, most Americans…

Almost No One Is Actually a Luddite Anymore

I have written a number of posts expressing great skepticism about MOOCs, the for-profit online universities, and, more broadly, the view that technology can be used to make education more affordable by simply replacing educators. In several responses to my posts and more often in references to my posts on other sites, I have been…