I just received a public records request for my course syllabus, and it looks like the request came from The Oversight Project (an affiliate of the Heritage Foundation). | Christopher Petsko I just received a public records request for my course syllabus, and it looks like the request came from The Oversight Project (an affiliate of the Heritage Foundation). The stated goal for the record...

The latest in the fed attack on higher ed, & why collective response is critical. How one campus, one faculty member, responds sets precedent for us all. Higher ed leaders + their faculty need each other, within and across institutions. More on #MADC strategy here: tinyurl.com/55kv7b2z #AcademicSky

“I’ve never heard of anything like this in K-12 or higher education.

The full scope of the monitor’s role is not even clear.

Will this person be policing what is taught? Who is hired? Who is admitted? This is dangerous.”

WU-TANG FOREVER 👐🏽

‘The Best Day Higher Ed Has Had in A Year’: Larry Summers on the Columbia Settlement The former president of Harvard sees it as a model for a university he once led.

Summers opposes (most) government control of Harvard, but encourages Harvard central admin's consolidating power. A crisis exploited. #AcademicSky @aaup.org

Are we - higher ed folk of various sorts - able to agree that Jim Ryan should NOT have resigned? Please discuss.
#AcademicSky

Faculty at IU allege lack of communication, errors in degree cut list Faculty at IU Bloomington say the provost only accepted a limited number of exemptions, despite ICHE saying it wouldn't be hard to make appeals.

But don't get me wrong, things are bleak.

The Death of Shared Governance When administrators attempt to slash programs and lay off staff, should faculty have a say?

I've got Mark Twain's line in my head about this - in part because shared governance is a group effort, not a gift. (Maybe more a team sport really - qigong meets mixed martial arts.) I say a bit more about that here: tinyurl.com/bdeadd4r

#AcademicSky @aaup.org #sharedgovernance

Re-watching The Handmaid's Tale as validating documentary vs. apocalyptic sci-fi.

ED Favors Colleges With “Civic” Schools in Awarding Grant The federal government is funding educational seminars about the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. Applying institutions get a leg up if they have what are often criticized as conservative cent...

The feds tying $ to civility is a red flag combo. Higher ed leaders: please don’t use this to curry fed favor | chase dollars | tighten control on your campuses. Civility-&-civics-as-compliance (to the govt, of your community) is not leadership, something I wrote more on here: tinyurl.com/2j9bmf7t

I deeply respect Cornel West. But this piece, like so many calls for "civility" in higher ed, aims faculty & students without examining leaders' arguably greater role in shaping the conditions that make such engagement possible. I try to unpack that part of things here: tinyurl.com/2j9bmf7t

Higher ed presidents' not standing up, not standing together (#MADC), and not standing with their institutional communities (#sharedgovernance) will mark the end of American universities and colleges.

Civil Leadership in Higher Ed The resignation of University of Virginia president Jim Ryan – forced out under pressure from both federal and state forces[1] – marks a threshold moment for higher education. It signals that those wh...

I haven't posted in a while because I'm doubting the impact of anything. The UVA president's resignation put me over the edge from a higher ed standpoint. A longer-form piece somewhat on that: tinyurl.com/2j9bmf7t

We feed you.
They hunt us.

Exposed: University of Michigan Hired Undercover Spies to Target Students As a second-generation alum of the University of Michigan, I’ve often reflected on how this institution shaped my life. The Diag, the center of campus with its steady hum of voices calling out injusti...

And the answer is also definitely not this (so angry at and aliented from my alma mater)

Opinion | Students’ Right to Be Hostile Protest is, by definition, discomfiting.

I was a Michigan undergrad in the late '80s when anti-apartheid shanties became a feature of the "Diag." We - administrators, faculty & students - must TOGETHER figure out how to balance avoiding harm (different than hurt) w/ preserving voice. Hint: "civility" (tinyurl.com/5fjh9nuj) is not it.

The town hall should have come before the decision, which was top-down and leaves affected faculty cut-off, confused, and in the lurch. It did not need to go this way. Shared governance and "managerial prerogative" are not antithetical, but the combo does require some time & emotional intelligence.

U.S. college is first to decline federal science grants because of new DEI language Williams College says NSF and NIH requirement related to discrimination “undermines” academic freedom

The seeming lack of faculty input here is alarming. With fed attacks, higher ed needs collective defense across institutions + inclusive strategizing w/in them. Faculty, esp. those most impacted, must help shape responses or we risk undermining the academic freedom we aim to defend. #AcademicSky

These are the proactive steps states need to be taking right now. Another thing: every Democratic governor needs to have a sit-down now with the state adjutant general to carefully review that person's understanding of their responsibilities to their state, its citizens and the federal constitution.

I got involved in faculty governance 5 years ago because libraries and IT were both vectors of corporate influence over the core functions of the university that went mostly unnoticed by faculty.

And now here they just come out and say it in the NYT. It’s not too late to get involved, y’all.

Advice | 5 Steps to Defend Higher Ed How to stand up for academe in this era of constant attacks from federal and state governments.

‪Appreciate @drkevinrmcclure.com's/ @chronicle.com's coverage of faculty organizing, but a major example was omitted: one campus sparked a collective academic defense effort that spread to 60+ university senates in 3 months. It's now a movement, and a testament to faculty power. #MADCs

Re-Embracing Full Spectrum MSW Education: Responding to Crisis by Returning to Our Roots With the close of this academic year, I’ve been reflecting on what makes social work not only distinct but urgently essential, especially now. In earlier posts, I shared thoughts on how our field uniq...

In this new piece, I reflect & invite your thoughts on the urgent need to reclaim full-spectrum, not methodologically siloed, MSW education. I share ideas and models already in use, explore barriers to doing this work, and invite an exchange about what’s working in your own SW training experiences.

This Is a Summer to Organize (opinion) Faculty may want a break, but the architects of the assault on higher ed won’t be breaking and neither should we, Jennifer Lundquist and Kathy Roberts Forde write.

This is going to be an unusual and busy summer for "academic year faculty." LET'S GO

I think this is finally the moment to publicly confess the time my mom, ~ age 10 me, and my 5 yr old brother went to a nursery, mom & I went one way and bro another, and 30 min later he showed up with 50 rose bush tags, VERY pleased with himself. I'd never seen my mom move that fast (to the doors).

😂 It's me...

I'm just outside NYC and it's cloudy today....

Big hypocrisy for such a little man.

For your Friday contemplation or edification