A dangerous new policy requires a campus President's approval for profs to teach race & gender topics in Texas. "It strikes at the heart of what education means...which is circulate the exchange of knowledge without fear of retaliation.” — Rana Jaleel, AAUP Chair of Committee on Academic Freedom

College students ARE adults... is this an unpopular opinion? #academicsky #edusky

One thing I am learning from these Epstein emails is that rich people suck at writing emails.

Cornell will: 1. Report detailed admissions data to the federal govt quarterly, by race. 😓 2. Distribute Trump admin's interpretation of civil rights law as "training materials" to faculty/staff. 🤯 3. Pay $60M, inc. $30M for new agricultural research demanded by Trump admin. #academicsky 1/2

and you know what? even many 10th graders should be able to understand writing that’s “complex, erudite, punctuated by deep and fluent references” sometimes “meeting students where they are” means assigning something written by an adult for other adults

Racial diversity is good, because no racial group is inherently any better than others, so all racial groups should be included. Viewpoint diversity is stupid, because some views ARE better than others and NOT all viewpoints should be included. Why is #highered falling for this? #academicsky

My paper 'Dreaming in Focus: Cognitive and evolutionary perspectives on the functions and mechanisms of sleep cognition' is available on the online first of 'International Journal of Dream Research', and will be in print of April of next year. journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/IJ...

Oh no, I already carved my pumpkins and did not do this. There still may be time. #sleeppeeps

Damn. It's hard to be the only resistor I guess. #academicsky #edusky

I wrote about how "Grokipedia" is a new front on the war against reality itself. It's an attempt by the oligarchic class to seize the means of knowledge production itself and create a weaponized unreality. www.thedissident.news/grokipedia-a...

OK... but if you brag about your Google Scholar sH-index you have to pronounce it "Shindex". #academicsky #metasci

"And as millions face the prospect of starving, the president is obsessed over the fun minutiae of party-planning... Trump has spoken to senior administration officials about the idea of putting his name or image (like a bust) in the ballroom." - @swin24.bsky.social

When frustrated with manuscript submission, I keep it in perspective by flashing back to the early 2000s, when "Build PDF" took hours, you had to keep your browser open, and when it inevitably crashed you'd lose your data and have to start over. (At least that's how I remember it..) #academicsky

potentially of interest www.chronicle.com/blogs/letter...

That’s no ballroom…

"Within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, there will be a 75 percent cut to the sciences division and a 60 percent cut to the arts and humanities. The scope of cuts to the social sciences division remains unclear but is estimated to fall somewhere between 50 and 70 percent." #academicsky #edusky

So, apparently, "left-wing bias" is responsible for a failure of sociologists to adopt #openscience practices and robust causal inference methods. 🤔 And apparently, this implies that enforcing political "viewpoint diversity" among the faculty is a "scientific necessity." 🫤 #academicsky #metasci

UVA just formally agreed to: - BAN transgender people from bathrooms matching their identity - BAN diversity statements in hiring - BAN mentoring programs for underrepresented groups - BAN training programs that discuss white privilege #academicsky #edusky

When I came back from class today there was a Werther's Original on my desk that wasn't there before and I ate it.

...I am disgusted. My class's 50th Reunion will take place in less than a...month and I am encouraging my classmates to cancel their plans to attend and to discontinue any support for Vanderbilt. I have always been proud to have attended @vanderbilt.edu . No longer. I am ashamed of the Board's...

Fellow academics, I'm doing it. Going all in. Pulling the plug, literally. This is on my syllabus for Spring 2026: "This is an analog class. No Canvas; this syllabus is your guide." All readings are printed books; hand-written exams; no laptops. #academicbluesky #Highered #academia #Rutgers

The only acceptable response to these fascist demands is "NO!". Vanderbilt did not say "NO!". If even a few prominent schools negotiate on this, it will damage the ability of other red state schools to get a strong "NO!" from their own administrations. 1/2 #academicsky #edusky

Another purge at UT Austin: school may sign onto Trump compact www.kvue.com/article/news...

"Providing feedback" sounds a lot like negotiating, which in turn smells a lot like capitulation. #academicsky

It's 1:48pm EST on the 20th and still 🦗🦗🦗 from UT Austin, Vanderbilt, and U Arizona... It shouldn't be this hard or take this long to publicly say "NO" to fascist extortion. #academicsky

"Exposure to more unvetted views does not automatically bring one closer to the truth..“Disciplines do not create expert knowledge through a marketplace of ideas in which content discrimination is prohibited and in which all ideas are deemed equal” ..some ideas are better than others." #academicsky

The snake is growing. ✊🏽✊🏻✊🏿✊🏾✊🏼 Vanderbilt, Texas, AZ…now’s the time. The world is watching. The resistance is here. #NoLoyaltyOaths #NoKings #DefendHigherEd

UVA is the is the first Southern school to say "NO" -- that's critical for those of us watching this unfold from below the Mason-Dixon line. Now all eyes on you, #Vanderbilt 👀👀👀 #academicsky

This is Idaho 💙

Proud of the Penn faculty!!! www.inquirer.com/education/up...

📣Join our next PUI Invited Research Talk, highlighting outstanding research from Primarily Undergraduate Institutions! On October 22, Lupita Gonzalez will present her research on the effects of social identities on how exonerees are perceived. Sign up: ow.ly/HhYE50Xb8WQ

AAUP chapters across the nation in solidarity against Trump's compact! "Jonathan Gilligan, who proposed the resolution, [said] that the language of the resolution closely mirrored that of the University of Virginia’s...to 'help ensure unity & solidarity'" for others opposing the compact. Link👇

Students can teach us a lot. #academicsky

Uni administrators and trustees: We need viewpoint diversity. Professor, outside of class: Working class should organize to overthrow capitalism Uni administrators and trustees: No, not THAT kind of viewpoint diversity

Wut!? Is this accurate? Can anyone confirm the compact has actually been sent out to all schools? Bloomberg News is the only source I see saying this, based on an anonymous source. Also, STOP CALLING THIS AN "OFFER". Its a threat to destroy higher ed. #academicsky #edusky

Make an effect size prediction! @jamiecummins.bsky.social and I are replicating Balcetis & Dunning's (2010) "chocolate is more desirable than poop" (Cohen's d = 4.52) Let us known in the replies what effect size you think we'll find. Details of the study in the thread below.

Shared courtesy of my Penn History colleague, Ben Nathans

I looked at changes in enrollment shares for first-year classes in 2022 & 2023 vs. 2024 & 2023 (aka pre- and post-SFFA decision).

P.S. - Please STOP calling this "SPECIAL FUNDING TREATMENT". The "compact" promises to remove all research funding, all federal financial aid, all visa approvals, and tax exempt status from any school that won't comply. Thats a threat to crush universities, not a promise to give special treatment.

🚨MIT says "NO"!!🚨 They are the first to respond to the "compact" sent to 9 universities last week -- crucially, this sets the tone. “Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone” #academicsky

Students and faculty at Brown know the right answer to Trump's "compact". But 9 days since the letter went out and no response from their board and administration. Does deciding whether you want to abandon #academicfreedom and integrity really take this much time? #academicsky

Today the UVA School of Nursing passed, with overwhelming support, a resolution demanding that the rector and interim president reject the compact. bit.ly/3KPRMKV

Vanderbilt students and faculty know the right answer to Trump's "compact" for #highered. Why doesn't their Chancellor? #academicsky #edusky

Longhorns have an open letter they can sign here bit.ly/nodealtexas

Its been a week since nine schools received Trump's "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Ed..." The compact plainly demands ideological control of university operations by the federal government. GUESS HOW MANY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS HAVE SAID THEY WON'T SIGN? 🦗🦗🦗 #edusky #academicsky 1/2

State government doing the right thing. Faculty senates passing resolutions. Students and alumni saying "nope". So why have ZERO of these nine college administrations stated they won't sign the "compact" yet? #academicsky #edusky

Dear Journalists, PLEASE stop saying that Trump's #highered "Compact for Academic Excellence..." offers "preferred treatment" to signatories. That is false. Instead, it promises to revoke all funding, visa approvals, and tax-exemptions from any who don't agree to its outrageous fascist demands.

🚨 Are you an alum from one of the 9 universities Trump is attempting to extort right now? ✍️ Sign this petition to defend your university, free speech, and democracy. I signed. This is a time for courage, not capitulation. #JustSayNo #Compact 🧪🧠🧬 (context in thread)

New from me and @brendannyhan.bsky.social Why Trump's "Compact for Academic Excellence" is a devil's bargain and should be rejected in all forms www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...