Category Archives: Equity

History professor David Noble is accusing York University of conducting a campaign of reprisal against him

Posted on September 25, 2009 by | Comments Off on History professor David Noble is accusing York University of conducting a campaign of reprisal against him

Toronto Star: The professor’s next battle

History professor David Noble is accusing York University of conducting a campaign of reprisal against him.

He is a thorn in the university’s side.

History professor David Noble has taken on York University for years; accusing it of playing religious favourites by cancelling all classes on Jewish holidays (and he’s Jewish); claiming pro-Israeli members of its fundraising foundation have too much sway over campus operations; slamming former president Lorna Marsden for expelling a pro-Palestinian protester and questioning the credentials of a recent faculty hire.

Since 2004, he has written a pamphlet critical of the influence of what he calls the “Israeli lobby” at York – whom he named, one by one.

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Posted in Academic freedom, Administration, Equity, Faculty

Anti-Indian racism rampant in Australian unis

Posted on August 24, 2009 by | Comments Off on Anti-Indian racism rampant in Australian unis

Sydney Morning Herald: India is losing interest in our universities, say agents

AUSTRALIA’S elite universities are set to pay a high price for the Indian student crisis as middle-class parents, concerned for their children’s safety, opt for degree courses in Britain, New Zealand, the United States and Canada.

Two months of media reports about attacks on young Indians and allegations of rampant racism in Australian suburbs are having a serious impact, Indian education agents say.

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Posted in Diversity, Equity, Students

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South Africa moves toward free universities for poor students

Posted on July 13, 2009 by | Comments Off on South Africa moves toward free universities for poor students

Mail & Guardian: One step closer to free varsities

Free education for poor university students moved sharply up the government’s priorities last week with the announcement of a ministerial committee to advise Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande on how to provide it.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding, Equity

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Gender Bias at SUNY-Buffalo?

Posted on July 8, 2009 by | Comments Off on Gender Bias at SUNY-Buffalo?

Inside Higher Ed: Gender Bias at SUNY-Buffalo?

Earning tenure is never a sure thing, but Janet Shucard thought that she had done everything right.

She and her husband joined the State University of New York at Buffalo as instructors in the neurology department in 1985. By 1998, the year she entered the tenure track, she had served as associate director of the department’s division of development and behavioral neuroscience, head of the department of neurology medical psychotherapy service and assistant professor of neurology. She had published dozens of articles in prominent science journals. And she had pulled in research funding, most recently grants from the National Institutes of Health.

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Posted in Equity

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Georgia State U. Accused of Retaliating Against Professor Who Alleged Anti-Muslim Bias

Posted on July 2, 2009 by | Comments Off on Georgia State U. Accused of Retaliating Against Professor Who Alleged Anti-Muslim Bias

The Chronicle News Blog: Georgia State U. Accused of Retaliating Against Professor Who Alleged Anti-Muslim Bias

A professor at Georgia State University has resigned as director of its Middle East Institute and filed a federal discrimination complaint because, she alleges, the university failed to adequately deal with incidents of anti-Muslim bias and retaliated against her and a student for pressing it to act.

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Posted in Diversity, Equity, Ethics, Faculty

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Baptist University Disinvites Youth From Church Not Seen as Sufficiently Anti-Gay

Posted on July 2, 2009 by | Comments Off on Baptist University Disinvites Youth From Church Not Seen as Sufficiently Anti-Gay

Inside Higher Ed: Baptist University Disinvites Youth From Church Not Seen as Sufficiently Anti-Gay

The University of the Cumberlands, a Baptist university in Kentucky, has told a youth group from the Broadway Baptist Church, in Fort Worth, Texas, that it has revoked an invitation for the students to stay at the university while working to help the disadvantaged in Appalachia. The Associated Baptist Press reported that the move followed criticism of the church for not being sufficiently anti-gay, as evidenced by its admission that it has a few gay members and that they have served on search committees. The university declined to talk to the wire service about its decision. In 2006, the university expelled a student for being gay.

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Posted in Equity, Ethics

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Call for ‘Fairness and Equity’ to ESL Instructors and Students

Posted on April 6, 2009 by | Comments Off on Call for ‘Fairness and Equity’ to ESL Instructors and Students

Inside Higher Ed: Call for ‘Fairness and Equity’ to ESL Instructors and Students

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages has issued a statement calling for “fairness and equity” to such programs at times that colleges are cutting budgets and eliminating positions. “During turbulent economic times, educational programs that serve culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse student populations may be at a disadvantage when competing for reduced funding with programs that serve conventional, mainstream student populations,” the statement says. “This disadvantage is particularly acute for English as second language (ESL) programs, which are often mischaracterized as being remedial in nature.” Further, the statement noted that ESL instruction is is frequently provided by adjuncts who lack job protections. “Unfortunately, during difficult economic times, educational programs face the temptation of laying off part-time, adjunct, or contingent faculty educators that the institution is rarely under any legal or collectively bargained obligation to retain. Reductions of this kind only serve to reduce the level of continuity in high-quality instruction to which ESL students have become accustomed. TESOL strongly supports all ESL faculty’s employment rights ─ part-time and full-time — during these harsh economic times.”

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Posted in Equity

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Lawsuit over gay-marriage speech at L.A. City College spurs reactions

Posted on March 3, 2009 by | Comments Off on Lawsuit over gay-marriage speech at L.A. City College spurs reactions

Los Angeles Times: Lawsuit over gay-marriage speech at L.A. City College spurs reactions

Protesters back the student who claims his professor reacted badly to his religion-related stance against same-sex unions; a gay unity club forms; a New York man gets misdirected death threats.

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Posted in Equity

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Philosophers’ Association Urged to Take Tougher Stand Against Colleges With Anti-Gay Policies

Posted on February 23, 2009 by | Comments Off on Philosophers’ Association Urged to Take Tougher Stand Against Colleges With Anti-Gay Policies

The Chronicle News Blog: Philosophers’ Association Urged to Take Tougher Stand Against Colleges With Anti-Gay Policies

About 1,000 members of the American Philosophical Association have signed an online petition urging the group to take a stronger stand against colleges that bar employees and students from engaging in homosexual acts.

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Posted in Equity

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Nebraska: Judge upholds affirmative action ban

Posted on January 23, 2009 by | Comments Off on Nebraska: Judge upholds affirmative action ban

Omaha World-Herald: Judge upholds affirmative action ban

Nebraska’s ban on affirmative action looks like it’s here to stay after supporters scored a courtroom victory on Thursday.

A Lancaster County judge ruled in the ban’s favor, upholding the legality of the petition drive that put the measure onto the November ballot. Voters overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment.

With her ruling, District Judge Karen Flowers seemingly dashed the best hope for opponents, who had shrugged off the Election Day defeat and focused their energy on defeating the amendment in court.

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Posted in Diversity, Equity, Legal issues

UK: White working class ‘losing out’

Posted on January 22, 2009 by | Comments Off on UK: White working class ‘losing out’

BBC: White working class ‘losing out’

White working class people are losing out on several fronts, from education to housing, a report argues.

The current school system is skewed in favour of giving more opportunities to middle class children, the report by the Runnymede Trust says.

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Posted in Equity

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Limiting Title IX Lawsuits

Posted on January 21, 2009 by | Comments Off on U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Limiting Title IX Lawsuits

The Chronicle News Blog: U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Limiting Title IX Lawsuits

Washington — A unanimous Supreme Court today ruled against imposing more limits on sexual-discrimination and sexual-harassment lawsuits.

Today’s decision overturns a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee. The appeals court found that lawsuits filed under Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination at institutions that receive federal funds, could not also include claims of civil-rights violations under a Civil War-era federal law, Section 1983, that enforces the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

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Posted in Equity, Legal issues

Bias Against Older Candidates

Posted on December 30, 2008 by | Comments Off on Bias Against Older Candidates

Inside Higher Ed: Bias Against Older Candidates

Everyone knows that colleges doing faculty hiring can’t bar people from applying if they are over 40 (or some other cutoff). That’s age discrimination and that’s illegal.

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Posted in Equity

Colleges Are Accused of Giving Little Consideration to Alternatives to Affirmative Action

Posted on December 2, 2008 by | Comments Off on Colleges Are Accused of Giving Little Consideration to Alternatives to Affirmative Action

The Chronicle News Blog: Colleges Are Accused of Giving Little Consideration to Alternatives to Affirmative Action

Many colleges have largely disregarded the U.S. Supreme Court’s admonition to seriously consider other options before using race-conscious admissions policies, argues a forthcoming Catholic University Law Review article co-written by a former federal civil-rights official.

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Posted in Equity

Michigan: Advocacy group filing suit against OU on dorm denial

Posted on November 28, 2008 by | Comments Off on Michigan: Advocacy group filing suit against OU on dorm denial

Detroit Free Press: Advocacy group filing suit against OU on dorm denial

Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, a disability advocacy group, announced Tuesday it is filing suit against Oakland University on behalf of a man who is fighting to live in campus dorms.

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Posted in Equity

South Carolina: Bob Jones University apologies for its past racist policies

Posted on November 24, 2008 by | Comments Off on South Carolina: Bob Jones University apologies for its past racist policies

Inside Higher Ed:

Bob Jones University has issued a formal apology for its past racist policies, such as refusing to admit black students until 1971 and banning interracial dating until 2000. While the university’s statement noted that segregation was “sadly was a common practice of both public and private universities” in the years up until the civil rights movement, it went on to say that the university “conformed to the culture rather than provide a clear Christian counterpoint to it.” The university added: “In so doing, we failed to accurately represent the Lord and to fulfill the commandment to love others as ourselves. For these failures we are profoundly sorry. Though no known antagonism toward minorities or expressions of racism on a personal level have ever been tolerated on our campus, we allowed institutional policies to remain in place that were racially hurtful.” Some alumni and students — organized into a group called Please Reconcile — have been encouraging the university to make such a statement.

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Posted in Equity

Bob Jones Univ. apologizes for racist policies

Posted on November 21, 2008 by | Comments Off on Bob Jones Univ. apologizes for racist policies

AP: Bob Jones Univ. apologizes for racist policies

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Bob Jones University is apologizing for racist policies that included a one-time ban on interracial dating and its unwillingness to admit black students until 1971.

In a statement posted Thursday on its Web site, the fundamentalist Christian school founded in 1927 in northwestern South Carolina says its rules on race were shaped by culture instead of the Bible.

The university says president Stephen Jones decided to issue the apology because he still receives questions about the school’s views on race.

The school, which has about 5,000 students, banned interracial dating until 2000.

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Posted in Equity

Texas: UT faculty, staff demand domestic partner benefits

Posted on November 17, 2008 by | Comments Off on Texas: UT faculty, staff demand domestic partner benefits

KVUE: UT faculty, staff demand domestic partner benefits

They call it a fight for their civil rights. Some faculty and staff at the University of Texas say it’s time for the school to provide domestic partner benefits.

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Posted in Equity, Salary/Economic Benefits

U. of Phoenix Settles Discrimination Suit for $1.9-Million

Posted on November 12, 2008 by | Comments Off on U. of Phoenix Settles Discrimination Suit for $1.9-Million

The Chronicle: U. of Phoenix Settles Discrimination Suit for $1.9-Million

The University of Phoenix and its parent company, Apollo Group Inc., will pay nearly $1.9-million to people who worked as online enrollment counselors and alleged in a federal lawsuit that the giant for-profit university discriminated against non-Mormon employees.

The payment will help settle a lawsuit that was filed two years ago in U.S. District Court in Phoenix by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of the counselors (The Chronicle, September 29, 2006). The lawsuit accuses the University of Phoenix of giving employees who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the most promising “leads,” the industry term for information on prospective students. It also alleges that lesser-qualified Mormon counselors were promoted ahead of their non-Mormon counterparts, and that tuition waivers were granted to Mormon employees who failed to meet registration goals but withheld from non-Mormon workers, among other charges.

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Posted in Corporate University, Employment rights, Equity, Legal issues

Female Professors at U. of Texas-Austin Earn $9,000 Less Than Male Peers

Posted on November 5, 2008 by | Comments Off on Female Professors at U. of Texas-Austin Earn $9,000 Less Than Male Peers

The Chronicle: Female Professors at U. of Texas-Austin Earn $9,000 Less Than Male Peers

Female professors at the University of Texas at Austin earned an average of $9,028 less than their male counterparts in 2007, and senior female faculty members there feel more isolated and less recognized for their work than do their male colleagues.

Those are among the findings of a new report on gender issues affecting the faculty that was written by a 22-member panel created by the university’s provost in 2007.

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Posted in Equity, Salary/Economic Benefits