Education International…March 2014 Newsletter

…@eduint (EI), the voice of educators worldwide, brings together 401 education unions. @IIEglobal, more admin-centric, is another resource. See their list of top twitter sources for international higher education. Consider this a call to higher ed casuals from around the world for links and information sources on and especially directly from precarious faculty globally.

Sylvain Marois, ULaval, is working on a report for COCAL XI on the global casualization of academic labor — I'm helping and ask you to join us. Aside from US, Canadian, UK and Australian sources, our collection is still short on less top down sources, e.g. directly from sessional faculty and groups representing their concerns, which are very much the same as ours. We are not alone.

March 2014

Ominvore #ReadingRoom: not your dad's academy

…waiting for the #Adjunct Town Hall witching hour to arrive, rummaging through the feed reader's daily (and older catch). Many we've read recently and were not new even then. 

Increasingly more stories make it out of the Ivory Silo™ niches of journals and higher ed media. Omnivore casts its nets widely: its briefly annotated, themed collections open a two-way window on academic culture in the media, lay bare higher ed "media creep." 


I'm still waiting for coverage to include adjunct generated media. Until then, we do that for ourselves.

David A. Reidy (Tennessee): Social Justice, the University, and the Temptation to Mission Creep. From Class, Race, and Corporate Power, Thomas Breslin (FIU): Race, Class and the Promise of the Public University; and Ronald W. Cox (FIU): The Corporatization of Higher Education. Noam Chomsky on the death of American universities: As universities move towards a corporate business model, precarity is being imposed by force....The Wal-Mart-ization of higher education: Keith Hoeller on how young professors are getting screwed.... 

Not your dad's academy: Nick Kristof is wrong — professors are more relevant, accessible, and tech-savvy than ever before.  

Read the rest of not your dad's academy at Book Forum's Omnivore

best continuing #adjunct story…#EqualPay4EqualWork

…Suzanne Hudson and Don Eron

…Colorado HB14-1154 introduced by Rep Randy Fischer, also instrumental, with Don Eron and Suzanne Hudson, in their other NTT equity campaign -- the one Don and Suzanne got that AAUP award for.

Yes, the bill at the hearings was HB1154 ~ same bill, out on the next round. Remember that Sesame Street video about Bills? Lots of steps so pay attention because you could be doing this in your state someday. 




March 2, Don wrote, 

CPR interviews Caprice Lawless

If you'd like to run a brief news item, I've attached a statement of support issued by the NFM, which we received yesterday. The statement is spot on--and very much appreciated. 

So: a warm thanks to our brothers and sisters in the New Faculty Majority! 

It's been a busy few days. 

Suzanne, Caprice, and I, along with seven eloquent adjuncts from Front Range CC, met with the Senate Majority Leader. On Tuesday a few of us are meeting with the Speaker of the House, to try to persuade him to prioritize HB14-1154. 

Thanks, as always.  Best, Don

NFM Letter of Support for Colorado HB1154

Are #adjuncts worth helping?

…by Jack Longmate as posted to Contingent Academics Mailing List…& related trends. First, take a look at this from the "precarious faculty" archives, Sunday, February 20, 2011 Trend Watching: Jack vs WEA, #StateSOS, Taylorized!

Adjuncts vs. full-time faculty, a Community College Spotlight column, covers mostly Jack & WA HB1631 [an earlier version of 1348, below] kerfuffle (why Jack Longmate along with Wisconsin protesters and former AUC classmates occupying Tahrir Square are my personal heroes)... "Jack vs WEA" counts as a trend because we're going to see more of it, official rhetoric to the contrary not withstanding. Read your labor history. Nothing new under the sun. 

When you finish reading Jack's post below, please read the latest Contractually Bound column, 

Six myths about contract faculty in Canada. Pay particular attention to #3 (which could have been written by one of the WA adjuncts Jack describes in 6-9 below).

1. On Friday, Feb 28, I testified in a Washington state legislative hearing against HB 1348, a bill very strongly supported by tenured faculty and by some part-time faculty.  It has since died for this session. (Should anyone wish to view the hearing, it is viewable at http://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2014020206; the hearing on HB 1348 begins at the 39:40; my testimony at the 45:50 mark)

2.  Late Friday also, I read the Noam Chomsky text that Robin J Sowards assembled from a February conference in Pittsburgh, and aspects from two things have been swirling in my mind since.

Register online today for #COCAL_XI NYC Aug 4-6

…David Milroy, @cpfa_forum via Contingent Academics Mailing List 

COCAL XI in New York City 2014

SHAPING AN EQUITABLE AND DEMOCRATIC FUTURE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

— THE WAY FORWARD, AUGUST 4-5-6, 2014

The 11th COCAL Conference (Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor) 

will take place at John Jay College in New York City

Scheduled plenaries, forums and workshops will deal with  contingent faculty in higher education problems faced by in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and around the globe.  

Possible solutions and  actions will be planned

Monday, August 04, 2014 - Wednesday, August 06, 2014

John Jay College 524 West 59^th, New York City, New York 10019

Register online today at: COCAL XI in New York

You may also paste this URL into your browser:    https://www.regonline.ca/cocalxinewyork

For more details on the COCAL XI Program,  WWW.COCALINTERNATIONAL.ORG