The 2011 volume of the AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom contained two articles—by John Champagne and John Powell—critical of “the relentlessly expanding assessment movement.” In response, Berea College professor Dave Porter describes his own extensive experience with assessment, arguing that assessment is about creating a culture of evidence that is much more than merely collecting…
Ramola Ramtohul is a professor of Social Studies at the University of Mauritius. In addition to surveying Mauritian university and higher ed landscape, Professor Ramtohul describes the precarious state of academic freedom in the country. Academic freedom is stronger than in most other African nations, but government authorities monitor academics closely, leading to a “chilling…
The United States Air Force Academy is in many ways like any other elite university. Students pick a major, attend class, join clubs, and play sports. Faculty generally teach three or four courses per semester, and do research and service work. But as Jeff Dyche, a former teacher at the AFA, explains in the new…
New in the AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom: “Academic Freedom in Principle and Practice: The Case of Algeria.” Malika Rebai Maamri describes a great effort by Algeria’s president to improve the quality and availability of higher education. But despite many new institutions, articulation of democratic ideals, and resources to support higher education, things have gone awry.…
The 1920s and 1930s were a period of struggle at the University of Pittsburgh, with no tenure or due process rights for faculty and an autocratic chancellor focused on fundraising. When, in 1934, professor Ralph Turner was abruptly dismissed from his post, AAUP and state investigations ensued and speculation abounded. Was Turner dismissed because of…