My latest book, The Cult of Individualism: A History of an Enduring American Myth was published today by Praeger. It is a study of the backgrounds of the Red-State/Blue-State divide that so bedevils American politics. The idea for it arose from explorations into the history of my own family, which has roots (not to mention contemporary…
Cultural Representations of Higher Ed, No. 10 _________________________ Farran Mackenzie, a professor of history (created by Maggie Wheeler); Professor Malcolm (created by Tom Bradby); Sheila Malory, a professor of English (created by Hazel Holt); Harley Manners, a professor of psychology (created by Charles Judson Dutton); Maria Masterson, a professor of English (created by Sarah Dunant);…
This letter was sent by the Steering Committee of the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education to the leadership of the faculty bargaining unit at the City College of San Francisco after the regional accreditation agency announced that the college had not made sufficient progress toward correcting the deficiencies identified by the accreditation team…
(The opening meeting of the faculty union at CCSU was graced with the presence of University administrators, invited by AAUP officers, who provided them with a lavish lobster spread. Sadly, I was not present to bask in the glow of this company-union affection – but it has inspired me to make this poetic offering}: Colleagues…
Writing for Nation of Change, Rebecca Leber reports that, according to a new poll by Public Policy Polling, 29 percent of Louisiana Republicans place the primary blame for the government’s inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina on President Obama; 28 percent placed the primary blame on President Bush; and 44 percent have indicated that they are…
While New Faculty Majority appreciates the efforts of the Obama administration to address the critical problem of the skyrocketing cost of higher education and its effects, particularly on the students and faculty who are saddled with crippling student debt, we call on the administration to consider more carefully the full ramifications of the policies it…
An “On the Issues” post from the Campaign for the future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org] _________________________ We like to think experts who weigh in on the direction of American higher education are steeped in researchabout what works and have real-world experience with actual students. We like to assume that elected officials, who are accountable to…
Cultural Representations of Higher Ed, No. 9 ____________________ Gillian Adams, a professor of history (created by Nora Kelly); Tom Allen, a professor of English (created by Marion Boyd); Jack Amirau, a professor of science (created by Bob Reiss); John Ashwin, a professor of Sanskrit (created by Anthony Boucher); Carl Atwater, a professor of history (created…
Miracles. That’s what the American public has been conditioned, this last decade, to ask from educators. No matter the level, not matter the economic background, no matter the differences in abilities, no matter the preparation of the students, teachers are expected to vastly improve them in a short period of time. In my last post,…
An “On the Issues” Post from the Campaign for the future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org] _______________ A partnership between San Jose University and Udacity, a for-profit MOOC provider, to offer several MOOCs got off to a rousing start at a 45-minute news conference in January. People there included the governor of California, the president of…