Coronavirus

Putting the Scope of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Perspective

BY MARTIN KICH Despite the considerable efforts to personalize the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, the politicization of the pandemic has resulted in endless arguments over what all sorts of moving numbers mean. I think that putting the current numbers in some broader perspective could help to show why much of the other noise about…

Donald Trump’s Incredible Attack on Free Speech

BY JOHN K. WILSON Today, Donald Trump tweeted: “Too many Universities and School Systems are about Radical Left Indoctrination, not Education. Therefore, I am telling the Treasury Department to re-examine their Tax-Exempt Status…and/or Funding, which will be taken away if this Propaganda or Act Against Public Policy continues. Our children must be Educated, not Indoctrinated!”…

University gate

Ending Institutional Racism in Higher Education

BY MICHAEL A. DOVER Recently Danielle Smith, executive director of the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, asked, “If you only have fifteen minutes to talk to a brand-new-to-the-topic mostly wealthy, white audience about racism/white supremacy culture and how this plays out in the organizations they lead . . . what would…

The Indoctrination of Jonathan Zimmerman

BY JOHN K. WILSON Jonathan Zimmerman has an essay today attacking the 1619 Project, and since InsideHigherEd has eliminated comments on its articles, I wanted to discuss it here. Zimmerman is obviously right when he writes that “we must also avoid imposing a singular interpretation or ideology that will prevent — not promote — a…

Fairfield U #blackstagsmatter campaign

Fairfield University FWC/AAUP Says Black Stags Matter

BY THE FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY FACULTY WELFARE COMMITTEE/AAUP Alumni at Fairfield University organized around the hashtag #BlackStagsMatter after two statements from university administration in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and Juneteenth did not directly address the need for concrete changes or the Black Lives Matter movement. Many of the alumni had been involved…

Empty lecture hall

Principles of Academic Governance during the COVID-19 Pandemic

BY THE COMMITTEE ON COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE The AAUP released today the following statement by the AAUP’s Committee on College and University Governance. In response to growing concern over unilateral actions taken by governing boards and administrations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee on College and University Governance affirms that the fundamental principles and…