#highered news as contemporary intellectual history—Meranze's Latest

…re-posted from Remaking the University. Back when Michael Meranze (history, UCLA) blogged a weekly links post, I often reblogged it. He still blogs regularly, but Latest Links is now a feature on the sidebar with no rss feed. Links encompass the education spectrum but from a California perspective, welcome and sometimes short in national higher ed coverage. 

PS Don't miss his latest, "The New Brutalism in Higher Ed" (9/4/14), building on LRB editor Marina Warners' Diary column in London Review of Books. Read both. Meranze, master of the killer close, brings the "new brutalism" of UK higher ed back to our own shores:

Warner began her account by describing the visit of a friend from California who noticed that the library (from the 1960s) had been built in the style of the "new brutalism" (Think of most old UC or CSU buildings). But as Warner herself notes, "new brutalism in academia was taking on another meaning."  Although it has happened with ruthless ideological will in England, it is not an alien story to the US.  Indeed, what has happened over the last few years under David Cameron is really just a fast-forward version of what has been going on in the US more slowly and in less centralized fashion. We are in the midst of our own new brutalism.  Although not as centrally directed we have been witnessing it for years: the recent intrusions by governing boards at the Universities of Illinois, Kansas, and Virginia; the shuttering of small language departments; the dramatic rise in tuition at public universities; increasing student/faculty ratios; ever growing reliance on adjuncts; cuts in Federal support for scholarly research; and our own, albeit less developed, auditing system.  In England, the transition occurred with such speed as to catch most people off-guard (despite the efforts of individuals like Stefan Collini, Andrew McGettigan, or the Campaign for the Public University).  But we have no excuse.This is the time to master the details to be able to oppose the systems being put into place on campuses across the country. [emphasis added]

Michael Meranze's Latest Links

Sunday Matinee: Chs 4 & 5: Organizing Boston & California

Barbara Wolf, Workplace 4.2

#adjunct organizing is A Simple Matter of Justice (Barbara Wolf, 2001). This Sunday's videos examine two noted cases and still relevant organizing models for regional and state, respectively.

Each Chapter focuses on the barriers, opportunities and organizing approaches being undertaken in a different situation. For example, Boston part-timers, through COCAL-Boston, are organizing on a regional basis because of the vast number of schools there, which may be the first US example of "metro strategy" later described by Joe Berry in Reclaiming the Ivory Tower. 

California community college part-time faculty, CPFA (California Part Time Faculty Association), are shown organizing statewide to change state laws. Sadly, the Boston page is gone, leaving no more than a a description in a Kairos article and dead link to a no longer existing website. The last Wayback Machine snapshot was May 1, 2003.  CPFA is still going strong: website, discussion list, quarterly journal, blog, Twitter, etc

COCAL-Boston: Regional Organizing (Boston) from Adjunct and Contingent on Vimeo.

About Boston Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor 

Outsourcing California #HigherEd

…today's higher ed news broke outside the higher media silo, immediately mainstream. Proposed California legislation would identify and approve up to 50 online courses for the three public systems, UC, CSU and CCC, to accept as credit for admitted students. 

Bob Samuels' focus, UC, University of California, may be the best known of the state's three systems: a top tier system of R1 universities, all world class and more than a few world famous and in the top 100 international ranking. CSU, California State University system is the largest  and most diverse university system in the nation, with 23 campuses, almost 437,000 students, and 44,000 faculty and staff. CCC, California Community Colleges system is the largest system of higher education in the nation, with 2.6 million students attending 112 colleges.These are the interlocking elements of legend, the visionary California Master Plan.

Bob Samuels writes:

#HigheredNews: post-election musings on what it means for us

…from #Academe Today & @InsideHigherEd's Daily News Updates (in particular, Four More Years, A Status quo Congress & more). From California, Changing Universities' Bob Samuels writes "We Won the Battle, Now the War," and Remaking the University's Chris Newfield delivers a, "Bullet Dodged by Ballot." Snarky and smart Lawyers, Guns & Money offers briefly annotated election reflection links, Victory, include education,. Robert Valiant has launched a website to gather information about who funded campaigns for charters and vouchers and against teachers, unions and public education.

Yes, I'm till pushing academic news aggregation posts even if they don't have the bling or get the clicks of single items. Being informed matters and the day after a presidential election is a for read news day. Besides #nanowrimo and #digiwrimo = #wrimo all month long: I have not fish but other words to fry. Expect rewarmed leftovers, reblogs and otherwise recycled posts. Upside: more posts.

Academe Today Wednesday November 07, 2012 Subscribe to this newsletter  The 2012 Election: What Obama's Win Means for Academe

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?)

Reading Room: Reclaiming the University Links, Friday June 8

…Michael Meranze rounds up #highered news, emphasis on California but relevant for all. Visit, read and bookmark or add Reclaiming the University, edited and with articles by Chris Newfield (author of Unmaking the University) and Michael Meranze, to your rss reader. In particular, take a look at Chris' June 6 piece, "Quality Public Higher Ed: From Udacity to Theory Y" (worth a post of its own). See also Bob Samuel's Changing Universities and Chris' "overflow" archives. It's a challenge keeping such similar blog names separate. Nor are these the only ones, a blog sub-genre for all practical purposes (and surely the topic for another post...).


Last week, an over ambitious link lollapalooza feast assembled passed its "sell by" date before even reaching the drafts folder. Also in the pipes: a less time sensitive university themed Omnivore collection. 

highered defunding, the future of work

Don't skip over the NYT links in Chris Newfield's recent posts on taxation and higher ed financing in California. They are more than just props. The Squeezed Middle and its tale of workplace changes are our story. 


In case you may be foolish enough to think that's not where you are: remember and respect the saying about the state as bellwether. Consider both posts and NYT articles as background reading for talking about higher ed policies and how to change trends. 

Keeping up with California, #futureof HE

... in many senses of the word and, over the years, in different ways, from the California Master Plan to its meltdown. Michael Meranze's Links for April 18, 2012 from Reclaiming the University,  (even if does seem sometimes like a link farm around here)

Chris Newfield has a new piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education: "How Unequal State Support Diminishes Degree Attainment" 

 

CSU faculty, librarians, and counselors begin voting on rolling strike

UC Davis Police Chief Spicuzza retires effective Thursday.

UC admitted over 40% more out of state and international students in next year's entering class. 

CSU may eliminate cash grants that help support up to half of its grad students. 

David Crane's students think that the state should make UC go private. 

Is UC Berkeley going to have to cover millions of dollars of losses on the new football stadium? 

Berkeley joins with venture capitalists, University of Michigan, and ivy league institution in new online start-up.

Virtual Meet & Greet: CPFA, NTT Faculty of the California #CommunityCollege system

... because getting to know one another ~ individuals, groups, networks ~ is part of building an NTT academic labor network and connecting existing networks for contingent academic labor. The fragmentation that has isolated us can become our strength as nodes on distributed networks, interconnected, sharing information and learning from one another, with no single organization, central hub, network or even ring to rule them all. 

I'm starting with CPFA because I grabbed the information when working a recent post. The overflowing feed reader, social media and correspondence make for a sizable if incomplete scratch list, which should be the next post. Feel free to add to it ~ tell us about community online or off in your corner of the adjunctiverse. Suggest new ways to meetup or new twists on old ways. 

California Part-time Faculty Association

Serving over 46,000 Non-tenure Track Faculty in California Community Colleges.

Catching up with California: links for September 15 & 16

By Michael Meranze from Remaking the University: excerpts from links for September 15

• The LAT has more info on UCOP's Magic Never-Ending Tuition Machine.
• Community Colleges across the nation face increasing financial strains. So do students.
• California Student Default Rates: They are highest at for-profits.
• SAT scores are down. Whatever that means.

and September 16

• Even the Regents don't seem to buy UCOP's Magic Tuition Machine But they are happy to raise executive salaries.
• Regent David Crane thinks UC should become more like a private university.
• Berkeley Public Education Coalition responds to Tuition increases.
• Regents discuss Graduate Funding
• And the LAO is skeptical that UC needs so much money. (h/t Dan Mitchell)
• Is the renovation of Cal Stadium a huge financial mistake? (h/t Catherine Cole)
• The Defense has rested its case in the Irvine 11 case.
• Cutting Administration may not be everything. But it sure isn't nothing.
• If you want to improve K-12 education you need to work with teachers not attack them

Applications for Unemployment are up, the economy is down, and the political class is pushing for more cuts to government spending. Have a great weekend. More for you to read tomorrow...

BYOP: teachers on wheels, part 1

BYOP? Bring Your Own Popcorn... candy, peanuts and pop. What else for Movie Night (or at least free online video night, scaled to the adcon budget)?.  I can't promise you a pay raise or health insurance but free videos to watch (courtesy of YouTube, Vimeo and other video sharing sites) are another matter.

Tonight's film is teachers on wheels, part 1, "a documentary on an employment crisis in higher education" by LD Janakos, Santa Monica CA. See also part 2 and part 3 in the series.

Good news, wired/weird news, bad news

East Michigan success, Minnesota frustration, California dreaming and serious speed bumps on Chicago's South Loop. 

Apropos the last, here is the latest from EWU (presumably Chicago, not to be confused with the Bangladesh for-profit, not yet anyway), forwarded by Joe Berry for posting to the public and blogged at the Adjunct Voice. 

The United Adjunct Faculty Association (UAFA) at

East-West University (EWU) withdrew its petition to vote for a union. 

In a letter addressed one day before EWU administration received the National Labor Relations Board collective bargaining petition notice for adjuncts, Chancellor M. Wasiullah Khan informed all department chairs, full-time faculty, part-time faculty and staff that "no contract will be renewed this year effective the forthcoming summer session and the academic year beginning with Fall quarter 2010." The letter went on to point out that no department chair, full-time faculty, part-time faculty or staff member would be hired back "without first meeting with the Chancellor." 

As an adjunct at EWU, I have never ever witnessed such blatant disrespect and disregard for the many hard working people who care deeply about their job. The primary reason for the petition withdrawal is based on the administration's attorney argument that no adjunct would be an employee at East-West during the summer so the petition for collective bargaining was no valid. UAFA members are not deterred. It will regroup and re-file the petition at the start of fall 2010. For more information and words of support, please send to

EWUadjuncts@gmail.com. 

In Solidarity, EWU Adjuncts

Please write the EWU adjuncts and let them know you support them. If you are also of a mind to write administration as well, here's the East West University contact page. With only 18 full time faculty listed, the university must be even more ad/con dependent than the now standard 70-73%

Since, as far as I know, EWU Adjuncts don't have a home of their own on the web. there are welcome to camp out right here ~  and I bet with Raye too.  

Southwestern College makes news again

when it receives Jefferson 'Muzzle' Award for Egregious Censorship

The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression has awarded a 2010 "Jefferson Muzzle"—a dubious distinction reserved for "egregious or ridiculous affronts to the First Amendment right of free speech"—to administrators at California's Southwestern College. 

The public college earned its Muzzle by "consistently refusing to heed and apply such clear principles of free expression in the governance of an institution of higher learning" in dealing with a peaceful student and faculty protest over budget cuts. The college banned from campus faculty members who participated in the protest. 

FIRE has been extensively involved in defending the faculty members and advocating for the dismantling of Southwestern's unconstitutional "free speech zone." This is the third consecutive year that a school at the center of a FIRE case has been awarded a Jefferson Muzzle. 

(an example of Column B)

Where Should We Go After the Fee Hikes?

Where Should We Go After the Fee Hikes?: "legitimacy and the great public absence"  ~ cross-posted from Chris Newfield’s Remaking the University, 11/21/09, guest post by Kris Peterson, UC Irvine:


I just finished watching a YouTube video of Regents Bonnie Reiss and Eddie Island make a quick get-a-way to their vehicle at UCLA - just after they voted to increase student fees by an unprecedented 32%. They were surrounded and followed by students chanting, "Shame on you!" Reiss represents the banking and finance industry; and Island, a retiree of McDonnell-Douglas, represents the defense industry.  So, given that these two industries, with their ballooned subsidies and profits, have done nothing more than take this country down over the last several years, I'm thinking a lot about legitimacy. Not legitimacy related to governance. Rather, legitimacy in terms of representation and intent.


Let me go back in time. Between 1952 and 2007, UC had a vibrant relationship with its patron, the weapons industry. Over the years, some found this relationship egregious, as the public was concerned about nuclear proliferation and Cold War military conflicts throughout the world. Culminating in the 1970s, student protests against UC-managed Labs indexed these global events. Yet despite all this, the one thing that the weapons industry, and indeed the US military, had in common with a stellar, highly endowed, multi-campus, public university was the priority of research. Whether it was about NSEP language grants, private sector-federal government partnerships, or DOD and NSF funding that blurred the lines between foreign policy and military interests, a strong interdisciplinary research institution, writ large, was good for this industry.


But now we have a new relationship that constitutes a mix of patronage and competition. It's been built with the finance industry, commercial real estate – Big Business generally – all of which the Regents represent.

Southwestern College students protest class cuts (& what the Administration did)

AAUP is taking an interest in this one after we brought it to their attention on adj-l. Click through to the blog post for comments.

Southwestern College Students Protest Class Cuts (And What the Administration Did Afterward) via The Writer's Washroom by Nickolas on 10/24/09

On Thursday, October 22, students at Southwestern College in Chula Vista chose to protest against the unilateral actions of the school president and its Board. The protest was civil and held in the fifty yard-by-fifty yard zone that the school calls its "Free Speech Area."


It should also be noted that the Free Speech Area is hidden away between several buildings and is invisible to any road, parking lot, or driveway that surrounds the campus. To a member of the voting public - such as myself - who showed up to watch the students, it was difficult to find. I, like others, had to park and wander the campus until we found it.

For the last Board meeting, President Chopra refused to move the venue from the tiny room it usually used to the auditorium it regularly uses when it expects a big crowd. He knew that students, professors, members of the public, and the press were coming to express their displeasure at his budget-slashing plans, so more than one hundred people – like me – stood outside and listened to the meeting on little speakers, while police guarded the doors.