Author Archives: E Wayne Ross

U. of Tennessee System’s President Resigns Abruptly

Posted on February 23, 2009 | Comments Off on U. of Tennessee System’s President Resigns Abruptly

The Chronicle: U. of Tennessee System’s President Resigns Abruptly

The University of Tennessee system will be forced to handle a serious budget crisis without a permanent president and with a new chancellor at its flagship campus, in Knoxville.

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Posted in Administration

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Nearly 200 Faculty Members at U.S. Colleges Endorse Academic Boycott of Israel

Posted on February 23, 2009 | Comments Off on Nearly 200 Faculty Members at U.S. Colleges Endorse Academic Boycott of Israel

The Chronicle News Blog: Nearly 200 Faculty Members at U.S. Colleges Endorse Academic Boycott of Israel

A fledgling group calling itself the U.S. Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel now lists 193 faculty members and several student groups at American colleges as endorsing its call for a boycott.

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Posted in Protests

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BOSTON UNIVERSITY ENDORSES INSTITUTION-WIDE, OPEN-ACCESS RESEARCH ARCHIVE

Posted on February 23, 2009 | Comments Off on BOSTON UNIVERSITY ENDORSES INSTITUTION-WIDE, OPEN-ACCESS RESEARCH ARCHIVE

Boston University: BOSTON UNIVERSITY ENDORSES INSTITUTION-WIDE, OPEN-ACCESS RESEARCH ARCHIVE

Trend-setting policy allows voluntary online dissemination of scholarly work

(Boston) – Research by Boston University faculty and staff will soon be freely available in an online archive, bypassing the conventional and restrictive route of publishing papers in academic journals, announced BU President Robert A. Brown.

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Posted in Open access

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Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes

Posted on February 23, 2009 | Comments Off on Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes

The New York Times: Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes

A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading.

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Posted in Academics

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Churchill to Appear in Pennsylvania Before Court Date

Posted on February 17, 2009 | Comments Off on Churchill to Appear in Pennsylvania Before Court Date

howtheuniversityworks.com: Churchill to Appear in Pennsylvania Before Court Date

Academic freedom is the subject of three major conferences and at least two substantial journal issues this season, and they’ll all get a fair amount of ink and electrons when Ward Churchill’s lawsuit against the University of Colorado commences next month in Denver. Churchill’s campus process was wrongly decided in the fallout of a political witch hunt, featuring a faculty committee that generated spurious charges of “plagiarism” and “research misconduct” that will not bear the scrutiny of history (nor, one hopes, the district court).

You can read Churchill’s essay on the case in a massive, just-released special issue of Works and Days, guest-edited by Edward Carvalho.

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Posted in Academic freedom

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National science group boycotting Louisiana in protest of anti-evolution law

Posted on February 17, 2009 | Comments Off on National science group boycotting Louisiana in protest of anti-evolution law

Times-Picayune: National science group boycotting Louisiana in protest of Science Education Act

BATON ROUGE — A national organization of scientists has informed Gov. Bobby Jindal it will not hold its annual convention in Louisiana as long as the recently adopted Science Education Act remains on the books.

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Posted in Protests

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When Are Cancer Cases More Than Coincidence?

Posted on February 17, 2009 | Comments Off on When Are Cancer Cases More Than Coincidence?

Inside Higher Ed: When Are Cancer Cases More Than Coincidence?

Since 2000, eight professors and staff members have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the literature building at the University of California at San Diego, and two of the women have died. About 130 women worked in the building during the time period when the diagnoses started. A UCSD medical report last year found odds of 1 in 333 that chance alone could explain the incidence of breast cancer in the building.

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Posted in Working conditions

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Vermont: UVM Faculty: Staff Cuts, More Students Net Bad Formula

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Vermont: UVM Faculty: Staff Cuts, More Students Net Bad Formula

WPTZ-TV: UVM Faculty: Staff Cuts, More Students Net Bad Formula

University Of Vermont Faces $28M Budget Gap

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Staff cuts and adding more students to close a budget gap are concerning faculty at the University of Vermont.

University trustees searching for options to close a $28 million budget gap heard an outpouring of concerns about whether the cuts could hurt the school’s reputation, NewsChannel 5’s Mia Moran reported.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

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British Columbia: SFU rally protests lack of university funding

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on British Columbia: SFU rally protests lack of university funding

Burnaby Now: SFU rally protests lack of university funding

More than 1,000 people converged at a rally at SFU this week to protest underfunding of universities in B.C.

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Posted in Protests

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Nigeria: Salary Arrears: Teachers Threaten To Go On Strike

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Nigeria: Salary Arrears: Teachers Threaten To Go On Strike

eadershipnigeria.com: Salary Arrears: Teachers Threaten To Go On Strike

Teachers in Bayelsa State have threatened to embark on industrial action over the continued silence of the government on the non-implementation of the 2008 resolution adopted by the Governors’ Forum on the approved 27.5 per cent Teachers Salary Structure and the non-payment of six months 15 per cent salary arrears for primary and secondary teachers.

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Posted in Salary/Economic Benefits

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Zimbabwe threatens to fire teachers

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Zimbabwe threatens to fire teachers

The Times: Zim threatens to fire teachers

Striking teachers are set to defy a Zimbabwe government ultimatum to return to work tomorrow in spite of threats of instant dismissal.

In an apparent about turn education authorities moved from pleading with striking teachers to attend classes to threatening them with dismissal.

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Posted in Government

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Nigeria: Cops Kill Students Amidst Protesting Colleagues

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Nigeria: Cops Kill Students Amidst Protesting Colleagues

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Cops Kill Students Amidst Protesting Colleagues

For over four months, six tertiary institutions, owned by the Borno state government have remained closed.

The closure was due to demands by both the academic and non-academic staff of the schools that government enhance their benefits by implementing the Consolidated Salary Structure of Nigerian Tertiary Institutions (CONTIS) approved by the federal government.

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Posted in Protests

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Kentucky: Judge To Hear Arguments In Former Dean’s Fraud Case

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Kentucky: Judge To Hear Arguments In Former Dean’s Fraud Case

WLKY.com: Judge To Hear Arguments In Former Dean’s Fraud Case

Felner Wants Evidence Suppressed

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A federal judge will hear arguments next month about whether to suppress evidence in the case against a former University of Louisville dean accused of fraud.

Robert Felner and colleague Thomas Schroeder are accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $2 million in grant and contract money from U of L and the University of Rhode Island.

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Posted in Legal issues

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New York: College administrators’ pay scrutinized

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on New York: College administrators’ pay scrutinized

The Buffalo News: College administrators’ pay scrutinized
Issue arises as tuition jumps, givebacks eyed

The state may be looking to save money with employee givebacks, but it’s not coming from top college administrators — or former administrators.

Five presidents in the State University of New York system — including Fredonia State College President Dennis Hefner — have received pay raises of $8,600 or more after their recent annual reviews.

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Posted in Salary/Economic Benefits

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Minnesota: 2-year salary freeze endorsed by union

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Minnesota: 2-year salary freeze endorsed by union

SCTimes.com: 2-year salary freeze endorsed by union

The board of directors for the union representing more than 3,000 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system faculty members voted Friday to recommend approval of a two-year contract with MnSCU.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

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Montana: MSU profs will vote on union this spring

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Montana: MSU profs will vote on union this spring

Bozeman Daily Chronicle: MSU profs will vote on union this spring

Professors and adjunct instructors at Montana State University appear to be headed for a vote this spring on the controversial question of whether to form a faculty union.

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Posted in Organizing

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EEOC Can Sue Public University, Court Rules

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on EEOC Can Sue Public University, Court Rules

Inside Higher Ed: EEOC Can Sue Public University, Court Rules

The Eleventh Amendment protects public universities from lawsuits by former employees under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act — but it does not prevent the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from suing the colleges on the aggrieved employees’ behalf, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

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Posted in Legal issues

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Crucifixes in the Classroom

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Crucifixes in the Classroom

Inside Higher Ed: Crucifixes in the Classroom

At Boston College, the placement of Christian art, including crucifixes, in classrooms over winter break has stirred some intense discussions over that particular expression of the Roman Catholic (and catholic) university’s identity. And over whether it’s undergoing an identity crisis.

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Posted in Campus Life

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New York: Nancy Zimpher Tackles a Big Challenge as SUNY’s New Chancellor

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on New York: Nancy Zimpher Tackles a Big Challenge as SUNY’s New Chancellor

The Chronicle: Nancy Zimpher Tackles a Big Challenge as SUNY’s New Chancellor

The State University of New York finally has a leader, with the hiring on Tuesday of Nancy L. Zimpher as the system’s chancellor. While no stranger to challenges, Ms. Zimpher, president of the University of Cincinnati, is taking on one of the most difficult and important jobs in higher education.

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Posted in Administration

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Arizona: ASU will close dozens of programs, cap enrollment

Posted on February 16, 2009 | Comments Off on Arizona: ASU will close dozens of programs, cap enrollment

Arizona Republic: ASU will close dozens of programs, cap enrollment

Arizona State University President Michael Crow today said the school will cap enrollment and close applications to next year’s freshman class March 1, possibly ask for more tuition from next fall’s students, close about four dozen academic programs and significantly scale back operations at its Polytechnic and West campuses, all in response to state budget reductions.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

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