Western Michigan Student Facing Execution in Saudi Arabia: Join the Protest

POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN The following was posted on the blog of the Western Michigan University AAUP chapter: We join our colleagues at AFT-Michigan, along with our AFT-affiliated colleagues here at WMU, the Professional Instructors Organization (PIO) and Teaching Assistants Union (TAU), in condemning in the strongest possible terms the death sentence of admitted WMU student Mujtaba’a…

WMU-AAUP on Tenure and Shared Governance

In March I reposted from the WMU-AAUP blog comments delivered to the Western Michigan University (WMU) Board of Trustees by WMU-AAUP President and AAUP national Council member Lisa Minnick.  Below are comments delivered today, June 29, to the same board by Professor Minnick. They offer a truly eloquent and effective defense of fundamental academic values…

WMU-AAUP on State Divestment From Higher Education

The following comments were delivered to the Western Michigan University (WMU) Board of Trustees on March 23 by WMU-AAUP President and AAUP national Council member Lisa Minnick.  They are reposted from the WMU-AAUP blog. One thing everyone in this room has in common is our shared investment in higher education as a public good. We…

What Do Professors Do?

Early in his controversial 14-year tenure as Chancellor of the California State University system, Charles Reed notoriously told a public audience that faculty members work only two or three days a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  The comment sparked a firestorm of protest, but it sadly reflected an all too common perception among…

Campus Cops vs. University Professors

This article by Western Michigan University AAUP chapter president Lisa Minnick was originally posted at her website, where you can also see photos of the event. By Lisa Minnick I have written about higher education and about labor rights, mostly in the context of the abysmal state of affairs when it comes to the political climate here in Michigan.…