Author Archives: E Wayne Ross

What Part-Timers Want

Posted on March 23, 2010 | Comments Off on What Part-Timers Want

Inside Higher Ed: What Part-Timers Want

Part-time faculty members are generally satisfied with their jobs, but their degree of satisfaction varies widely — based both on their goals for their careers and the type of institution at which they work, according to a national survey being released today by the American Federation of Teachers.

Job satisfaction was highest at community colleges and private four-year institutions and lowest at public four-year institutions. Part-timers who teach only one course (many of whom do not depend on colleges for their livelihoods) are more satisfied than those who teach multiple courses. And by discipline, faculty members in the physical sciences are happier than those in other fields. A majority of adjuncts (57 percent) said that they were in their jobs because they like teaching, not for the money. About half are satisfied working part time while half would like a full-time position.

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Posted in Contingent labor, Working conditions

AFT Releases National Survey of Part-time & Adjunct Faculty

Posted on March 23, 2010 | Comments Off on AFT Releases National Survey of Part-time & Adjunct Faculty

AFT Releases National Survey of Part-time & Adjunct Faculty

The latest report from AFT Higher Education, American Academic: A National Survey of Part-time/Adjunct Faculty, has just been released. Conducted by Peter Hart Research Associates, this national survey of part-time/ adjunct faculty examines:

  • who part-time/adjunct faculty are;
  • the conditions under which they work; and,
  • how they view their work and the challenges they face on campus.

The survey demonstrates that part-time/adjunct faculty are a diverse group. And, while they are committed to their teaching and eager to serve students, most express concerns about working conditions.

“What is happening in our colleges and universities today is directly linked to our country’s economic future” stated AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Adjunct and part-time faculty play such a critical role in educating our college students and we must work to ensure that they are fully supported.”
The survey is a national sample of 500 part-time and adjunct faculty employed in two- and four-year public and private nonprofit higher education institutions.

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Posted in Contingent labor, Working conditions

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Student Punished for Facebook Group Starts $10-Million Lawsuit

Posted on March 23, 2010 | Comments Off on Student Punished for Facebook Group Starts $10-Million Lawsuit

The Chronicle: Student Punished for Facebook Group Starts $10-Million Lawsuit

A Ryerson University engineering student punished for his Facebook study group has started a $10-million class-action lawsuit against the Toronto institution.

Chris Avenir faced 147 charges of academic misconduct two years ago for his Facebook group, which let engineering students “discuss/post solutions” to homework problems. The course stipulated that students had to conduct independent work. Mr. Avenir faced expulsion, but a faculty committee ruled he should instead receive a zero for one assignment and a disciplinary note in his file.

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Posted in Legal issues

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Colleges of Education Are Urged to Focus More on Online Learning

Posted on March 18, 2010 | Comments Off on Colleges of Education Are Urged to Focus More on Online Learning

The Chronicle: Colleges of Education Are Urged to Focus More on Online Learning

The draft of a new federal plan focuses on improving digital learning at the elementary- and secondary-school level, but it calls for changes in higher education as well.

“Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology,” released this month by the Department of Education, is a draft of the National Educational Technology Plan 2010. It calls for an increased role for online learning in kindergarten through 12th grad

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Posted in Academics

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Charging That His College Undervalues Teaching, a Professor Strikes Back

Posted on March 18, 2010 | Comments Off on Charging That His College Undervalues Teaching, a Professor Strikes Back

The Chronicle: Charging That His College Undervalues Teaching, a Professor Strikes Back

Last October, Madhukar Vable said farewell to two teaching prizes that he had won a decade earlier. He packed the plaques in envelopes and shipped them back to the university and state offices that had awarded them.

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Posted in Faculty

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In Court, a University and Publishers Spar Over ‘Fair Use’ of Course Materials

Posted on March 18, 2010 | Comments Off on In Court, a University and Publishers Spar Over ‘Fair Use’ of Course Materials

The Chronicle: In Court, a University and Publishers Spar Over ‘Fair Use’ of Course Materials

Maybe you’re a professor who wants to use a chunk of copyrighted material in your course this spring. Or perhaps you’re a librarian or an academic publisher. If so, the much-followed Google Book Search settlement is not the only legal case you need to be watching. A federal case involving publishers and a state-university system, Cambridge University Press et al. v. Patton et al., should produce a ruling soon, and its stakes are high.

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Posted in Open access

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U. of Alaska System Picks Another Retired General as President

Posted on March 17, 2010 | Comments Off on U. of Alaska System Picks Another Retired General as President

The Chronicle: U. of Alaska System Picks Another Retired General as President

Patrick K. Gamble, a retired four-star general with the U.S. Air Force, is the University of Alaska system’s new president. He succeeds Mark R. Hamilton, a retired two-star general with the U.S. Army who has led the system since 1998. Mr. Gamble is currently chief executive officer of the Alaska Railroad Corporation. Although he does not hold a Ph.D., he previously served as second in command of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

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Posted in Administration

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Court Denies Conservative Pundit-Professor’s Bias Claim Against University

Posted on March 17, 2010 | Comments Off on Court Denies Conservative Pundit-Professor’s Bias Claim Against University

The Chronicle: Court Denies Conservative Pundit-Professor’s Bias Claim Against University

A federal court has rejected a claim that the University of North Carolina at Wilmington committed viewpoint discrimination against Michael S. Adams, a prominent conservative commentator and associate professor of criminology, by denying him a promotion based partly on its review of online columns and other expressions of opinion that he included in his application to move up the ranks.

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Posted in Legal issues, Tenure & Promotion

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Anthropocentrism’s Antidote: Reclaiming Our Indigenous Orientation to Non-human Teachers

Posted on March 16, 2010 | Comments Off on Anthropocentrism’s Antidote: Reclaiming Our Indigenous Orientation to Non-human Teachers

New issue of Critical Education just published:

“Anthropocentrism’s Antidote: Reclaiming Our Indigenous Orientation to Non-human Teachers” by Don “Four Arrows” Jacobs, Jessica London Jacobs, and Sage Ryan.

This is the second article in the Critical Education series “The Lure of the Animal: Addressing Nonhuman Animals in Educational Theory and Research”.

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Posted in Publications

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U of Alabama Huntsville Campus Fires Amy Bishop

Posted on March 11, 2010 | Comments Off on U of Alabama Huntsville Campus Fires Amy Bishop

The Chronicle: Huntsville Campus Fires Amy Bishop

The University of Alabama at Huntsville confirmed on Wednesday that it had fired Amy Bishop, the biology professor who is accused of killing three co-workers and injuring three others in a departmental meeting last month, The Decatur Daily reported. Previously, the university had said Ms. Bishop was suspended without pay. Ms. Bishop, who is in jail awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges of capital murder and attempted murder, received the termination letter on February 26. Her firing was made retroactive to February 12, the day of the shooting.

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Posted in Faculty

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Virginia’s public colleges and universities may be able to ban anti-gay discrimination after all

Posted on March 11, 2010 | Comments Off on Virginia’s public colleges and universities may be able to ban anti-gay discrimination after all

Inside Higher Ed: Reversal on Anti-Gay Bias

Virginia’s public colleges and universities may be able to ban anti-gay discrimination after all.

Days after the state’s attorney general told the institutions that they couldn’t ban discrimination against gay people, the governor said they could. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s announcement came amid growing student protests about the attorney general’s policy and strong statements by some college officials that suggested they would ignore the attorney general. Both McDonnell and the attorney general, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, are Republicans.

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Posted in Equity, Legal issues

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Jury Finds Iowa State Professor Filed False Bias Complaints in Pursuit of Tenure

Posted on March 11, 2010 | Comments Off on Jury Finds Iowa State Professor Filed False Bias Complaints in Pursuit of Tenure

The Chronicle: Jury Finds Iowa State Professor Filed False Bias Complaints in Pursuit of Tenure

In a case that sheds light on how bitter personal feuds can drive the actions of faculty members, a jury has ruled that an associate professor of sociology at Iowa State University brought false charges of gender discrimination against two colleagues he had viewed as obstacles to his gaining tenure.

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Posted in Legal issues, Tenure & Promotion

Professor Sues Stillman College Over Dismissal for ‘Malicious Gossip’

Posted on March 10, 2010 | Comments Off on Professor Sues Stillman College Over Dismissal for ‘Malicious Gossip’

Tuscaloosa News: Ex-Stillman professor sues over dismissal

TUSCALOOSA | A former Stillman College professor has sued the college over his termination two years ago, seeking back pay, punitive damages and his old job.

Ekow Hayford, who taught business at Stillman, filed the civil suit Feb. 15 in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court.

‘The climate may make it difficult for him to return. He’s mainly seeking back pay, but if the court sees fit to reinstate him, he’ll take the job back,’ said Stephen Wallace, Hayford’s attorney.

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Posted in Legal issues

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After March 4th, what comes next?

Posted on March 9, 2010 | Comments Off on After March 4th, what comes next?

aftermarch4th__

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Posted in Politics, Protests

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Salaries Fell for 32.6% of Faculty

Posted on March 9, 2010 | Comments Off on Salaries Fell for 32.6% of Faculty

Inside Higher Ed: Salaries Fell for 32.6% of Faculty

The median salary change for faculty members in 2009-10 was 0 percent — and for many professors, no change would have been better than the decreases they experienced.

The figures on faculty salaries come from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, which is today releasing its annual report on faculty salaries. The CUPA-HR report focuses on overall trends and disciplinary averages. The American Association of University Professors, which is due to issue its report next month, also releases institution-by-institution information

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Posted in Salary/Economic Benefits

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Florida: Prosecutor unsure how fake-bomb case will be resolved

Posted on March 9, 2010 | Comments Off on Florida: Prosecutor unsure how fake-bomb case will be resolved

Ocala Star-Banner: Prosecutor unsure how fake-bomb case will be resolved
Man’s fake bomb, which was found in his truck, led to a theater evacuation.

The 19-year-old University of Central Florida theater student whose fake bomb led to the evacuation of the Hollywood 16 movie theater has been released from the Marion County Jail after posting a $5,000 bond, and a top prosecutor said he’s not sure what his office will do with the case.

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Posted in Legal issues

The Fight to Save Public Education

Posted on March 9, 2010 | Comments Off on The Fight to Save Public Education

Counterpunch: The Fight to Save Public Education

The Fight to Save Public Education

By SHAMUS COOKE

March 4 was historic. It will be remembered as the day that people began to fight back against the destruction of public education. The student and teacher led offensive took place in cities across the country; teachers, students and school workers demonstrated and marched, showcasing the aggressive methods of the struggle. San Francisco led the way with the biggest numbers. As many as 15,000 people, mostly students, teachers and social service workers attended a Civic Center rally organized by the three teachers unions and the San Francisco Labor Council.

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Posted in Protests

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Student Accused by Professor of Being an FBI Informant Brought Gun to Class for Presentation

Posted on March 9, 2010 | Comments Off on Student Accused by Professor of Being an FBI Informant Brought Gun to Class for Presentation

The Oregonian: Confrontation between student and professor at Portland State University raises questions about school security, guns on campus

One afternoon last November, a Portland State University economics student gave a class presentation on what he described as the U.S. military’s flawed reliance on one of its key combat rifles.

As a visual aid, Zachary Bucharest hauled out a duffel bag and withdrew the disassembled parts of a Colt AR-15, a semiautomatic version of the military M-16. For the next 15 or 20 minutes, he kept professor John Hall’s class engrossed as he lectured about the weapon’s inferiority to the foreign-made AK-47.

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Posted in Crime, Safety & Security, Violence

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York University suspends student running anti-Semitic website

Posted on March 9, 2010 | Comments Off on York University suspends student running anti-Semitic website

National Post: York University suspends student running anti-Semitic website

TORONTO — A Toronto man has been suspended from York University after the National Post reported he was under police investigation over his controversial Internet postings.

Salman Hossain has been ordered to appear before a disciplinary panel and, in the meantime, he is not permitted to attend classes at the north Toronto university campus.

The Ontario Provincial Police said last week its hate crimes and extremism unit was investigating online writings by Mr. Hossain that make derogatory comments about Jews and call for a genocide against them.

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Posted in Administration, Free speech, Students

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Business Leaders Oppose Democratization of British Universities

Posted on March 9, 2010 | Comments Off on Business Leaders Oppose Democratization of British Universities

The Guardian: Abolish Labour target of sending 50% to university, report urges
The government’s strategy has driven down standards and devalued degrees, say graduate recruiters

The national graduate recruitment exhibition at the Barbican in London last year. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Labour’s target of getting 50% of young people to go to university has driven down standards and devalued degrees – and the next government should abolish it, leading graduate recruiters argued today.

The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), which represents 750 employers, many of them blue-chip companies, also called for a phased increase in top-up fees. It said its proposals would force higher education institutions to be more open about the job prospects their courses offered.

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Posted in Corporate University, Equity, Students

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