administration
TagLatest Surprise Firing at Australian Catholic University
In the latest of a series of actions that appear to be an attempt prove itself an employer of last resort, Australian Catholic University (ACU) has fired philosopher Stephen Finlay, the former director of its Dianoia Institute, which it abruptly shut down last year, despite the fact that it announced at the time that Finlay would have a position in its Institute for..
A Christian University’s Unchristian Treatment of a Tenured Philosophy Professor
A tenured associate professor of philosophy who had received ratings of “excellent” in her annual reviews each year for the past decade, whose classes are always full or overloaded, who teaches extra courses, and who gets great student reviews in those courses, has been fired. (more…)
How Is Your Administration Spying on You?
The administration at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has been secretly video-recording at least one of its professor’s courses. (more…)
Dear University President, You Could Run Out the Clock
“It’s been shocking how impoverished, craven, and imprudent the leadership of the Anglophone’s wealthiest and flagship universities have been this past year.” (more…)
Philosophers in Administrative Positions
A few months ago during a discussion here about the demand for philosophers, the importance of philosophers in high-level administrative roles came up. (more…)
The Demand for Philosophers
Last week I was part of a panel invited to discuss “The State of Philosophy: Challenges, Threats, and Strategies” at the Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (APA). (more…)
Speech, Campuses, Antisemitism (guest post)
“If we don’t resort to censorship, we need to think more about the responsibilities of all actors involved with this difficult speech… This suggests an important role for colleges: helping students to exercise these responsibilities rather than simply trying to control them through speech codes.” (more…)
That’s Not How Layoffs/Redundancies Work, Sussex
The University of Sussex is reportedly attempting to lay off a philosophy lecturer while at the same time advertising a new position to teach the very same courses he does. (more…)
A Philosopher’s Role in the Texas A&M Debacle (updated)
Texas A&M University will be paying Kathleen McElroy $1 million as part of legal settlement over the university’s botched efforts at trying to hire her, and then trying to not hire her. (more…)
Philosopher Ann Cudd to Lead Portland State University
Ann Cudd, currently Provost, Senior Vice Chancellor, and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, has been named the next President of Portland State University. (more…)
Blended and Independent Departments of Philosophy
Some universities and colleges have departments just for philosophy (“independent” departments), while others have departments that include philosophy and other disciplines, such as “philosophy and religious studies” or “philosophy and history,” or “humanities” (“blended” departments). (more…)
Potemkin U. (guest post)
“We are mired in inevitably betraying and ignoble practices, obliged to pay mindless obeisance to useless cant or to perform pantomimes of actually important values made ridiculous through endless, unanswered repetition…”
What a Cancellation Looks Like (guest post)
“Most readers will find what happened to this professor horrifying and wrong…” (more…)
Save Philosophy at Bloomsburg
“In its desperate need to scapegoat something other than its own misadventures overbuilding, over-spending on everything but education… BU finds itself unable to fulfill its central mission: educational opportunity across that wide swath of disciplines that define a university.” (more…)
Letter Protesting Midwestern State University’s Treatment of Nathan Jun (updated)
There’s currently an effort underway to gather signatures for a letter in support of philosopher Nathan Jun, who resigned from his tenured professorship at Midwestern State University following the university’s maltreatment of him in regard to freedom of speech and medical-related issues. (more…)
University to Faculty Concerned about Covid: “Beg”
“We are discouraged from “sharing Covid data that is not related to the course.” Presumably, nattering on about the state’s overburdened hospitals, worn-down physicians, and increasing death counts might constitute “pressure,” and faculty “should not pressure students to get vaccinated or wear a mask.” The most we can do is “encourage.” In practice, these guidelines..
Concerns about Institutional Credit for Public Philosophy
When it comes to professional advancement, such as tenure and promotion, more and more philosophy departments are giving faculty credit for public philosophy—usually as service, but sometimes, depending on its form, as research or teaching. Does this institutionalizing of public philosophy come with problems? (more…)
University of Dallas Names Philosopher as Next President
The Board of Trustees of the University of Dallas, a Catholic university in Texas, has announced that philosopher Jonathan J. Sanford will be the school’s next president. (more…)
Notre Dame President and Philosopher Contracts COVID-19 after White House Visit
John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame and member of the univerity’s Department of Philosophy, has contracted COVID-19 after visiting the White House at the end of last month for the ceremony announcing the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. (more…)
Philosophers On Reopening Colleges and Universities in a Pandemic
Six philosophers discuss various issues related to the operation of institutions of higher education this fall, in this edition of Philosophers On, guest edited by Lisa Fuller. (more…)
Lasting Lessons of the Academic Lockdown
Most university and college campuses have been mostly closed for a month or so at this point, with professors teaching their courses online from home and meetings happening via videoconferencing. (more…)
Tenure in the Time of Corona (guest post)
The following is a guest post* by a philosopher who went up for tenure this year. (more…)
The Making of the Disaster at the University of Tulsa (Updated)
Last week, I reported on the proposal of the administration of the University of Tulsa (TU) to reorganize the school, reorient it towards vocational training, and eliminate departments and majors in philosophy and other disciplines. It turns out that the making of this disaster was itself pretty disastrous. (more…)
Bullshit Jobs in Higher Ed
“The degree to which those involved in teaching and academic management spend more and more of their time involved in tasks which they secretly—or not so secretly—believe to be entirely pointless” is a hot topic on academic social media this week, owing to an article about it by anthropologist David Graeber (LSE) in The Chronicle of Higher Education. (more…)..
Philosopher Richard Feldman Will Be Interim President of Univ. of Rochester
Richard Feldman, professor of philosophy at the University of Rochester and former dean of the university’s College of Arts, Sciences & Engineering, will be interim President of the University of Rochester, beginning in March, 2018. (more…)
Philosophy Minor Survives Program Massacre at Wisconsin-Superior
Administrators at the University of Wisconsin-Superior surprised their faculty this week with news that they were “suspending more than two dozen academic programs,” according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Remarkably, given all the times we’ve seen philosophy programs threatened over the past few years, the philosophy program at Wisconsin-Superior survived t..
Philosophy Department at IPFW Under Threat (guest post by Charlene Elsby)
The Philosophy Department at Indiana University – Purdue University, Fort Wayne (IPFW) is facing an ominous-sounding “restructuring,” owing to financial concerns. The university faces a $2-3 million revenue shortfall in next year’s $110 million budget, according to the News-Sentinel. (more…)
Administrator-Faculty Spousal Hiring
A reader who prefers to remain anonymous writes in with question:
My spouse is a finance professional interviewing to work for a university endowment. While there is plenty of information out there about faculty-faculty spousal hires, I haven’t been able to find anything about admin-faculty hires. That is, if my spouse is offered the position, would a spousal h..