Category Archives: Working conditions

The Chronicle News Blog: 3 Universities Are Among AARP’s Top Employers for Older Workers

Three universities — George Mason, Cornell, and Virginia Commonweath — are among the “50 Best Employers for Workers Over 50,” according the latest rankings by the AARP.

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The Chronicle: Young Professors at Private Institutions Report Greater Overall Level of Job Satisfaction

Young professors at private institutions rated themselves as more satisfied with their jobs than did their counterparts at public colleges, but the path to tenure seemed clearer to those at public institutions, a report released on Monday by researchers at Harvard University says.

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Des Moines Regiter: Presidents: Arm campus police

The presidents of Iowa’s three public universities recommended Wednesday that certified campus police officers be armed.

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Star Bulletin: University settles with exiled professor

The University of Hawaii has settled a lawsuit filed by a tenured UH-Manoa professor after he was banned from campus and forbidden to talk with all faculty members, staff and current or former students.

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Salt Lake Tribune: Stats show few guns found on Utah college campuses

As the debate over guns on Utah college campuses raged during the 2007 Legislature, lobbyists on both sides quoted statistics and provided scenarios to prove that allowing guns would have either worsened or improved a hypothetical campus crime.
But crime data obtained under the Clery Act, which requires all campuses to report crime statistics to the federal government, shows few incidents between 2001 and 2005 when weapons were found or used on campuses, and in those few incidents, rarely were students involved.

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Tallahassee Democrat: Hundreds of FAMU workers not paid

Florida A&M University President James Ammons is investigating why 242 employees didn’t get paid this week, university spokeswoman LaNedra Carroll said.

One of the 242 employees is Marion Harmon – a 21-year-employee of the university – who works as a professor in the computer information system’s department.

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The Forum: NDSU ends rabbit shooting

It was rabbit season Wednesday at North Dakota State University.

Only no one told residents or the Fargo police.

For more than 12 years, with the approval of NDSU police, maintenance employees have shot rabbits to keep the creatures’ population down on campus.

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The Guardian: UK lecturers suffer larger class sizes, says union

Lecturers in two-thirds of UK universities are teaching larger student groups than their colleagues in other developed countries, a lecturers’ union claimed today.

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Inside Higher Ed: Loss for Whistle Blowers

When the U.S. Supreme Court considered a case last year over the free speech rights of public employees, some academics watched nervously. The case involved a dispute in the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, but faculty groups worried that any limits on public employees’ free speech might restrict their freedoms.

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University strikes down mandatory retirement

March 23, 2007 – Edmonton – The University of Alberta Board of Governors voted to eliminate mandatory retirement for academic staff today, allowing professors to continue to work and teach beyond the age of 65.

If ratified by the Association of Academic Staff: University of Alberta (AAS:UA) the policy will become effective June 30, 2007. The policy will help the university attract and retain the brightest minds, says U of A Provost and Vice-President (Academic), Dr. Carl Amrhein.

“It will allow us to more easily retain some of our very senior professors who find a mandatory retirement policy unattractive,” he said. “It should help in the recruitment of people who have no real idea of what they’re going to do at 65, but just like to have options. And I think it’ll bring an important level of stability to our academic situation comparable to the best in the class. There are not many institutions of our calibre that still have mandatory retirement.”

Amrhein added that the financial impact of this change will likely be minimal and easy for the university to manage.

The policy brings the U of A in line with that of most Canadian universities and makes the university more competitive in Canada, said AAS:UA President Dr. David Johnston.

“There’s a practical aspect as well., If we did not eliminate it, let’s suppose we have really good people who are 55 or 58. They might decide to go to Calgary or Toronto and depart. Obviously, if you have your choice between seven more years or 10 or 12 more years, you’d take advantage of going to a place that doesn’t have mandatory retirement,” he said.

“It’s also partly a retention issue, because given the demographics and what we know about Alberta’s economy and the plans for the university, we need all the best people we can get, and the people who are good we want to keep.”

Last spring, during academic staff contract talks, the university struck a taskforce made up of members from both the AAS:UA and university administration to look at the issues around mandatory retirement. Amrhein says today’s vote was “the natural follow-up” to the task force’s report.

“We recognize that today’s life and work environments are very different from a number of years ago,” said Amrhein. “People are living longer and want to continue contributing. Those who perform a positive service to the university beyond the age of 65 are important to the needs of our growing university.”

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Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Criminal background checks for all campus jobs?

The University System of Georgia is planning to require all newly hired faculty and staff members to undergo criminal background checks, a policy that has drawn fire from an organization that represents professors in the state.

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Baltimore Sun: Back at work, but not on day of rest

Ever since his son Sam was born five years ago, David Brown has observed the Sabbath with his family, singing, praying and enjoying a large meal in their Pikesville home. For Orthodox Jews like the Brown family, the time between sunset Friday and sunset Saturday is a holiday during which work, even flicking a light switch, should be avoided.

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The Honolulu Advertiser: Report says UH-Manoa in ‘disrepair,’ neglected

A scathing independent review of University of Hawai’i-Manoa facilities found that campus buildings and infrastructure are “suffering from countless deficiencies,” a situation exacerbated by inadequate and inconsistent management.

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The Chronicle: Junior faculty members prize collegiality and respect in their departments above high salaries, a survey has found.

Junior faculty members prize collegiality and respect in their departments above high salaries, a survey has found.

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Inside Higher Ed: Gun Rights vs. College Rights

In a ruling that legal experts say could threaten the autonomy of public universities and the safety of their students, the Utah Supreme Court ruled Friday that the University of Utah cannot bar guns from its campus.

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The Chronicle: Utah Supreme Court Strikes Down University’s Ban Against Guns on Campus

The University of Utah cannot ban guns on its campus in defiance of a state gun-rights law, the Utah Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

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