round stone seal of the University of North Carolina, bearing an image of a shield flanked by two torches and the words LUX and LIBERTAS divided by a diagonal line, with a brick background

A Telling Blame Game at UNC

BY JAY M. SMITH Last summer UNC–Chapel Hill became ground zero for COVID-19, setting off a prolonged exercise in blame-shifting. The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences recently convened an emergency meeting of department chairs at which she announced the provost’s “disappointment” in the faculty. Specifically, university administrators are disappointed that so many…

Another Pandemic Danger—Union Busting

BY A SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY FACULTY MEMBER In the face of challenging and even perilous working conditions, teachers at all levels need unions to help protect them during the pandemic. However, one university in Florida used the pandemic as an opportunity for union busting. The story of the unilateral disenfranchisement of faculty members at Saint…

Response to Julia Reuben

BY HANK REICHMAN No sooner had I posted my piece on Scott Atlas, Stanford, and the Hoover Institution than I received from a colleague a link to an essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education, “Where Academic Freedom Ends,” by Harvard education professor Julia A. Reuben, also prompted, it seems, at least in part by…

Perspective: Retrenchment Has Been Suffocating My Voice, But I Won’t Let It

BY GRETCHEN MCNAMARA Wright State University plans to begin the retrenchment process that will result in workforce reductions. Elevate Dayton is publishing the perspectives of students, faculty, alumni and other Wright State community members that could be affected by the changes. Gretchen McNamara, a senior lecturer of music and union executive committee member, explores her torn feelings…

Blog Survey Seeks Reader Feedback

BY ACADEME BLOG Will you help us by completing this short survey about Academe Blog? Since 2011, the AAUP’s Academe Blog has provided a forum for faculty perspectives on higher education. As an extension of Academe magazine, the blog features timely news and commentary on the issues that matter most to AAUP members and a broader…

University of Toronto Facing Censure Over Hiring Scandal

BY DAVID ROBINSON David Robinson is executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). One of Canada’s preeminent universities could be facing a rare censure by the Canadian Association of University Teachers over accusations the administration caved to outside pressure when it cancelled the appointment of an academic administrator. According to a report…

Professor Lubet’s Email Problem and Ours

BY STEVEN LUBET It probably should have occurred to me sooner that my university filters outgoing email for various terms of service violations such as catfishing and pornography. Never could I have imagined, however, that a third-party vendor had been empowered to “quarantine” outgoing faculty email based on its content, without ever informing the sender.…