BY THE AAUP TITLE IX SUBCOMMITTEE The AAUP released on May 15 a response, prepared by a subcommittee of Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure and the Committee on Gender and Sexuality in the Academic Profession, to new Title IX regulations. Below is an executive summary of the response. The full response is available…
BY Z. W. TAYLOR AND PATRICIA SOMERS With the rise of the #metoo movement, sexual harassment and sexual violence in all venues, including educational settings, have received increased scrutiny. Several troubling lawsuits have alleged either that college students were assaulted on campus—and that institutions did not exercise due diligence in Title IX reporting—or that students…
BY SARANNA THORNTON On September 7, 2017 Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, harshly criticized the “failed system” of policies promulgated in Dear Colleague Letters issued in 2011 and 2014. DeVos rightly noted that some colleges and universities have indelibly harmed survivors when their reports of sexual assault were “swept under the rug”. The Secretary rightly…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Writing for the New York Times, Anna Dubenko has gathered reactions from the Left, Right, and Center to Betsy DeVos’ proposal to revamp Title IX enforcement. From the Right David French in the National Review: “Our campuses are not exempt from the Constitution. There is no excuse for government-mandated kangaroo courts…
BY RUDY FICHTENBAUM This is a guest post by AAUP president Rudy Fichtenbaum, a professor of economics at Wright State University. In her speech at CPAC Secretary DeVos stated: “Now let me ask you: How many of you are college students? The fight against the education establishment extends to you too. The faculty, from adjunct…
BY LAURA MARKWARDT Yesterday, Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s education secretary nominee, submitted written answers to questions from the Senate Education Committee. As in her hearing, she avoided substantially answering questions. Senator Patty Murray says that DeVos’s answers are lacking and has called for a postponement of today’s scheduled committee vote. Senator Al Franken confirmed last week…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH The Network for Public Education [http://networkforpubliceducation.org/] has put together this Toolkit for Opposing Betsy DeVos’s nomination as Secretary of Education. Although the emphasis is on K-12 education, it seems very likely that DeVos will support the expansion of for-profit colleges and universities, the increased privatization of public colleges and universities, and…
BY CHRISTOPHER NEWFIELD The following piece is reposted with permission from Remaking the University, a blog sponsored by Michael Meranze, professor of history at UCLA, and Christopher Newfield, professor of English at UC Santa Barbara. It’s tempting to see higher education as a sideshow in the upheaval that Donald J. Trump’s election presents for every…
The following letter was sent by Sherrod Brown to Secretary of Education John King. (I have omitted a half-dozen footnotes that cite the sources for the details that Senator Brown highlights.) The letter illustrates why Sherrod Brown is a very effective and widely respected progressive Senator in a “purple” state. _________________________ June 20, 2016…
Today, it has been announced that Arne Duncan, who has “rescued public education” by promoting the expansion of corporate-operated charter schools and corporate-provided standardized testing, is leaving his post as Secretary of Education. That would be cause for a deep sigh of relief, if not a loud cheer—except that his replacement will be John B.…