Reclaiming the University: video & so much more

The Community College Summit is over, and yes, follow-up + comments, commentary, response statements, links, transcripts (if available) are on the blogging agenda. However, today, the day after the Summit, overrepresented by administration, pols and corporate interests but underrepresented by faculty, is Oct 6, the day before tomorrow... and

Tomorrow is Oct 7th, the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education. So it's back to U... and defending it. Students and faculty working together... Admin, for-profit mouthpieces and corporate reps will be conspicuous by their absence.

UMN March tuition hikes and furlough protest

From the U Minn faculty blog FERPE (Faculty for the Renewal of Public Education) post, Reclaiming the University video:

"Did you miss the FRPE/EAC event, "Reclaiming the University: Fulfilling Our Promise to Students and the Public," on September 30? Luckily, a student volunteered to videotape the event and has posted the files on the web, both as a streaming video and as a direct download."

While you are there, put FERPE on your rss reader and don't overlook their Reclaim the U! statement of purpose in the sidebar to the right of the main message area.

Now back to October 7th, Bob Samuels a posts for the occasion, "October 7th: Get Out The Vote And Support Higher Education" today ("say no to privatization and yes to public education"). I 

"On October 7th, people throughout the country will be demonstrating to support public education. This date also marks one of the last days people can register to vote for the November election, and so many groups are calling for joint activities to support officials who will defend public education."

FERPE will be out tomorrow. So will others from "sea to shining sea," from California to New York State. What about you?

Check out the October 7th twitter page at http://twitter.com/forpublicedoct7. Post your action updates to twitter and use any of the following tags to have your post syndicated on the national website: #oct7, #oct7th, #october7th, #pubed. (@NewFacMajority has been using#Oct7 but will now add others)

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.