Category Archives: Uncategorized

Hawaii Suspends Football Coach for ‘Faggot’ Comments

UH Manoa announces actions following inappropriate comments by Coach McMackin

At a news conference this afternoon, University of Hawai’i at Mânoa Chancellor Virginia S. Hinshaw and Athletics Director Jim Donovan today announced the following actions based on inappropriate comments made by Coach Greg McMackin at the WAC conference in Salt Lake City yesterday.

Idaho Statesman: Hawaii coach uses gay slur in reference to Notre Dame, then apologizes

SALT LAKE CITY — Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin said Thursday at the WAC media football preview that Notre Dame did “this little faggot dance” at a banquet the night before last year’s Hawaii Bowl. Click here to hear what McMackin said. (WARNING, EXPLICIT LANGUAGE)

For-Profit, For God

Inside Higher Ed: For-Profit, For God

“The Bible does not say money is the root of all evil,” says Gregory K. Hollifield, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Bible and Theology at Crichton College, in Tennessee. “What scripture says is love of money is the root of all evil.”

That’s an important distinction at Crichton, which is converting from nonprofit to for-profit status but with the intent of maintaining its Christian mission, even emphasizing it — certainly from a marketing standpoint.

Board Chairman Quits at U. of Illinois Amid Scandal Over Favoritism in Admissions

The Chronicle: Board Chairman Quits at U. of Illinois Amid Scandal Over Favoritism in Admissions

Three days after an investigative commission called on all politically appointed trustees of the University of Illinois to quit, the board chairman announced his resignation today, amid a scandal over the admission of politically connected applicants who were unqualified academically. According to the Chicago Tribune, which has uncovered a host of examples of students getting admitted because of who they knew, not what they knew, the board chairman, Niranjan Shah, sought advantages for both relatives and friends. His resignation comes days before the investigative panel is expected to release a final report on the affair.

Lab worker hoped to beat ‘bad karma’ by destroying research

Palo Alto Daily News: Former SLAC worker hoped to beat ‘bad karma’ by destroying research

A former SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory employee hoped to reverse her “bad karma” by destroying what amounted to $500,000 worth of research at the facility earlier this month, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit released by the FBI on Tuesday.

Consider joining the Workplace Collective

As I’m sure many readers of the Workplace Blog know, Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor has new home, new outlook, new publishing system. Co-editors Stephen Petrina, Steven Wexler, and I encourage you to read or browse the new Workplace journal.

The co-editors also express our deep appreciation to all past members of the Workplace Collective and in particular the founding and previous editors and special section editors of Workplace. Your contributions to the journal have made it an important and dynamic site for the analysis of higher education.

We are in the process of reconstituting the Workplace Collective and invite interested persons to consider making a commitment to the work of the journal. In particular, we request that members of the new Workplace Collective make a commitment that goes beyond reviewing manuscript submissions and includes submitting articles, reviews, and other forms of scholarship to Workplace for consideration.

We also encourage you to consider making an even deeper commitment to the journal by proposing to guest edit a special section of Workplace. (You can find the guidelines for special section proposals and two current CFPs here.

If you are interested in renewing your commitment to the journal as a member of the Workplace Collective or have questions about the direction the journal is going please email E. Wayne Ross.

In addition, we request that everyone go the Workplace website and become a “Registered user”.

On the new site you will find a number of new articles and reviews, which have been published in advance of the official launch of Issue No. 16. You will also find several archived issues of the journal on the new site. Please note that we are in the process of migrating all back issues of Workplace to the OJS platform.

We are looking forward to continuing our collective work and taking Workplace to the next level as the site for committed activist scholars in higher education.

India: Teachers’ strike: Talks fall through

Times of India: Teachers’ strike: Talks fall through
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MUMBAI: Even after three days of intense discussion between the government and college and university teachers, the two sides seem to have failed to reach a common ground. The strike, which began on Tuesday, is set to continue.

Teach naked

The Chronicle: When Computers Leave Classrooms, So Does Boredom

College leaders usually brag about their tech-filled “smart” classrooms, but a dean at Southern Methodist University is proudly removing computers from lecture halls. José A. Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, has challenged his colleagues to “teach naked” — by which he means, sans machines.

California: CSU fund management questioned

Times-Herald: CSU fund management questioned

Concerned that California State University foundations may be mismanaged, a state faculty union has urged Attorney General Jerry Brown to launch an investigation.

“The 23,000 members of the California Faculty Association have serious concerns about whether or not the CSU’s various foundations are conforming to proper fiduciary responsibility under state and federal law,” union president Lillian Taiz wrote in a letter this week to Brown.

The Faculty of the Future

The Chronicle Review: The Faculty of the Future:
Leaner, Meaner, More Innovative, Less Secure

The faculty workplace has changed significantly in the last 20 years: More women, minority professors, and adjuncts have joined the professoriate. Information technology has led to new opportunities and expectations. The economic crisis has complicated long-term planning for scholars and institutions alike. We asked seven scholars from several fields and generations how they think the academic workplace — and, in particular, the job satisfaction and expectations of a faculty career — will change over the next 20 years.

Rights for Some People

Inside Higher Ed: Rights for Some People

Should someone who teaches human rights back human rights for all people?

That’s the question being raised by some students at New York University’s law school, who are upset that a visiting professor in the fall semester, slated to teach human rights law, is Thio Li-ann of the National University of Singapore, an outspoken opponent of gay rights. Thio has argued repeatedly and graphically that her country should continue to criminalize gay sexual acts.

Ward Churchill Gets Nothing

Inside Higher Ed: Ward Churchill Gets Nothing

The University of Colorado won just about everything it wanted, and Ward Churchill lost just about everything he wanted, in a ruling Tuesday by a state judge in Colorado.

Judge Rejects Ward Churchill’s Plea for Reinstatement, Vacates Verdict in His Favor

The Chronicle: Judge Rejects Ward Churchill’s Plea for Reinstatement, Vacates Verdict in His Favor

A state court judge on Tuesday not only denied Ward Churchill everything he sought in his long-running battle with the University of Colorado system, but also negated the one victory the controversial scholar had won so far: a jury verdict holding that system officials had violated his First Amendment rights by firing him from a job as a tenured ethnic-studies professor in response to statements he had made.

State Agency Orders Washington College to Reinstate Longtime Adjunct

FACE/AFT: Margaret West Reinstated at Edmonds CC

Some of you may remember that about a year ago, fellow FACT Talk blogger Phil Ray Jack started telling the story of Margaret West, who, after 21 years of service at Edmonds Community College in Washington State, had been “non-renewed.” Not so coincidentally, West was also about to become the first part-time faculty member at Edmonds to assume the role of president of the faculty union at Edmonds. In response to Phil’s first post, a commenter asked what the union was doing in response and what others could do as well. Phil pointed out that the union was taking action on several fronts and encouraged others to offer their support.

U. of I. chancellor: Fix admissions system

Chicago Breaking News: U. of I. chancellor: Fix admissions system

The University of Illinois’ favoritism toward students backed by powerful sponsors must come to an end, the principal enforcer of the campus’ secret admissions system testified today.

Economic conditions affect jobs of teachers across county

The Flint Journal: Economic conditions affect jobs of teachers across county

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan — Local districts are clinging to their teachers and trying to avoid layoffs as enrollment numbers and funding lag.

While the Flint School District is taking a big hit, laying off 257 teachers in April, most local school systems are trying to avoid cutting instructors.

In Flint, the layoffs were intended to help avoid a $20-million budget deficit. On June 17, the Flint Board of education called back 73 teachers.

Nigeria: NUT Vows to Continue Strike

This Day: NUT Vows to Continue Strike

A meeting between the Plateau State Government and officers of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) to resolve the face-off between the union and the government has ended in a deadlock.
The meeting was initiated by the state House of Assembly Committee on Education to dialogue with officials of the NUT to end the strike by teachers in the state.

Honduras teachers on strike following coup

XinHuanet.com: Honduras teachers on strike following coup

TEGUCIGALPA, June 29 (Xinhua) — All schools in Honduras were forced to suspend classes on Monday as teachers went on a strike following a military coup on Sunday in which President Manuel Zelaya was ousted.

Teachers in all cities on Monday announced a strike and took to the streets to voice their support for Zelaya.

UCSB teacher who sent Gaza e-mail cleared by panel

The Herald: UCSB teacher who sent Gaza e-mail cleared by panel
The Associated Press

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—An academic committee at University of California, Santa Barbara has found no reason to discipline a professor who sent an e-mail that compared Israel’s offensive in Gaza to the Holocaust.

Worse Than an F: Canadian University Pioneers New Grade for Failure

The Chronicle News Blog: Worse Than an F: Canadian University Pioneers New Grade for Failure

Students bent on cheating should steer clear of Simon Fraser University. If they are caught, they could end up with a grade that breaks new ground in the realm of academic failure.

Audit uncovers questionable financial practices at K-State

Kansas City Star: Audit uncovers questionable financial practices at K-State

A scathing audit of Kansas State University reveals a pattern of undisclosed payments, conflicts of interest, poor accounting and possible tax problems for the school, several of its former employees and its athletic department.