Avōq’s Post

Higher education faces tumultuous times in America with the challenging political landscape. Tenured academics with free speech protections and shared governance in public university systems across the country should be sheltered from political and ideological interference by the states and the State. As a vocation, faculty play a role in society similar to professional investigative journalists in a vibrant free press, both acting as checks against the worst abuses of misinformation campaigns, and balancing political overreach as the fourth estate. May this continue for generations in the U.S. as the model for higher education throughout the world.

Good preview of the challenges Colleges and Universities face and the need for bipartisan support.

THE SECOND TIME AROUND, TRUMPOLINI WILL BE BAD NEWS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. "For America’s colleges and universities and the students they serve, the four years of Donald Trump’s first term as president were fraught, defined by threats to international students, allegations of “radical left indoctrination,” free speech controversies and far-reaching attacks on fundamental institutional values such as diversity.Since Trump left office in 2021, universities have continued to grapple with the legacy of his term and the movement it spawned. His four years in office helped to pave the way for the Supreme Court’s decision last summer banning race-conscious admissions. A controversial executive order spurred a cascade of state laws banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs and policies. Meanwhile, the rise of MAGA Republicanism spawned supercharged culture wars, entangling campuses and prompting some state officials to get increasingly involved in how public universities are run and what’s taught in classrooms." READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/e3Jvgg2Z

It bears repeating, attacks on education are attacks on democracy. In the firestorm over the Ivy League presidents’ performance at the congressional hearing, you may have missed the "Report of a Special Committee: Political Interference and Academic Freedom in Florida’s Public Higher Education System." The Florida's public higher education system educates 7x more students than Harvard, MIT, and UPenn combined. Yet, there have been no congressional hearings about how the Florida state government has systematically dismantled free expression and the free exchage of ideas on higher education campuses. Nor has it received front page coverage of major newspapers. "What we are witnessing in Florida is an intellectual reign of terror. There is a tremendous sense of dread right now, not just among faculty; it’s tangible among students and staff as well." The battle for democracy starts in the classroom.

Professor Chin, Professor Downs, Professor Frampton and Dr. Manning asserts "Neither the process of settler colonialism nor the legal and (often violent) cultural struggles over multi-racialism and white supremacy concluded with emancipation, Brown vs. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or the election of Barack Obama, to state the obvious. All endure, and this endurance is precisely what makes West Coast studies of campus history so problematic. They trace to the endurance of ongoing (sometimes celebrated) practices, not the legacy or afterlives of old practices. From our vantage point, we work and live inside a university shaped by slavery, settler colonialism, and the less-explored history of other racial groups and the U.S. university. This is an issue present on every campus, heightened by the early history of California's legacy of anti-Asian exclusion and violence, attacks on Sonoran and Chilean miners, and massive migration. We convened this symposium to ask how West Coast universities might approach questions that emerge in a study of racism on their campuses, and how to provide models that will be useful and necessary throughout the country."

Disappointing bias and lack of accountability of Higher Education—though predictable in this piece. This is precisely why State and Congressional reform intervention and oversight are sorely needed. Higher Education—you won't reform yourselves —get used to scrutiny and reform legislation with accountability.

For California to maintain its political leadership and economic standing as the fifth-largest global economy, it must invest in the diverse talent that can adequately educate and create equitable, student-centered environments conducive to student success. The reality is that today, California’s Black, Latinx, underrepresented Asian American and NHPI, and AIAN residents and scholars are still left out, limiting our state’s and students’ potential. Campaign for College Opportunity’s new report “Still Left Out: How Exclusion In California’s Colleges & Universities Continues To Hurt Our Values, Students, and Democracy” documents the lack of full inclusion and diversity reflective of California’s population among students attending the @uofcalifornia (UC), @thecsu (CSU), and @californiacommunitycolleges. These reports include a systemwide analysis of leadership at the UC, CSU, and community colleges, plus a detailed campus-by-campus analysis of senior leaders, faculty, and academic senate bodies. Read the full report: . #racialequity #higheredequity #CAEconomy #EconomicMobility #HigherEd #HigherEducation #PostsecondaryEducation

Are you caught up on #highered ? I found the Times' article roundup particularly informative: College Antisemitism Hearing: The presidents of Harvard, M.I.T. and the University of Pennsylvania were at the center of a contentious congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses. Here are some of the most pointed exchanges. (https://nyti.ms/41lRBev) Grade Inflation at Yale: Nearly 80% of all grades given to undergraduates at the Ivy League school last year were A’s or A-minuses, according to a new report. The findings have frustrated some students, alumni and professors. (https://nyti.ms/41jzWnF) Fleeing Florida: Many left-leaning professors are quitting coveted jobs with tenure to leave the state, citing Gov. Ron DeSantis’s effort to reshape the higher education system. (https://nyti.ms/3RAoKA2) Can Humanities Survive?: After years of hand-wringing about their future, liberal arts departments at a growing number of universities now face the chopping block amid budget cuts. (https://nyti.ms/46WjLxX) #highereducation #newyorktimes

Here is a link to the report mentioned in the article: https://lnkd.in/d9_vx-vC