Reading Room: Links from Remaking the University

…a little something to tide me over until I get to deciding what to post about after taking the day more or less off yesterday. e.g. local post, email and social media exchanges. Does getting into it with a local SoCal transplant, gated community resident, over student loan rates count? 


Back to deciding (which also depends on what shows up in my feed and comes in over the transom). Suggestions invited! So far, I'm thinking: Corporate U; cooperative efforts; interests and alliances outside highered vs academic precariat version of the Ivory Silo™ tendency; touring the adjunct blogosphere; social media matters; adjunct faculty with student loan debt; implication of changes in graduate access. Additionally, we are past due for another round of Petition Junction... new petitions and reminders about old ones that still matter. Or maybe I'll just ramble and see where it takes me...


In the meantime, Michael Meranze collects and regularly posts higher ed relevant links covering California, US and global higher ed. (Can COCAL Updates be far behind?)


California

• Bob Meister reports on Brown and Yudof's dismantling of the Master Plan.
• The Berkeley Faculty Association challenges the Administration on Shared Services.
• Pitts speaks out on pensions.

More UVa

• Bob McDonnell reappoints Helen Dragas to BOV. At UVA heads explode.
• How did the BOV mess up?  Let me count the ways [alas behind Chronicle pay wall, but that's OK... it's the inaccessible adjunct / contingent faculty articles that grind my grits]

The State of HigherEd

• Boards are more aggressively trying to make Universities something they are not ( references UVa ~ what happened there is going to happen again elsewhere even if not in the same form ~ as a lesson and caution for US universities everywhere)
• Federal Judge comes to the aid of For-Profits: strikes down gainful employment rule.
• Is HigherEd generating more inequality? (debate, no input from contingent faculty or students, also posted to NFM's Fb timeline, some discussion there. Come by and add yours...)
• Surprise!  Republican governors move to punish poor by opting-out of medicaid funds (contingent faculty relevant considering poverty levels and health caps gaps)

Global (we're all in this together)

• Can knowledge's public domain be protected? (knowledge, capitalism, open education, academic spring)

Economy (inextricably linked of course to the fate of public higher ed, mainstream media doom saying. Don't overlook alternative econ sources such a EPI, CEPR, Gin and Tacos (top of the line snark, social and political commentary), occasional links & commentary (marvelous graphics, also sharp social and political commentary from a radical economist's perspective) ~ please note: the latter two are NTT fac econ bloggers)

• Is Germany being hoisted on its own petard? (shrinking manufacturing, exports, economy...)
• Krugman on Europe's illusions (yet more dire economic predictions)

Links for Monday July 2, 2012