Author Archives: E Wayne Ross

UK: Secret list of universities facing collapse

Posted on July 9, 2007 | Comments Off on UK: Secret list of universities facing collapse

The Guardian: Secret list of universities facing collapse

A secret list of nearly 50 universities and colleges at risk of financial failure has been drawn up by government officials since tuition fees were introduced, the Guardian has learned.

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Posted in Administration

Kentucky: Court Rules Against Campus Preacher in Free-Speech Lawsuit

Posted on July 9, 2007 | Comments Off on Kentucky: Court Rules Against Campus Preacher in Free-Speech Lawsuit

The Chronicle: Court Rules Against Campus Preacher in Free-Speech Lawsuit

A preacher who contended a university in Kentucky had violated his right to free speech lost the latest round of a series of legal battles with colleges last week.

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Posted in Free speech

Same-Sex Partners of Pennsylvania-System Professors Will Receive Health Benefits if New Contract Is Approved

Posted on July 9, 2007 | Comments Off on Same-Sex Partners of Pennsylvania-System Professors Will Receive Health Benefits if New Contract Is Approved

The Chronicle: Same-Sex Partners of Pennsylvania-System Professors Will Receive Health Benefits if New Contract Is Approved

Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities will provide health-care benefits to same-sex partners of their faculty members, according to the terms of a tentative contract deal struck last week.

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Posted in Equity, Salary/Economic Benefits

Florida: Graham sues over tuition

Posted on July 8, 2007 | Comments Off on Florida: Graham sues over tuition

Tallahassee Democrat: Graham sues over tuition

Former Gov. Bob Graham sued the Legislature on Friday, setting up a constitutional showdown over control of the state’s public universities.

The suit asks a Leon County circuit judge to declare that the Board of Governors has the power to set tuition, not lawmakers. Voters in 2002 approved a constitutional amendment that created the board to oversee the state’s university system.

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Posted in Government

Missouri: Pols-turned-professors? New law gets 3rd degree

Posted on July 5, 2007 | Comments Off on Missouri: Pols-turned-professors? New law gets 3rd degree

St Louis Post Dispatch: Pols-turned-professors? New law gets 3rd degree

What does it take to become a college professor? In Missouri, a bachelor’s degree and eight years in the state Legislature might do it.

A bill recently signed into law by Gov. Matt Blunt does not guarantee that former legislators will be hired as professors, but it bars public universities from rejecting them for faculty positions just because they lack a graduate degree.

Some politicians and faculty members don’t like the idea of special treatment for politicians.

“We all pay a lot of dues to get where we are, and the dues are graduate school,” said Lana Stein, chairwoman of the political science department at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Said Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, an adjunct professor with a doctorate degree: “It doesn’t look good when legislators with term limits open up job opportunities for ourselves after retirement.”

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Posted in Government

Cabinet Appointees in New Mexico Get Pay From Universities

Posted on July 5, 2007 | Comments Off on Cabinet Appointees in New Mexico Get Pay From Universities

The Chronicle News Blog: Cabinet Appointees in New Mexico Get Pay From Universities

Three appointees of Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico are receiving paychecks from state universities, raising concerns among some state senators about possible conflicts of interest, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

The University of New Mexico will pay a portion of the annual salaries of the state’s higher-education secretary, Reed Dasenbrock, and of the state’s health secretary, Alfredo Vigil.

Mr. Dasenbrock, who is set to receive a total salary of $257,250, will receive almost $100,000 from the university, according to the newspaper. He left his position as provost at the institution to take the state job. Under an agreement with the university, he will receive the $100,000 as payment for an unused yearlong sabbatical.

Mr. Vigil, whose annual salary will be $175,000, will get $60,000 from the university, the Journal said. Under the agreement with him, the university will pay him for the teaching and community services he performs at the institution’s medical school.

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Posted in Government

A law targeting ‘diploma mills’ expires, leaving legislators grappling with how best to protect students.

Posted on July 5, 2007 | Comments Off on A law targeting ‘diploma mills’ expires, leaving legislators grappling with how best to protect students.

Los Angeles Times: A law targeting ‘diploma mills’ expires, leaving legislators grappling with how best to protect students.

Landmark California reforms enacted nearly 20 years ago to protect unwary students from “diploma mills” making false promises about how their training will lead to good-paying jobs, expired at midnight Saturday.

A stopgap measure to extend the protections — while debate continues on a long-range solution — could be passed in several weeks by legislators grappling with how best to protect students and improve the operations of the state agency that oversees trade schools.

There is intense debate about what to do next. Consumer advocates think that legislation to create a new regulatory scheme is not strong enough, while the trade association representing the schools maintains that it is too draconian.

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Posted in Academics

Embattled UMass chancellor could be next in line for top LSU job

Posted on July 5, 2007 | Comments Off on Embattled UMass chancellor could be next in line for top LSU job

Boston Globe: Embattled UMass chancellor could be next in line for top LSU job

The embattled chancellor of the University of Massachusetts flagship campus is a finalist for the top job at Louisiana State University, according to a person familiar with LSU’s presidential search.

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Posted in Administration

Tenure Shrugged: A Scholar’s Affinity for the Philosophy of Ayn Rand Cost Him His Job

Posted on July 5, 2007 | Comments Off on Tenure Shrugged: A Scholar’s Affinity for the Philosophy of Ayn Rand Cost Him His Job

The Chronicle: Tenure Shrugged: A Scholar’s Affinity for the Philosophy of Ayn Rand Cost Him His Job

Scholars who adhere to the objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand receive an unfair degree of hostility from both left and right, says a historian who lost his job at Ashland University because of his views.

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Posted in Academic freedom, Academics, Tenure & Promotion

Washington: UW settlement to give part-timers catch-up raise

Posted on July 5, 2007 | Comments Off on Washington: UW settlement to give part-timers catch-up raise

The Seattle Times: UW settlement to give part-timers catch-up raise

The University of Washington has settled a class-action lawsuit with part-time faculty, agreeing to pay them $500,000 in merit raises for the past six years.

As part of the settlement, the UW also will give returning part-time instructors a 6 percent pay increase next year, an amount which the university estimated at about $290,000.

The settlement affects nearly 1,000 part-time UW lecturers who have taught at least one quarter for two consecutive years between 2000 and 2007.

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Posted in Contingent labor, Salary/Economic Benefits

Showdown on partner benefits

Posted on July 5, 2007 | Comments Off on Showdown on partner benefits

Inside Higher Ed: Showdown on Partner Benefits

Governors theoretically call special legislative sessions to deal with crises or windfalls that are so time-sensitive and pressing that they can’t wait for the next regular session. The idea is that with a limited agenda, legislators can focus on whatever vital issue — a budget shortfall is most common — requires the special session.

In Kentucky today, the General Assembly will convene in a special session called by Gov. Ernie Fletcher. One item on the agenda is typical of those that tend to produce special sessions — an energy company is considering locating in Kentucky, if certain incentives are provided. But it’s the other items Governor Fletcher added to the agenda that have some in higher education very worried and others very excited.

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Posted in Salary/Economic Benefits

State universities, faculty union avert strike with tentative 4-year contract

Posted on July 3, 2007 | Comments Off on State universities, faculty union avert strike with tentative 4-year contract

Post-Gazette: State universities, faculty union avert strike with tentative 4-year contract

A tentative agreement was reached late last night between state universities and their faculty members, preventing the first faculty strike in the history of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.

An announcement posted around 11:20 p.m. on the Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties Web site read “Classes on as scheduled for tomorrow” in big bold letters.

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Posted in Strikes & Labor Disputes

14 Pa. schools, faculties close to agreement

Posted on July 3, 2007 | Comments Off on 14 Pa. schools, faculties close to agreement

Philadelphia Inquirer: 14 Pa. schools, faculties close to agreement

The 14 Pennsylvania-owned universities and their faculty appear to be close to a tentative agreement on a four-year contract.

Neither union officials nor state officials late last night would confirm details from the 12-hour bargaining session yesterday, but both said classes for about 25,000 summer school students, including those at West Chester and Cheyney, would convene today.

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Posted in Campaigns & Contracts

Teamsters vs. teachers union

Posted on July 3, 2007 | Comments Off on Teamsters vs. teachers union

Las Vegas Sun: Teamsters vs. teachers union

They used words like “crisis,” “confront,” and “throwing down the gauntlet.” The enemy was described as ineffectual and weak.

And so the battle lines were drawn, and Teamsters Local 14 launched its offensive last week on the Clark County Education Association.

“The Teamsters have never walked away from a fight – we’re about to get into a big one,” said Gary Mauger, chief executive of Local 14, at a news conference announcing the union’s plans.

At stake is the right to represent the 18,000 teachers working in the Clark County School District. Between now and November 2008, when Teamsters plan to file a formal challenge to the teachers union, the two organizations will engage in a struggle that promises to turn on substance as well as style.

Early story line: The Teamsters are a union with muscle that believes the teachers’ representation has not been aggressive enough in challenging a state unwilling to appropriately fund public education. Any teacher not satisfied with the status quo should consider a change.

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Posted in Unions

U.S. university presidents visit Israel to strengthen academic ties

Posted on July 3, 2007 | Comments Off on U.S. university presidents visit Israel to strengthen academic ties

Haaretz.com: U.S. university presidents visit Israel to strengthen academic ties

A delegation of American university presidents arrived in Israel Monday on a visit organized by the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Project Interchange. The project aims to explain Israel’s policies to the leaders of U.S. academic institutions and to strengthen scientific collaboration between the two countries.

The visit takes place amid attempts to impose an academic boycott of Israel and controversy over Israel on U.S. campuses between the right and the left.

The delegation, including representatives of Rice University, Houston; the University of California, San Diego; the universities of Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, South Carolina and Virginia, met yesterday with Education Minister Yuli Tamir. The guests expressed interest in student exchanges with Israeli universities, but noted the language barrier as an obstacle to American students. Tamir said the Education Ministry would support the establishment of English-language programs for the universities’ visiting students.

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Posted in Administration, International

No Strike in Pennsylvania as Professors and System Reach Tentative Agreement

Posted on July 3, 2007 | Comments Off on No Strike in Pennsylvania as Professors and System Reach Tentative Agreement

The Chronicle News Blog: No Strike in Pennsylvania as Professors and System Reach Tentative Agreement

Negotiators for the union representing the 5,500 professors at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities and for the state-university system reached a tentative agreement late Monday, averting a strike that would have affected 25,000 summer students. The agreement must be ratified by the union and the system’s governing board before it can take effect.

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Posted in Strikes & Labor Disputes

U Michigan alters domestic parner benefits to work around with anti-gay law

Posted on July 3, 2007 | Comments Off on U Michigan alters domestic parner benefits to work around with anti-gay law

Inside Higher Ed:

The University of Michigan has become the latest institution to alter a domestic partner health benefits plan to comply with court rulings finding that such plans can violate state policies against gay marriage. Michigan’s revised plan, designed to keep benefits in place during an appeal of a court ruling in that state, creates a broad category of “Other Qualified Adult” whom a Michigan employee can cover with his or her benefits. By not designating this person as a domestic partner, the university hopes to comply with a February ruling by an appeals court that found the old benefits recognized same-sex partners in a way that violated the state ban on gay marriage. Michigan State made a similar shift in its benefits, as did the University of Kentucky, in response to an opinion from that state’s attorney general.

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Posted in Salary/Economic Benefits

U. of Florida Freezes Hiring

Posted on July 3, 2007 | Comments Off on U. of Florida Freezes Hiring

The Chronicle News Blog: U. of Florida Freezes Hiring

Citing a projected deficit of as much as $30-million, the University of Florida announced today an immediate freeze on hiring. The freeze applies to faculty and staff positions at all university units statewide, although exceptions will be considered for positions paid for through nonstate sources, such as clinical revenue, contracts, and grants. No layoffs are planned.

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Posted in Faculty

South Africa: Deal doesn’t make teachers happy

Posted on July 3, 2007 | Comments Off on South Africa: Deal doesn’t make teachers happy

Independent Online (Cape Town): Deal doesn’t make teachers happy

Seventeen unions have ended the biggest and longest public sector strike in South Africa’s history – but teachers haven’t ruled out another strike this year.

Some teacher unions, led by the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), have indicated they would not sign the agreement because it fell short of their demands.

And, with the deal done, Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi left for Ghana to attend the AU’s Peer Review Mechanism conference, taking place this weekend.

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Posted in Strikes & Labor Disputes

South Africa: Teachers to pay price for ‘principled action’

Posted on July 3, 2007 | Comments Off on South Africa: Teachers to pay price for ‘principled action’

Independent Online: Teachers to pay price for ‘principled action’

The country’s biggest and longest public sector strike may be over, but many public servants have a long way to go to recover from financial losses incurred through their action.

The government is determined to recoup money lost during the strike by enforcing the no work, no pay rule and deducting amounts from the salaries of striking employees.

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Posted in Strikes & Labor Disputes