Authorities in Iran Arrest 18 Students

Posted on October 11, 2009 by | Comments Off on Authorities in Iran Arrest 18 Students

The New York Times: Authorities in Iran Arrest 18 Students

Iranian authorities arrested 18 student leaders in Tehran on Friday in a crackdown on demonstrations, which flared up at two universities as classes resumed this week.

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India’s Ivy League Protests Lack of Public Funding

Posted on October 5, 2009 by | Comments Off on India’s Ivy League Protests Lack of Public Funding

Wall Street Journal: India’s Ivy League Protests Lack of Public Funding

Faculty of the Indian Institutes of Technology Stages a Hunger Strike to Demand Higher Pay as Schools Face Staffing Shortage

NEW DELHI — The Indian Institutes of Technology, the subcontinent’s Ivy League, are in danger of losing their prestige, professors and alumni contend, because of faculty salaries starting as low as $6,000 a year.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding, Faculty, Protests

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Morehouse College employee fired for anti-gay e-mail

Posted on October 5, 2009 by | Comments Off on Morehouse College employee fired for anti-gay e-mail

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Morehouse employee fired for e-mail

Morehouse College has fired a woman and reprimanded another for discriminatory comments made via their work e-mail accounts.

The fired woman worked as an administrative assistant in the president’s office, according to reports. After receiving an e-mail forward that included wedding photos of a gay couple, she forwarded the e-mail to others and made comments that were considered discriminatory.

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SUNY Binghamton reinstates lecturer; Inquiry to be conducted by SUNY Central not campus

Posted on October 5, 2009 by | Comments Off on SUNY Binghamton reinstates lecturer; Inquiry to be conducted by SUNY Central not campus

The New York Times: SUNY Board to Oversee an Audit of Binghamton

The fallout from the implosion of the Binghamton basketball program continued Friday, when the SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher announced that the university would not oversee an independent audit of its athletic department.

Binghamton also reversed the firing of Sally Dear, the adjunct lecturer who taught human development for 11 years before being dismissed earlier this week. Dear believed she was dismissed because she spoke out against the basketball program. The university had cited fiscal reasons. But Dear received a letter Friday saying she would remain an adjunct, althoug

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Professors Are Urged to Seek Liability Insurance, But Some Question the Need

Posted on October 2, 2009 by | Comments Off on Professors Are Urged to Seek Liability Insurance, But Some Question the Need

The Chronicle: Professors Are Urged to Seek Liability Insurance, But Some Question the Need

Merle H. Weiner, a professor of law at the University of Oregon, received two rude surprises after the University of San Francisco Law Review published her article about how international courts treat domestic-violence victims.

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Australia facing academic exodus: study

Posted on October 2, 2009 by | Comments Off on Australia facing academic exodus: study

ABC News: Australia facing academic exodus: study
Australia could be starved of academics, with claims our boffins are overworked and underpaid.

A study by Melbourne University reveals a quarter of the country’s senior academics will retire over the next five years, and 5,000 academics over the next decade.

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“OCCUPY AND ESCALATE”: INSIDE THE BARRICADES AT UC SANTA CRUZ

Posted on October 2, 2009 by | Comments Off on “OCCUPY AND ESCALATE”: INSIDE THE BARRICADES AT UC SANTA CRUZ

howtheuniveristyworks.com: “OCCUPY AND ESCALATE”: INSIDE THE BARRICADES AT UC SANTA CRUZ

During last week’s massive 10-campus walkout, several dozen students and workers occupied the Graduate Student Commons at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), issuing statements frankly acknowledging their intention to escalate the conflict: “Occupation is a tactic for escalating struggles,” they note at their website, “We must face the fact that the time for pointless negotiations is over.”

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Calvin College Faculty Senate asks college to drop order on teaching about homosexuality and same-sex marriage

Posted on October 1, 2009 by | Comments Off on Calvin College Faculty Senate asks college to drop order on teaching about homosexuality and same-sex marriage

Grand Rapids Press: Calvin College Faculty Senate asks college to drop order on teaching about homosexuality and same-sex marriage

Calvin College professors are asking the board of trustees to withdraw a memo ordering them to follow the Christian Reformed Church’s teachings against homosexuality and same-sex marriages.

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SUNY Binghamton AD resigns in wake of recruitment, drug, grade, and sexual harassment scandals

Posted on October 1, 2009 by | Comments Off on SUNY Binghamton AD resigns in wake of recruitment, drug, grade, and sexual harassment scandals

The New York Times: Binghamton Athletic Director Resigns

Binghamton Athletic Director Joel Thirer resigned Wednesday, university officials confirmed, and was reassigned to the office of the Provost. James Norris, previously the senior associate athletic director, will serve as the interim director.

Thirer’s resignation comes in the aftermath of the meltdown the men’s basketball program, which reached the N.C.A.A. tournament in March and has since imploded off the court. In the past week, six players have been thrown off the team, including point guard Emanuel Mayben for an arrest for crack cocaine possession. The team will have seven scholarship players eligible for this season.

On Tuesday, a dismissed lecturer, Sally Dear, told The New York Times that Binghamton basketball players received preferential treatment in classes, including independent studies when they were in danger of failing classes. Two members of the athletic department are also being sued by a school fundraiser in a high-profile sexual harassment case.

Press & Sun-Bulletin: BU basketball: Thirer resigns as BU athletic director

Joel Thirer resigned Wednesday as director of health, physical education and athletics at Binghamton University. The announcement was made by university president Lois B. DeFleur.

He will be replaced on an interim basis by Jim Norris, senior associate athletic director of sports programs, and a former basketball coach at the school.

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Posted in Administration

Book review: Professing to Learn: Creating Tenured Lives and Careers in the American Research University

Posted on September 30, 2009 by | Comments Off on Book review: Professing to Learn: Creating Tenured Lives and Careers in the American Research University

Education Review:
Neumann, Anna. (2009). Professing to Learn: Creating Tenured Lives and Careers in the American Research University. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Univ Press.

Reviewed by Kathleen E. Fite, Texas State Univ-San Marcos.

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Grades: Inquiry needed at Marshall U

Posted on September 30, 2009 by | Comments Off on Grades: Inquiry needed at Marshall U

Charleston Gazette: The Charleston Gazette — Grades: Inquiry needed

After West Virginia University’s 2008 calamity over a bogus degree given to Gov. Manchin’s daughter — which toppled a WVU president and several high administrators — you’d think that state-owned institutions would be leery of showing favoritism to children of important politicians.

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West Virginia: Emily, John Perdue discuss MU grades controversy

Posted on September 30, 2009 by | Comments Off on West Virginia: Emily, John Perdue discuss MU grades controversy

Charleston Gazette: Emily, John Perdue discuss MU grades controversy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Emily Perdue said she did nothing wrong and got no special treatment when she earned two A grades this summer to replace two “incomplete” grades for courses she took during the spring 2009 semester at Marshall University.

During an interview on Sunday, Perdue said she received the incomplete grades after she withdrew from two courses taught by Laura Wyant, a professor of adult and technical education at Marshall.

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SUNY Binghamton fires lecturer critical of embattled basketball program

Posted on September 30, 2009 by | Comments Off on SUNY Binghamton fires lecturer critical of embattled basketball program

The New York Times: Binghamton Lecturer Critical of Athletics Is Fired

The Binghamton University adjunct lecturer who accused the athletic department of giving preferential treatment to men’s basketball players and pressuring her to change her grading policy for players was dismissed Tuesday.

The lecturer, Sally Dear, who taught human development for 11 years, said she felt the decision was linked to her criticism that appeared in a New York Times article in February.

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UC Walkout: Social networking website for materials on the U of California walkout

Posted on September 29, 2009 by | Comments Off on UC Walkout: Social networking website for materials on the U of California walkout

UC Walkout: This social network website is a place for gathering materials about the UC Walkout on Set.24th, and beyond. You are invited to join and post your own photos, videos, blog posts, etc. Please note: I will moderate posts generously and for appropriateness only, and welcome all political positions on this crisis; my goal is to make information available in support of informed discussion

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Layoffs reversed at Radford

Posted on September 29, 2009 by | Comments Off on Layoffs reversed at Radford

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Radford president asks administrators to return to their jobs

RADFORD — Radford University President Penelope Kyle has asked two popular administrators to return to their jobs in the New Student Programs and Services Office, which was dissolved this month by Vice President for Student Affairs Norleen Pomerantz

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Saint Louis U block Horowitz’s “Islamo-Fascism Awareness” event

Posted on September 29, 2009 by | Comments Off on Saint Louis U block Horowitz’s “Islamo-Fascism Awareness” event

Inside Higher Ed: Saint Louis U. Blocks David Horowitz Event

David Horowitz is getting backing from his usual critics after Saint Louis University sought to change or block (depending on who you are talking to) a planned lecture he was scheduled to give next week on the campus.

The event — “An Evening with David Horowitz: Islamo-Fascism Awareness and Civil Rights” — was organized by the College Republications and Young America’s Foundation, which say they were banned from hosting Horowitz. The university denies that it banned Horowitz, but acknowledges that it told the students that they should modify the event.

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Grading scandal at Marshall U

Posted on September 29, 2009 by | 1 comment

Charleston Daily Mail: Debate over changed grades heats up

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.–The dean of Marshall University’s largest college changed two grades given to West Virginia Treasurer John Perdue’s daughter, and the classroom professor is asking for an investigation by the university’s Faculty Senate.

The allegations come in the wake of controversy at Marshall’s College of Education and Human Services, which has been beset by a number of complaints and formal grievance filings centered on its executive dean, Rosalyn Templeton.

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When Tenured Professors Are Laid Off, What Recourse?

Posted on September 29, 2009 by | Comments Off on When Tenured Professors Are Laid Off, What Recourse?

The Chronicle: When Tenured Professors Are Laid Off, What Recourse?
At Southern Mississippi, fights against program cuts are hampered by the lack of a formal process, professors find

If the University of Southern Mississippi seeks to fire a tenured faculty member for cause—that is, for allegedly sleeping with a student or some other malfeasance—that faculty member has recourse to a long sequence of hearings and appeals, spelled out in 48 paragraphs in the faculty handbook.

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Students protest campus cuts

Posted on September 29, 2009 by | Comments Off on Students protest campus cuts

Press-Enterprise: Students protest campus cuts

Rallies, teach-ins and class walkouts were held Thursday at University of California campuses, including UC Riverside, to draw attention to state cuts to higher education.

Hundreds of UC Riverside students, faculty, staff, union leaders and alumni gathered to voice anger over decisions earlier this year to increase student fees, decrease enrollment, cut class offerings and lower employee pay.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding, Protests, Strikes & Labor Disputes

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Walkout, Rally Hailed as Rebirth of UC Activism

Posted on September 29, 2009 by | Comments Off on Walkout, Rally Hailed as Rebirth of UC Activism

The Berkeley Daily Planet: Walkout, Rally Hailed as Rebirth of UC Activism

Hundreds of University of California employees, including both faculty and hourly employees, have vowed a work stoppage today (Thursday) to protest low pay for campus workers and higher fees for students.

And, on a deeper level, many of the activists say they’re fighting the privatization of the public university system and the corporate values which, they say, favor profits over people.

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Posted in Strikes & Labor Disputes

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