chart showing changes in faculty influence since the onset of the pandemic

Cause for Alarm and Hope in Governance Survey Data

BY THE AAUP DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH Today we issued a report on data from the first national survey about shared governance in two decades. It follows and complements our recently released Special Report: COVID-19 and Academic Governance, which is the report of an investigation into a number of instances in which governing boards and administrations opportunistically…

Political Correctness Is a Very Big Problem

BY JOHN K. WILSON A Yahoo/YouGov poll last week (May 24-26, 2021) showed a notable result: 39% of Americans think “political correctness” is “a very big problem,” far more than the 32% who say that Covid-19 is “a very big problem.” This was the response even though Covid-19 is still killing 3,500 Americans every week…

tear in thick brown paper reveals the word "governance" in block letters on a white background

Special Report on Crisis in Academic Governance

BY MICHAEL BÉRUBÉ AND MICHAEL DECESARE Today, we released the report of an investigation into the crisis in academic governance that has occurred in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigating committee, of which we are co-chairs, was charged with reaching findings on whether and to what extent there were departures at eight institutions…

Doane College's Gaylord Hall with grass and trees in the foreground

Austerity Pedagogy and Unilateral Leadership Decisions

BY MILES D. MAYER I recently spoke with students and colleagues at Doane University regarding failing leadership in higher education. After many spirited discussions, the conclusion was that in higher education, as in the corporate world, some leaders are taking advantage of the times, making decisions that would otherwise call for discussion and approval of…

person in mask holding vaccine vial in gloved hand

Questioning University Vaccine Mandates

BY PAUL A. DILLER Many universities throughout the United States are mandating COVID-19 vaccines for students, faculty, and staff. The pandemic and associated restrictions have battered many segments of society, and higher education has not been immune. Social distancing, online courses, mask wearing, and the cancellation of sports and activities significantly disrupted the campus experience;…

Tired mom sits at table (elbow rests on table with her face resting in her hand) with laptop and coffee cup as girl and boy run around behind her.

Overwhelmed Assistant Professors Need Humane Pandemic Policies

BY MARYBETH GASMAN All one has to do in order to understand the depth of anxiety felt by assistant professors on the tenure track is to spend an hour on Twitter following the hashtags #academictwitter or #academicchatter. Tenure-track faculty members are feeling uncertain, stressed, overworked, and frightened of the tenure process and its unforgiving inhumanity.…

man slumped over at dining room table, resting his face on his arms

Faculty Moral Distress about Pandemic Teaching

BY NATE HOLDREN Faculty members are exhausted. That’s no surprise given that we are overworked in a distressing world. I’ve begun to suspect there’s an additional factor in our exhaustion, which I call “moral distress,” and which administrators are worsening without realizing it.  Several commentators have talked about medical workers facing moral injury. That’s when…

man in suit holding finger

Pandemic Pivot Playbook, a Satire

BY KEVIN HOWLEY For G. K. Professors are anxious and burned out. They’ve been pivoting. They’ve been juggling work and child care. They’ve been worried—about Covid-19, the economy, social justice, the nation’s divisive political climate. —The Chronicle of Higher Education In all of my time as a campus administrator—granted it’s only been three weeks since…