The "return on investment" with tenured faculty is having accomplished experts who are experienced teachers there to teach the students. It's sort of a basic point about colleges, you'd think the people on a board of trustees would get that.

I feel like the general public is assuming that the cutbacks in universities are merely in fields they (wrongly) consider worthless and not in fields they claim are important, like American history. No, we're *all* under attack here, and it's getting grim.

"But those who want to diminish the faculty’s decision-making authority, or who think universities should be run more like companies, should be careful what they wish for." www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...

Devastating: Hampshire College is permanently closing following the Fall 2026 Semester. A beautiful institution & community that has done so much for so many. My child is a current Hampshire senior. Hampshire's approach to education is so unique, humane, & exciting—I've seen it first hand. Tragic

I'm teaching Classical Sociological Theory right now and would love to bring in some examples of Marianne Weber's work but I am struggling to find English language translations of her original work. Any suggestions?

“According to a recent study… only 2% of college students — and only 3% of college students who identify as Republicans — said their political views have made them feel out of place on their campus. Thus, the right’s characterization of higher education is a fiction.”

HB 580 in Alabama will create post-tenure review process for faculty, let Board of Trustees shape curricula & limit the power of faculty senates. “The bottom line is that it’s a bad bill. It will do little to bring about the transparency & accountability that lawmakers desire.” —Auburn AAUP

HIGHLY recommend Vicky Osterweil's "The Extended Universe" which comes out this week from @haymarketbooks.org. Great blend of research and cultural criticism that gets into how Disney has shaped global policy w/ reach far beyond Hollywood by dissecting the business principles of IP.

What has 14 months of Trump meant for Medicaid? Less funding and staff. Way more red tape for millions of low-income recipients. 10 million more people losing health insurance by 2034.

Profoundly angered by letter that the @asanews.bsky.social President and Executive Director sent to the membership. To blame colleagues for membership decline and shut down democratic processes on matters of genocide in times of authoritarian expansion is astonishing.

🚨 Please comment if you can find the time and circulate widely. The LCME Standards — and their application in med schools — are not perfect but they are the ONLY national requirement incentivizing med school leadership to have *at least something* on social inequalities!!!

Faculty senates are under attack from new legislation that sidelines faculty voices and undermines academic freedom. The latest AAUP report defends independent, representative governance as essential to higher ed’s integrity. @aaup.org academeblog.org/2025/11/18/i...

A new state-by-state evaluation of the projected energy and water use of "AI" data centers in the US. Looks… real bad. Like, "undoing tech sector climate gains" bad. Strongly recommends immediately ensuring any & all new "AI" data centers to run on existing & expanded renewables grids. Which… yeah.

Few things bug me more than higher ed leaders saying that we lost our mission and lost the trust of the public, when we have actually been the target of a decades-long smear campaign by the right wing that worked. The moment we’re losing our mission is right now, in capitulation.

“If there is a message to be heeded in the legislative assault on governance bodies, it is that the enemies of higher education, nonetheless, still fear faculty authority. Why else would they be so insistent on silencing faculty members?” #DefendHigherEd

Great to see so many Philadelphia hire ed folks at yesterday’s Day of Action! Cross-union organizing makes us stronger in the fight for academic freedom and the soul of our schools @aaup-penn.bsky.social @afscme590.bsky.social @aft.org @apscuf.org @fsfccp.bsky.social

This is fascinating because this is such a new field and somehow they are going to hire 100 tenure-track faculty in the next 5 years who specialize in it. And yet when asked to fill spots with faculty of color/women/marginalized groups, administrators often cry about how the pipelines don't exist.

Philly! On Friday, Nov. 7th at 12pm Noon, join higher ed workers and students at 20th and Market to protest Senator McCormick’s co-signing of billionaire attacks on Higher Education in Pennsylvania. Despite writing a book about leadership, is nothing but a fool follower of bad actors.

@aaup.org Legal Advisory Letter to General Counsels about the significant First Amendment violations the Compact creates and that will face any compact signing university or college #NoCompact www.aaup.org/sites/defaul...

An analysis of “nearly 1,000 AI-enabled medical devices, or AIMDs, approved by the FDA found an alarming trend: Devices from publicly traded companies are far more likely to be recalled, and many hit the market without being tested on real people.”

I know we all have bigger concerns right now, but what is going on with the ASA?

The SSM collection on Boltanski's "social uses of the body" that @ahvinson.bsky.social and I appear in is now live! nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

The s key on my laptop is not working. I am ending all my emails with a single warm regard.

If you are broke and would like a free physical copy of Enemy Feminisms, DM me your mailing address. I will probably cover postage (or might ask you to chip in a bit for that)

New article with @ahvinson.bsky.social in which we use Boltanski's "somatic cultures" to explore the sociology of health professions education authors.elsevier.com/c/1lv~R-CmV5...

BREAKING: WE WON!!! 💥 💥 💥 Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment. Full ruling here:

77% are right-wing violence. if you add domestic Islamist extremism (which, if you believe Gambetta and Herzog, are also right-wing), then we're at 95% ninety five percent is right-wing violence

Very excited that the special issue of the Drexel Law Review arising from this year's symposium on democratic erosion and the contemporary assault on education, knowledge, and academic freedom is now published. My introduction to the symposium issue is available here:

“It found 90% of respondents think federal investment in STEM education is important for future economic prosperity, and the majority of respondents from both parties are concerned about policy changes that might make it harder for the U.S. to attract and retain top scientists.”

Every time Trump turns to a liberal institution to demand cooperation, it should be a reminder that he can’t accelerate the spread of fascism without our help. And we strengthen the power we already have when we withhold our help.

I am really enjoying this excellent book from @dukepress.bsky.social

They are coming for every university, if you think you’re safe because it hasn’t been yours yet I don’t know what to tell you. Join AAUP, refuse to comply, organize your colleagues

Penn workers of all kinds, there is a petition here you can sign and a rally to attend with your colleagues tomorrow. See you there

I sincerely think that universities should suspend their productivity standards for scientists and ask them instead to hold town halls in schools, public libraries, museums, shopping malls, and anywhere else and communicate what is being lost with the collapse of the research ecosystem.

This sober study of the protests found they were overwhelmingly non-violent and vandalism free. That is just not the impression you get from the coverage, which focused on the most fringe actors and confrontations with police acleddata.com/2024/05/10/u...

There is a real, genuine 1st Amendment crisis in the United States right now. The government is openly retaliating against anyone with a viewpoint it doesn't like: Pro-Palestinian protesters, law schools teaching Black History, pro-immigration public service loan forgiveness seekers.

The AAUP wholly condemns this punitive weaponization of federal grant funding. This attempt to discipline & control a university campus is a transparent hallmark of authoritarian rule & harshly violates the central mission of education to serve the public good. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/n...

I need y'all to sit with this headline and understand what is being done to our community. They're trying to criminalize our very existence. This is a campaign of eradication. www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/rcna...

Trumpists don't hate antisemitism. They hate universities.

We urge university leaders to respond confidently, with law and moral principle on your side, and not to sacrifice essential and legally defensible DEI initiatives that help universities fulfill their most basic mission to pursue truth and knowledge for the common good. app.box.com/s/2me4mszr6p...

If you're attending ASA in Chicago this year, I'm organizing the regular session for the Med Soc section. I'd love to see your papers in the queue. Submit before Feb. 26! @asanews.bsky.social

This is a challenging book at a challenging time, but for feminists like me who tend to repudiate TERFism as "not real feminism", it's an important push to grapple honestly with history and be clearsighted about the nature of our current opponents. It is, Sophie says, "a love letter to feminism".

I was happy to speak with @melissagiragrant.com about pushing back against academic censorship in the current moment. @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/1917...

DEI initiatives are still legal. Universities need to stand their ground. A Friday gift to your university's General Counsel Office - courtesy of an all star lineup of civil rights lawyers and scholars. You're going to want to read this.

if I were Europe I'd be doing a crash university buildout right now. a whole bunch of top US academics can be had at pennies on the dollar www.thebulwark.com/p/the-doge-b...

Hundreds in Philly braved the freezing temps to rally for our healthcare, research, and jobs! ❄️💪 Workers & students from CCP, Drexel, UPenn, Rutgers, Temple, Jefferson, Arcadia, Rowan, Moore—alongside elected leaders & union presidents—made it clear: We won’t back down. #LaborForHigherEd