We Might Just as Well Run a Dead Guy

I posted this piece in early November 2012, and almost no one read it. It has remained, very decidedly, the least read post that I have ever made to this blog, and actually, it will likely remain so since reading this re-post will not alter the hit count on the original piece. It will remain…

CFHE Response to President Obama’s August 22, 2013 Plan for Higher Education

The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org/ ] is a loose association of the major faculty unions and faculty associations in the United States. These groups have come together several times each year to share information on issues affecting high education and to shape responses to those issues that emphasize the paramount importance…

Statement on the President’s Proposal for Performance Based Funding, by Rudy Fichtenbaum, President of AAUP

In an attempt to rein in rising tuition and skyrocketing debt President Obama has announced a plan for performance based funding for higher education. Under his plan colleges would be rated on affordability, graduation rates and earnings of graduates. While we applaud the President for raising concerns over rising tuition and student debt, concerns that…

“Just Say No”–Now

This guest post was written by Michael DeCesare, a Sociologist at Merrimack College. With the new academic year waiting around the corner, I’m reminded of a popular motto from the 1980s: “Just Say No.”  The story of the saying’s origin goes like this: At a meeting with schoolchildren in Oakland, then-First Lady Nancy Reagan was…

Can Reality Be an Oxymoron? (1)

Over the past six months or so, I have saved the following headlines. I think that they justify the title of this post. _______________ 1,000 California Foster Care Homes Match Sex Offender Addresses Are We Going to Become Allies of al-Qaeda “Bea Arthur Naked,” John Currin Painting, Auctioned for $1.8 Million Body Slamming Piglets to…