Don't Mourn, Organize–Part II

BY AARON BARLOW The first ‘bigly’ Twitter and academic freedom case was that of Associate Professor Steven Salaita just two-and-a-half years ago (there were others earlier, including that in 2013 of Professor David Guth that resulted in a policy instituted by the Kansas Board of Regents that “faculty members and other employees can be fired…

Why Peter Wood's Attack on the AAUP Is Wrong

Peter Wood at Minding the Campus complains about the AAUP’s unanimous vote to censure the University of Missouri Board of Curators because “the AAUP has yet to find anyone to censure over abuses of Title IX.” What the hell does that mean? The AAUP censure list is a list of university administrations. The AAUP has…

U. of Missouri Board Fires Melissa Click

BY HANK REICHMAN Melissa A. Click, the communications professor whose actions during a student protest last fall sparked controversy, has been fired by the University of Missouri’s Board of Curators, according to a statement from the system.  The action was apparently taken last night, in a closed session, by a vote of 4-2. “The board…

AAUP Asks Missouri to Lift Melissa Click Suspension

BY HENRY REICHMAN The national AAUP has called on the University of Missouri to lift its suspension of Melissa A. Click, the assistant professor who was videotaped attempting to remove a student journalist from the site of a campus protest.  In a letter emailed yesterday to the Columbia campus’s interim chancellor, Henry C. (Hank) Foley,…

In Defense of Melissa Click

BY JOHN K. WILSON I have not previously spoken out in defense of Melissa Click, the University of Missouri professor who was loudly denounced for supporting a student protest by keeping out student journalists. Like many others, I strongly opposed her actions, and despite many threats against her and calls for her dismissal, she was…

Dos & Don’ts for Faculty and the Media

This is a guest post by Greg Loving and Jeff Cramerding, authors of the article, “Five Rules for Dealing with the Media,” in the new January-February 2016 issue of Academe. Greg Loving is associate professor of philosophy at University of Cincinnati Clermont College and president of the UC AAUP chapter. Jeff Cramerding serves as director of contract…