BY WISCONSIN CONFERENCE OF THE AAUP On Monday, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents voted unanimously to appoint Jennifer Mnookin as the next chancellor of UW–Madison. Within hours, many leading Wisconsin Republicans—both elected officials and candidates for statewide office—issued nearly identical statements of opposition to her appointment. We write to condemn these statements…
BY JOHN K. WILSON The headlines declared a common story about how repressive students are today: “Study Finds Majority Of College Students Think Government Should Punish ‘Hate Speech.’” “Nearly two-thirds of college students think government should have power to punish ‘hate speech’: survey.” “U. of Wisconsin students not big fans of free speech, according to…
POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN For the past few years Wisconsin has been ground zero in the fight over the future of public higher education. The AAUP, along with the Wisconsin AFT, has condemned a series of actions taken by Governor Scott Walker, the Wisconsin state legislature, and the University of Wisconsin system board of regents in…
BY HANK REICHMAN It’s a common trope among conservatives and many media commentators that college and university campuses are liberal strongholds where students who hold conservative political views are intimidated from expressing them. In Wisconsin last month this led to adoption of a “Commitment to Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression” policy designed to curtail…
BY HANK REICHMAN Aaron Barlow (here and here) and Martin Kich (here) have already posted items to this blog about the recently renewed legislative threats to academic freedom in Wisconsin, with Aaron calling appropriate attention to the excellent op-ed piece published in today’s New York Times by UW-Madison professor Donald Moynihan. But because I and…
The IRS “scandal” has generated enormous outrage from conservatives and the mainstream press alike. According to Republican politicians, it is absolutely unacceptable for the government to target nonprofit groups based on their political ideology. And they’re right, as President Obama has noted. But an example of government targeting of a “liberal” nonprofit that works with…