Tag Archives: Faculty

Brits discuss adoption of American university ranks

Posted on June 16, 2009 by | Comments Off on Brits discuss adoption of American university ranks

The Chronicle: Britain’s Title Wave

With its lords and ladies, ancient honorifics, and titles both inherited and earned, Britain is a status-conscious realm. The halls of academe are no exception.

At most British universities, the title of professor has traditionally been awarded only at the culmination of an academic journey beginning as a lecturer, progressing through senior and principal lecturer, and, finally, reaching reader. But some universities have remained aloof from common practice, conferring professorships with relative rarity.

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Survey: Faculty out of the loop

Posted on June 12, 2009 by | Comments Off on Survey: Faculty out of the loop

Inside Higher Ed: Out of the Loop

Sixty-four percent of American faculty members at four-year colleges believe that their institutions have a “strong emphasis” on a “top down management style,” according to an international survey of professors being released today at the annual meeting of the American Association of University Professors. Only 31 percent said that they believed there was a strong emphasis on collegiality in decision making, and only 30 percent believe that there is a strong emphasis on good communication between management of higher education and academics.

British professors in the survey had an even gloomier view on those measures of shared governance. Professors in China saw a bit more collegiality (35 percent) and less of a top down management style (57 percent).

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Posted in Governance

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Georgia: Professor sought in murders remains on loose, and his passport is missing

Posted on April 27, 2009 by | Comments Off on Georgia: Professor sought in murders remains on loose, and his passport is missing

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Heavily armed police patrol UGA in wake of shooting
Professor sought in murders remains on loose, and his passport is missing

ATHENS — University of Georgia police patrolled the campus Monday with semiautomatic weapons as part of a stepped-up security effort in the wake of Saturday’s triple slaying at an Athens theater, chief Jimmy Williamson said.

Williamson said campus police are using two-officer foot patrols, with one of the two officers carrying an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.

Banner-Herald: Police searching for UGA professor in shooting that killed three at theater

University of Georgia SWAT team members ride in the back of a pickup as they search for Professor George Zinkhan after he allegedly shot and killed three people at a community theater picnic on

A nationwide search is underway for a University of Georgia professor who police say shot and killed his wife and two men early this afternoon at an Athens theater gathering.

George Zinkhan, 56, is still at large, Athens-Clarke police said.

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Posted in Safety & Security

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Vermont: UVM faculty plan budget-cut protest

Posted on April 6, 2009 by | Comments Off on Vermont: UVM faculty plan budget-cut protest

Fox 44: UVM faculty plan budget-cut protest

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – University of Vermont faculty members who say a starvation diet is being imposed on the school’s academic programs are planning a “Let Them Eat Gruel?” budget-cut protest.

United Academics, the union representing most UVM faculty, says President Daniel Fogel’s plan to reduce staffing will result in an English department without courses on Charles Dickens, a Political Science department without courses in international politics and a civil and environmental engineering program at risk of losing accreditation.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

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Union president says professor’s dismissal first in 25 years

Posted on April 6, 2009 by | Comments Off on Union president says professor’s dismissal first in 25 years

Calgary Herald: Union president says professor’s dismissal first in 25 years

OTTAWA — Denis Rancourt is the first tenured professor fired by the University of Ottawa in at least 25 years, according to the president of the university’s professors’ union.

“To my recollection, it generally doesn’t happen at the university,” said Atef Fatim, president of the Association of Professors at the University of Ottawa.

Rancourt, a physics professor and self-described anarchist, was suspended by the university in December after attracting national media attention for his unorthodox teaching methods, which included giving an A-plus to every student in an upper-year physics class.

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Profs blast lazy first-year students

Posted on April 6, 2009 by | Comments Off on Profs blast lazy first-year students

Toronto Star: Profs blast lazy first-year students

Wikipedia generation is lazy and unprepared for university’s rigours, survey of faculty says

University professors feel their first-year students are less mature, rely too much on Wikipedia and “expect success without the requisite effort,” says a province-wide survey to be released today.

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Posted in Students

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Ottawa professor fired over perfect grades

Posted on April 6, 2009 by | Comments Off on Ottawa professor fired over perfect grades

National Post: Ottawa professor fired over perfect grades

OTTAWA — The University of Ottawa has fired its controversial physics professor, Denis Rancourt.

He was suspended in December after he attracted national attention for his teaching methods, including giving a grade of A-plus to every student in an advanced physics class.

Rancourt plans to grieve the dismissal with his union, which in turn will take it to court, he said.

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Posted in Academics

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Churchill jury returns today

Posted on April 2, 2009 by | Comments Off on Churchill jury returns today

The Denver Post: Churchill jury returns today

A Denver jury will continue deliberating the fate of Ward Churchill’s civil case against the University of Colorado today after meeting for a half-day Wednesday without reaching a verdict.

The four women and two men listened to the case for four weeks and heard 45 witnesses testify in the courtroom of Denver Chief District Judge Larry J. Naves. Two male alternates were sent home after closing arguments Tuesday.

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Posted in Legal issues

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New Strategy at Wisconsin

Posted on April 1, 2009 by | Comments Off on New Strategy at Wisconsin

Inside Higher Ed: New Strategy at Wisconsin

The University of Wisconsin at Madison might be called a victim of its own successes. The state’s flagship institution has recruited prominent faculty, but has been forced to enter bidding wars with wealthy private institutions just to retain them. On top of that challenge, budget cuts and cost increases have made it difficult for the university to fill positions vacated by retiring baby boomers, leaving faculty lines open and forcing the university to cut course offerings.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

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Court Upholds Dismissal of Delaware State Professor

Posted on March 31, 2009 by | Comments Off on Court Upholds Dismissal of Delaware State Professor

Inside Higher Ed: Court Upholds Dismissal of Delaware State Professor

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld Delaware State University’s firing of a professor, Wendell Gorum, after he was found to have changed grades and enrollment status in official university records for 48 students. Gorum claimed that he was fired in retaliation for certain statements he made in the context of his job duties — statements that disagreed with administration positions. The court rejected Gorum’s free speech claims, citing a Supreme Court ruling in 2006 that limited the free speech rights of public employees when they are speaking on job-related matters, not simply speaking as public citizens. That decision has concerned advocates for public college faculty members, fearing that they could be punished for criticizing administrators. In the Delaware State case, however, the appeals court found that Gorum’s conduct changing grades would have led to his firing, for legitimate reasons, even if he had never spoken out in ways that may have offended the administration. Gorum’s actions changing grades, the court found, showed “disregard for the academic integrity of DSU.”

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Posted in Legal issues

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Bitter sex ed battle ends at UC Irvine

Posted on March 24, 2009 by | Comments Off on Bitter sex ed battle ends at UC Irvine

OC Register: Bitter sex ed battle ends at UC Irvine

An award-winning UC Irvine biologist who set off a national controversy in academia by refusing to take state-mandated sexual harassment prevention training changed his mind and took the class, ending a bitter dispute that lasted for months.

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‘The Knowledge-Politics Problem’

Posted on March 20, 2009 by | Comments Off on ‘The Knowledge-Politics Problem’

Inside Higher Ed: ‘The Knowledge-Politics Problem’

In the ongoing debates over professors’ politics, right-wing critics make much of the fact that many surveys have found professors — especially in the humanities — to be well to the left of the American public. This political incongruence is frequently used as a jumping off point to suggest that professors are indoctrinating students with leftist ideas.

Neil Gross, a sociologist at the University of British Columbia, is one of the leading researchers on faculty politics, and he recently finished a new analysis of these issues (to appear in a forthcoming collection of essays by different scholars) finding that the conservative critics are correct about humanities’ professors leanings, but incorrect about their views of what classroom responsibility entails.

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Posted in Politics

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Obama Must Tread Fine Line on Scholars Barred From the U.S. for Their Views

Posted on March 20, 2009 by | Comments Off on Obama Must Tread Fine Line on Scholars Barred From the U.S. for Their Views

The Chronicle: Obama Must Tread Fine Line on Scholars Barred From the U.S. for Their Views

Imagine a world where people can say whatever they want but are forced to wear earplugs at all times. What value would free speech have? The First Amendment does not just protect our right to express ideas; it protects our right to take them in. Its whole point is to ensure access to the thoughts of others, based on a belief that a successful democracy requires an informed citizenry and open debate.

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Posted in Government

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Popular University of Michigan-Flint professor dies in classroom

Posted on March 17, 2009 by | Comments Off on Popular University of Michigan-Flint professor dies in classroom

Flint Journal: Popular University of Michigan-Flint professor dies in classroom

FLINT, Michigan — A popular University of Michigan-Flint professor collapsed mid-sentence and died on Monday afternoon while teaching an honors English class.

Associate Professor of Foreign Languages Matthew Hilton-Watson, 40, was remembered as a wonderful professor who served as a mentor and friend to students.

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Professor Whose Article Was Retracted Resigns From Harvard Medical School

Posted on March 16, 2009 by | Comments Off on Professor Whose Article Was Retracted Resigns From Harvard Medical School

Harvard Crimson: HMS Professor Simon Resigns

A Harvard Medical School professor accused of plagiarizing a review of rheumatoid arthritis treatments turned in his resignation last week, over a year after the alleged infraction.

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Posted in Academics

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Hong Kong professor denied entry into Macau

Posted on March 15, 2009 by | Comments Off on Hong Kong professor denied entry into Macau

World University News: CHINA: Hong Kong professor denied entry into Macau

A Hong Kong professor and two pro-democracy politicians have been barred from Macau, raising serious concerns about academic freedom. AFP News reported that Johannes Chan, Dean of the University of Hong Kong’s law faculty, was turned away by immigration officers on 28 February when he went to give a speech at the University of Macau.

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Animal-Rights Activists Claim Responsibility for Arson of UCLA Professor’s Car

Posted on March 10, 2009 by | Comments Off on Animal-Rights Activists Claim Responsibility for Arson of UCLA Professor’s Car

The Chronicle News Blog: Animal-Rights Activists Claim Responsibility for Arson of UCLA Professor’s Car

The FBI is investigating yet another attack on a university researcher involved in animal experimentation.

A car was burned on Saturday outside the home of the researcher, an associate professor of behavioral neuroscience at the University of California at Los Angeles, an FBI spokesman said. No one was physically injured in the attack, the spokesman said.

A group called the Animal Liberation Front posted a message on its Web site from an entity calling itself the Animal Liberation Brigade claiming responsibility for the arson attack. The statement said the professor “addicts monkeys to methamphetamines and other street drugs” and promised future attacks that cause “a lot more damage than to your property” if the experimentation continues.

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Posted in Protests

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Pasadena-based plan for online university draws interest, skepticism

Posted on March 10, 2009 by | Comments Off on Pasadena-based plan for online university draws interest, skepticism

Los Angeles Times: Pasadena-based plan for online university draws interest, skepticism

An Israeli entrepreneur hopes to start a global, very-low-cost institution soon. But by dispensing with professors, it’s already a tough sell for some.

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Posted in Corporate University

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Tightening Picture for Faculty Pay

Posted on March 9, 2009 by | Comments Off on Tightening Picture for Faculty Pay

Inside Higher Ed: Tightening Picture for Faculty Pay
March 9, 2009

The rate of increase in faculty salaries is down this year – and that is evident even in data collected before many colleges started to announce furloughs and, in some cases, salary cuts. The median increase for faculty members at four-year colleges and universities for 2008-9 was 3.7 percent, according to a study being released today by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.

The survey showed larger increases for faculty members at private institutions and for the senior faculty ranks.

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Posted in Salary/Economic Benefits

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CUPA-HR Salary Survey Finds Overall Median Base Salary for Faculty Positions in Higher Education Increased by 3.7%

Posted on March 9, 2009 by | Comments Off on CUPA-HR Salary Survey Finds Overall Median Base Salary for Faculty Positions in Higher Education Increased by 3.7%

CUPA-HR: CUPA-HR Salary Survey Finds Overall Median Base Salary for Faculty Positions in Higher Education Increased by 3.7%

CUPA-HR recently released the findings of its 2008-09 National Faculty Salary Survey. Results indicate that the median increase in overall average salary for faculty members in colleges and universities was 3.7%, down from last year’s 4.0% increase. This finding reflects the salaries as of October 15, 2008, of more than 218,564 faculty members in public and private colleges and universities nationwide. Salaries are also reported for 5,154 researchers. Salaries were reported by 837 institutions, including 500 private institutions and 337 public institutions. Click here to see the data table for select positions.

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