Category Archives: Faculty

The New York Times: On Campus, Liberal Professors Retire

MADISON, Wis. — When Michael Olneck was standing, arms linked with other protesters, singing “We Shall Not Be Moved” in front of Columbia University’s library in 1968, Sara Goldrick-Rab had not yet been born.

Follow

The Chronicle: Columbia U. Fires Teachers College Professor Accused of Rampant Plagiarism

Columbia University’s Teachers College announced today that it planned to fire Madonna G. Constantine, a tenured professor, for plagiarism. The announcement, which came in a memorandum delivered to faculty members, said Ms. Constantine would be suspended immediately and would be dismissed, subject to a review by a faculty committee.

A law firm hired by the university to conduct an investigation reported in February that Ms. Constantine, a professor of psychology and education, had committed more than two dozen instances of plagiarism. Ms. Constantine has vehemently denied the accusations and has, in turn, accused others of plagiarizing her work. She has also accused colleagues of envy and racism.

Last October, Ms. Constantine said a noose was placed outside her office door. The New York City Police Department’s hate-crime unit investigated the incident, but months later still had no suspects. —Thomas Bartlett

Follow

Post Standard: SU pulls plug on pollster

Syracuse, NY — After 24 years of polling for political candidates, Syracuse University professor Jeff Stonecash has been asked by university officials to shut down his operation amid complaints from a Democratic congressional candidate.

Follow

The New York TImes: Now Professors Get Their Star Rankings, Too

FIRST came the Amazon book rankings, and word leaked out that perhaps some vaunted writers spent more time than you would think checking how popular they were, hour by hour. Then newspapers started tracking the most popular articles on their sites and journalists, it was said, spent more time than you would think watching their rankings, hour by hour.

But would you believe that academics could become caught up in such petty, vain competition? Of course, you say. Still, short of hanging out in the stacks at the library and peeking over shoulders, the pursuit of that particular vanity had to wait for the Internet, and the creation of the Social Science Research Network, an increasingly influential site that now offers nearly 150,000 full-text documents for downloading.

Follow

The Chronicle: Colleges Explore New Ways to Manage Retirements

An English professor leans forward, looking as if she is about to step through a magical door. A music professor in a white bow tie and black tails faces a video camera and an admiring audience as he talks about his career. Some smiling, gray-haired men at a barbecue grasp their sodas and beers.

Follow

Inside Higher Ed: Students Fail — and Professor Loses Job

Who is to blame when students fail? If many students fail — a majority even — does that demonstrate faculty incompetence, or could it point to a problem with standards?

These are the questions at the center of a dispute that cost Steven D. Aird his job teaching biology at Norfolk State University. Today is his last day of work, but on his way out, he has started to tell his story — one that he suggests points to large educational problems at the university and in society. The university isn’t talking publicly about his case, but because Aird has released numerous documents prepared by the university about his performance — including the key negative tenure decisions by administrators — it is clear that he was denied tenure for one reason: failing too many students. The university documents portray Aird as unwilling to compromise to pass more students.

Follow

Wall Street Journal: Help Wanted: Lefty College Seeks Right-Wing Prof
CU-Boulder Bid to Endow A ‘Conservative’ Chair
Leaves Both Sides Uneasy

BOULDER, Colo. — How liberal is the University of Colorado at Boulder?

The campus hot-dog stand sells tofu wieners. A recent pro-marijuana rally drew a crowd of 10,000, roughly a third the size of the student body. And according to one professor’s analysis of voter registration, the 800-strong faculty includes just 32 Republicans.

Chancellor G.P. “Bud” Peterson surveys this landscape with unease. A college that champions diversity, he believes, must think beyond courses in gay literature, Chicano studies and feminist theory. “We should also talk about intellectual diversity,” he says. So over the next year, Mr. Peterson plans to raise $9 million to create an endowed chair for what is thought to be the nation’s first Professor of Conservative Thought and Policy.

Mr. Peterson’s quest has been greeted with protests from some faculty and students, who say the move is too — well, radical. “Why set aside money specifically for a conservative?” asks Curtis Bell, a teaching assistant in political science. “I’d rather see a quality academic than someone paid to have a particular perspective.”

Even some conservatives who have long pushed for balance in academia voice qualms. Among them is David Horowitz, a conservative agitator whose book “The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America” includes two Boulder faculty members: an associate professor of ethnic studies who writes about the intersection of Chicano and lesbian issues, and a philosophy professor focused on feminist politics and “global gender justice.”

Follow

East Valley Tribune: PVCC moves to fire professor over relationship

Efforts began Thursday to fire a Paradise Valley Community College professor for having an inappropriate relationship with a female student who administrators suspect died of a drug overdose.

Follow

The Chronicle: Co-Founder of Second Life Says Academics Are Biggest Trailblazers in Virtual Worlds

Cory Ondrejka, the co-founder of the virtual world Second Life who is now a visiting professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, said in a speech today that virtual worlds are here to stay, and that professors are among the most active pioneers.

Follow

Fresno Bee: Fresno State professor suspended

2 students allege shooting threat; others deny it.

Fresno State has suspended a tenured professor after two students charged that he threatened to bring a gun to class and start shooting.

Other students say he didn’t threaten the class. But the incident sparked a police investigation at California State University, Fresno, where officials now must decide whether to discipline a veteran professor who last year received letters from top campus officials praising his performance and contributions.

Joe Parks, a professor of education, denies making the threats, but admits he can be controversial.

Follow

Inside Higher Ed: The Buck Stops Where?

The West Virginia University Faculty Senate voted 77 to 19 Monday, with one abstention, to voice no confidence in President Mike Garrison and call for his resignation.

The university’s provost and business school dean both have announced their resignations in the aftermath of an April report finding that the university wrongly awarded an unearned executive master of business administration degree to the West Virginia governor’s daughter. The independent committee’s report found failures of academic leadership stemming from the senior levels of the institution. Garrison, who was appointed amid faculty concerns that he lacked enough of an academic background, has repeatedly said that he accepts responsibility for the scandal, but that there is no need for him to quit.

Follow

Daily Freeman: Culinary Institute faculty votes ‘no confidence’ in school president

HYDE PARK – Instructors at the Culinary Institute of America say the school’s president, Timothy Ryan, has created an environment of oppression that is harming the students, faculty and reputation of the institution.

The faculty recently passed a resolution, 85-9, expressing “no confidence” in Ryan as president. There are about 125 full-time members of the Culinary Faculty Association.

Follow

AP: Tables turn when students grade college profs

Debate rages on weight of student evaluations, teacher performance

Kristi Upson-Saia is known as a tough grader. So she’s entitled to feel a little nervous this time of year, when the tables are turned and her religion students at Occidental College in Los Angeles are the ones grading her.

Follow