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higher education



  • A Prominent Story about How "Diversity" Entered College Admissions is Wrong

    by Charles Petersen

    The plaintiffs in a case seeking to outlaw affirmative action in admission policies are relying on a false narrative that "diversity" entered Harvard's admissions criteria as a way to limit the number of Jews admitted. While the existence of Jewish quotas is documented, the two aren't connected. 



  • Why are Universities so Disrespectful of their Organized Workers?

    by Maximillian Alvarez

    From teaching assistants to cafeteria workers, labor exploitation and union busting are the shady underside of the modern university, according to three scholars active in the academic labor movement. 



  • Florida Universities on Defensive as State Attacks Diversity Initiatives

    Interviews with Miami Herald reporters show the behind-the-scenes work university faculty and staff are weighing how much compliance will be required with new state laws. The DeSantis administration may achieve more performative than substantive results, but uncertainty and anxiety are common on campus. 



  • Texas Legislation Takes Aim at University DEI Programs

    The legislature would prohibit the operation of DEI offices on public campuses in Texas and maintain a list of university staff who violate the law, with consequences for employment. 



  • Fear and Loathing in Florida

    by Samuel Hoadley-Brill

    "Much like 'voter fraud,' the term 'critical race theory' can mean whatever DeSantis needs it to mean to justify his anti-democratic agenda."


  • Another Casualty of the Academic Job Market? The Relatable Professor

    by Elizabeth Stice

    As the academic job market demands a degree of excellence and achievement in young scholars that was unknown for earlier generations of faculty, are the shrinking ranks of the faculty being filled with professors who struggle to relate to their students? 



  • The Lost Promise of College for All

    by Jack Schneider and Jennifer C. Berkshire

    The expansion of college education—and the encouragement directed at all Americans to pursue a degree—was driven by bipartisan agreement that education could increase prosperity and alleviate inequality. Unfortunately, without a commitment to public provision, the price has been massive individual debt. 



  • DeSantis Higher Ed Bill Heads for Legislature

    DeSantis ally Chris Rufo tweeted that the bill "is channeling the sentiment of the voters, who have demanded that taxpayer dollars stop subsidizing left-wing racialist ideology and partisan political activism. Democracy returns.”



  • When the Public University is a Corporate Landlord

    by Charmaine Chua, Desiree Fields and David Stein

    During negotiations with graduate student workers, UCLA administrators claimed that increasing stipends would effectively subsidize local landlords through higher rents and squeeze the poor in the Los Angeles housing market. The reality is that the university is an investor in a huge real estate trust that is hiking rents itself. 



  • The Three Little Letters that Have DeSantis on the Attack

    by Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Erica Licht

    By defunding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in Florida's colleges, the governor is putting the state out of step with research-driven findings about how institutions and workplaces can incorporate diverse populations like Florida's – students, campuses and employers will pay the price for political posturing. 



  • Florida's Higher Ed Battles are, in Fact, Highly Precedented

    by Barrett J. Taylor

    Understanding the processes and agendas at work in the DeSantis administration's push to change higher education in Florida can help provide perspective on what's new, what's familiar, and what's at stake in the future.