AAUP Chief Urges Faculty Unions to Recognize Their ‘Larger Cultural Role’

Chronicle News Blog: AAUP Chief Urges Faculty Unions to Recognize Their ‘Larger Cultural Role’

New York — Cary Nelson, president of the American Association of University Professors, challenged higher-education unions to “lead the charge for social justice” during his keynote speech here at an annual conference of faculty-union leaders and college administrators.

“Many unions don’t understand their larger cultural role,” Mr. Nelson, an English professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said in a lunchtime address to about 250 people. “A faculty union should be a source of public inspiration and solidarity. We need to envision a day when people outside the local look at a faculty union with admiration.” He spoke at a meeting of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions.

Call for Papers: Universities and Corporatization

New Proposals
http://newproposals.blogspot.com/
http://www.newproposals.ca

Call for Papers for Volume 2, Issue 1.

The Editorial Collective invites submissions for Volume 2 of New Proposals.
We encourage the submission of papers that take a politically engaged
stance. We are interested in full length articles (3,000 to 5,000 words) as
well as shorter commentaries (up to 2,500 words).

Papers should be no more than 3,000 – 5,000 words. References and citations
are to be kept to the minimum required to advance your argument. Articles
can be based in original research, synthetic reviews, or theoretical
engagements. We look forward to -in fact expect- a diversity of
perspectives and approaches that, while they may disagree on the
particulars, they will share with the Editorial Collective a commitment to
an engaged scholarship that prioritizes social justice.

New Proposals is a transnational peer-reviewed journal hosted at The
University of British Columbia in collaboration with the UBC Library
Journal Project.

Call For Papers, Volume 2, Issue 2 (Fall 2008)

Universities and Corporatization

What is the role of the university and the meaning of education at the
beginning of the twenty first century? How are corporate money, influence
and ideology shaping the face of the university? How do crushing debt loads
constrain student choices and shape the kind of education they seek and
receive?

Over the past few decades, people in many countries have experienced a
steady corporatization of their universities. University administrations
are increasingly structured on a corporate model and academic success is
defined by profit. For this upcoming special issue of New Proposals, we are
interested in articles and commentaries that analyze this situation in
different countries and regions. We welcome contributions that ask the
following kinds of questions: How is the privatization of the university
expressed and experienced in diverse settings? How do ‘audit culture’
governance systems exacerbate bureaucracy and influence the allocation of
resources? Has the debate about this issue been framed differently in the
case of public versus private universities? To what extent have faculty,
staff, and student unions and organizations intervened? How have public
intellectuals responded to this issue in different countries in the past
and present? Have various countries and different systems of education been
more or less successful in resisting this corporate model?

For this special issue, we welcome shorter commentaries (up to 2,500 words)
as well as full length articles. In particular, we are interested in essays
that develop a comparative perspective.
________________________________________________________________________
New Proposals: Journal of Marxism and Interdisciplinary Inquiry
http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/newproposals

Scotland: Union brands government taskforce a sop to university principals

The Herald: Union brands government taskforce a sop to university principals

Lecturers’ leaders yesterday condemned the Scottish Government’s taskforce on higher education as a sop to university principals.

Terry Brotherstone, president of UCU Scotland, told the union’s annual congress the so-called Future Thinking Taskforce had been set up by the SNP to put a stop to criticism over university budgets.

Alabama: Fear, Paranoia and, Yes, Some Loathing in Alabama State House

The New York Times: Fear, Paranoia and, Yes, Some Loathing in Alabama State House

There is fear in the halls of the Alabama State House. Your colleague may be wired. Somebody may be watching you. An indictment looms.

After a dozen legislators received subpoenas one day last month in a criminal investigation, an atmosphere of paranoia and anxiety has descended on the gleaming white building that houses the State Legislature, many of its occupants say.

Legislators are sweeping their offices for bugs. Routine horse-trading for votes is stymied, for fear it could be misinterpreted. A wary lawmaker agrees to meet a reporter only in a wide-open parking lot. After-hours get-togethers are off.

The concern is a result of a long-running federal investigation into corruption within the state’s system of two-year colleges that has led to guilty pleas on bribery and corruption charges by one state lawmaker and the system’s former chancellor. The Birmingham News reported in 2006 that a quarter of the 140 members of the Legislature had financial ties to the college system, with most of the jobs or contracts going to lawmakers or their relatives. Recent reports indicate the number has grown to nearly a third of the Legislature.

Ontario: Laurier profs reach tentative agreement

CordWeekly.com: Tentative agreement nearly reached

At 5 am this morning, negotiators from WLUFA and the university had settled on all matters relating to the strike; back-to-work protocol is all that is left to be reached.

* Image By: Ryan Stewart
Tentative agreement nearly reachedWith news that a tentative agreement was close to being reached in regards to the striking contract academic staff (CAS), the morale was high on Friday afternoon during yet another on-campus rally in support of CAS.

New York: Catholic School Teachers Strike Over Health Care and Plan Another Walkout

The New York Times: Catholic School Teachers Strike Over Health Care and Plan Another Walkout

Catholic social ideals and harsh financial truths are colliding at an inopportune time for the Archdiocese of New York.

A student at Our Lady Queen of Angels School, one of 10 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York affected by the strike.

Less than two weeks before the city’s first papal visit since 1995, the archdiocese is engaged in an acrimonious battle with teachers at its 277 schools, which, despite cutbacks and closings over the last few years, educate about 107,000 students.

On Friday, nearly 200 teachers at 10 Catholic schools went on strike for at least one day, saying that the archdiocese has hindered their efforts to obtain a new health insurance plan. And another Catholic teachers’ union has planned a strike, including picketing at papal events, to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to New York April 18 to 20.

Scholars See Need to Redefine and Protect Academic Freedom

The Chronicle: Scholars See Need to Redefine and Protect Academic Freedom

Existing threats to academic freedom have been exacerbated by the political and economic climate following the terrorist attacks of September, 11, 2001, argued scholars at a conference held at New York University’s new Frederic Ewen Academic Freedom Center at Tamiment Library on Thursday and Friday.

The conference, “Academic Freedom in an Age of Permanent Warfare,” was the inaugural public event at the center, which was established at the university last year.

A number of speakers noted that academic freedom was under strenuous attack long before the 2001 attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The attenuation of tenure, comprehensive changes in university governance, and an increase in organized attempts from outside academe to influence research and hiring decisions had already altered long-held norms of academic freedom in American colleges and universities. But there was a consensus among participants that the changes in society and the university had become so profound that the entire notion of academic freedom and how to defend it are in need of revision.

Iraqis free 42 students abducted at checkpoint

International Herald Tribune: Iraqis free 42 students abducted at checkpoint

BAGHDAD: At least 40 students kidnapped by gunmen on Sunday near the northern city of Mosul have been freed by the Iraqi security forces, the police said.

Meanwhile, clashes overnight in Baghdad’s Shiite district of Sadr City left five dead and more than a dozen wounded, the police said.

Washington: Husband, daughter of Spokane diploma mill operator enter pleas

Seattle Times: Husband, daughter of Spokane diploma mill operator enter pleas

The husband and daughter of a woman who operated a Spokane-based diploma mill have pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.

Eastern Washington U.S. Attorney James A. McDevitt says 68-year-old Steven K. Randock Sr. and 39-year-old Heidi Kae Lorhan entered pleas similar to that entered Wednesday by Dixie E. Randock.

An indictment returned in 2005 says the Randocks and others used a string of fictional online universities to sell bogus college degrees and transcripts to more than 8,200 customers around the world.

Investigators allege the operation took in $5 million.

Nebraska Governor’s Office Penalizes Student Newspaper for Article It Didn’t Like

Omaha World Herald: Nebraska Governor’s Office Penalizes Student Newspaper for Article It Didn’t Like

Heineman’s office upset with UNL newspaper over report

LINCOLN – Gov. Dave Heineman’s office suggested possibly banning Daily Nebraskan reporters from his press conferences because of a story published in the student newspaper Thursday.

Jen Rae Hein, Heineman’s press secretary, said Daily Nebraskan editors were told that a ban was being considered.

That option was shelved, she said, although the Governor’s Office did decide to drop the newspaper from an e-mail list used to distribute information to news outlets.

The news article at issue reported that a convicted killer gives tours and performs other duties at the governor’s residence under a work-release program.

UK: tudent suspended after criticising Anglia Ruskin University course on YouTube

Telegraph: Student suspended after criticising Anglia Ruskin University course on YouTube

Naomi Sugai, a masters student at Anglia Ruskin University, in Cambridge, posted a minute-and-a-half video on the popular website, complaining about shortcomings on her £4,750- a-year business course.

It has since been viewed more than 1,800 times and has prompted comments from a number of fellow students raising similar concerns. But the 24-year-old postgraduate has now been told by officials at the former polytechnic that she has been suspend from her MA in management.

Alabama: College ordered to reinstate fired administrator as instructor

Press-Register: College ordered to reinstate Thomas

Byrne vows to appeal arbitrator’s order that impeached school board member be reinstated by community college

Impeached Mobile County school board member David Thomas was fired unjustly by Bishop State Community College and the school must immediately take him back as a teacher, an arbitrator has decided.

“His treatment is found to have been rooted in the arbitrary application of a nonexistent policy, devoid of reasonable standards and a fair and proper investigation,” Hearing Officer Thomas Humphries wrote in his decision, dated March 28.

Oklahoma: Affirmative action ban scuttled

Tulsa World: Affirmative action ban scuttled

Backers say they don’t have enough valid signatures to get the proposal on a ballot.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Backers of a proposed state question to end race and gender preferences have asked to withdraw the measure from consideration.

Critics said it would have ended affirmative action in Oklahoma.

Lawyers for Oklahoma City attorney W. Devin Resides filed a motion with the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday to withdraw the proposed ballot measure, State Question 737, from consideration.

Distance Ed Continues Rapid Growth at Community Colleges

Inside Higher Ed: Distance Ed Continues Rapid Growth at Community Colleges

Community colleges reported an 18 percent increase in distance education enrollments in a 2007 survey released this weekend at the annual meeting of the American Association of Community Colleges, in Philadelphia.

The survey on community colleges and distance education is an annual project of the Instructional Technology Council, an affiliate of the AACC. The survey is based on the responses of 154 community colleges, selected to provide a representational sample of all community colleges. Last year’s survey found community colleges reporting an increase in distance education enrollments of 15 percent.

Michigan: Police use tear gas to disperse 4,000 in riot near MSU; 52 arrested, others ticketed

Detroit News: Police use tear gas to disperse 4,000 in riot near MSU; 52 arrested, others ticketed

EAST LANSING — Police used tear gas, smoke grenades and other devices that make loud noises and emit bright flashes of light to break up a huge crowd of 4,000 people near Michigan State University that erupted into a riot early Sunday.

People began partying at the privately owned Cedar Village apartments across the street from the campus’ northeast border about 1 p.m. Saturday and the crowd steadily swelled into the evening. East Lansing and campus police on Friday started warning people to stay away from the area after learning that an effort on the social networking site Facebook.com to resurrect Cedar Fest — a wild street party that often ended up in heavy drinking and burning couches — after a 20-year absence was under way.

Boston U dwnloaders win round in court

Boston Globe: Music downloaders win round in court

Boston University students have won what one lawyer hailed as a “David and Goliath” victory after challenging one of the recording industry’s most aggressive tactics: lawsuits targeting people who illegally download music.
more stories like this

US District Judge Nancy Gertner ruled this week that the university cannot turn over the names of students to several major record companies that sued for the information until she can do a more in-depth review. The ruling, for the moment, quashes the companies’ efforts to hold the students liable for copyright infringement, which could have resulted in thousands of dollars in fines. Lawyers who supported the students said the decision would make it harder for record companies to win some 20,000 similar cases they have brought nationwide.

Pennsylvania: St. Vincent’s president a lightning rod for criticism

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: St. Vincent’s president a lightning rod for criticism

As H. James Towey finishes his second year as St. Vincent College president, there are benchmarks he enjoys sharing, including a 38 percent rise in student applications and an endowment that grew by a third last year.

Yet whenever he speaks to campus groups he also must be ready to confront persistent rumors at the college.

He hopes to lay some of those to rest tonight at a town hall meeting he regularly holds with students. The meeting may also provide an opportunity to address a recent letter some faculty members sent to St. Vincent’s board of directors that was highly critical of him.

For-Profit Colleges Seek — and Find — New Allies Among House Freshmen

The Chronicle: For-Profit Colleges Seek — and Find — New Allies Among House Freshmen

Rep. Jason Altmire, a freshman Democrat from Pennsylvania, had some words of encouragement for for-profit colleges at a recent public-policy forum here. In a speech before a group of career-college executives and lobbyists, he hinted that he would look out for the sector’s interests in a coming conference between the House of Representatives and the Senate on legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act.

U.S. ends bias investigation of Stanford

San Francisco Chronicle: U.S. ends bias investigation of Stanford

The U.S. Department of Labor has ended its investigation into whether Stanford University discriminated against some female faculty members and researchers.

Of the 16 employees who joined a gender discrimination complaint filed in 1999, only five complainants remained, the others having dropped off for various reasons. Investigators in the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance did not find any gender or racial discrimination against those who remained, said department spokeswoman Deanne Amaden.

Cedarville U. Board Says Officials Followed Procedure in Professor’s Dismissal

The Chronicle News Blog: Cedarville U. Board Says Officials Followed Procedure in Professor’s Dismissal

The Board of Trustees at Cedarville University has sided with the administration in its dismissal of a tenured Bible professor. In a statement issued this afternoon following a board meeting, the trustees said that the Baptist university in Ohio had observed its own guidelines when it fired David Hoffeditz for conduct toward students and colleagues that violated the terms of his contract. The statement did not specify the nature of that conduct.