How did I get to the place that I am watching a Cal v. SMU football game because it affects Duke's place in the ACC Championship game? A lot of bad decisions were made, only some of them by me.

Ben Parsons's Bad Grammar: Teachers, Crime, and the Law in Late Medieval and Early Modern England

People who care about higher education and institutional autonomy need to pay attention to CPHE and the undercutting of the regulatory triad. Professor Harrison is doing important work on CPHE and I encourage people to listen to her discuss the politicization of accreditation.

Grammar is difficult. I used to think of primary as an adjective or a noun. I haven't checked CMOS on this, but I now think that primary is a verb.

Just to be clear, I am not that Tim Kaine.

#HES2025 may be ending, but our virtual exhibit is still open! Browse our virtual exhibit and get 30% off & free domestic shipping using code EX58172: bit.ly/UCPEXHEdS

Shock doctrine tactics supported by schlock data make a mockery of shared governance. UNL AAUP are fighting hard. Time for faculty at every university going through "program review" to stand with their colleagues and students being targeted. @aaup #highered www.chronicle.com/article/a-un...

The ad paid for by Ontario during the ALCS is well done. The audio is a 1987 anti-tariff talk by Reagan (about how they hurt people and tank the economy) set to modern video.

USC rejects Trump’s Loyalty OATH. Four down, five to go! www.latimes.com/california/s...

Mary Anne Franks explains what Fearless Speech is, and why we need to practice it more than ever. @maryannefranks.bsky.social

#BREAKING: The Department of Education has delayed the semiannual convening of its accreditation advisory committee, NACIQI, for the second time this year, according to an email obtained by @insidehighered.com.

The officiating in the UGA/Auburn game is a cluster

I’m sitting outside in DuPont Circle, drinking a beer, listening to the Cubs, and working on a field guide to help protect academic freedom (being put together by the AAUP’s Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom). It is a pretty great way to spend a Wednesday night.

Join us! Monday at 7. www.aaup.org/event/politi...

“Trump’s restrictions on H-1B visa applications will lead to less lifesaving research, reduced innovation, & diminished competitiveness. This short-sighted policy will hurt every American by slowing research breakthroughs, weakening our economy & putting our global leadership at risk.” —Todd Wolfson

It's publication day for UNIVERSITY KEYWORDS. Across 27 sharp essays, the book offers a critical account of the political economy of US higher education, how it came to be structured this way, and how together we might build a better university together.

This is Monday. I'll be there. The other panelist will be a lot better.

🚨🚨🚨 TONIGHT @7PM ET: AAUP PresidentTodd Wolfson will be live discussing yesterday’s proposal by the Trump admin to give preferential treatment to colleges & universities that pledge allegiance to their ideological agenda. Tune in on the AAUP’s YouTube & Instagram channels!

Some schools will be starved of resources. Other schools will be offered bribes. The end goal is the same. To make the universities an extension of the Trump administration. Shame on any of these institutions willing to take the bribes.

Introducing “Faculty on the Frontlines,” a new series from the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom that documents the stories of AAUP members! Over the next 2 weeks, we will spotlight the stories of 10 AAUP members fighting to defend academic freedom. Check out our teaser 🔥

Your AAUP-SC is proud to be participating in this Oct 6 event on Zoom. Register here: www.aaup.org/event/politi...

I wish people knew the actual work that a lot of faculty members do. It is advising, teaching, reading, serving, researching, and sometimes writing. I have four students trying to defend in the next five weeks, so tonight I am reading and commenting.

📢 Our open letter reminds public higher ed leaders + administrators that their actions must follow the law, not political rhetoric. The First Amendment protects the teaching of controversial topics. Executive orders and legislation to the contrary cannot override this constitutional protection.

Read this in the archives today. It is from the resignation letter of a dean in the early 60s after the governor ordered a faculty member fired for political reasons and the board agreed. The president fought back but the professor was still formally reprimanded and denied a raise. Seems relevant.

One thing that seems increasingly clear is that the shooter was mostly disconnected from politics, acted alone, and even his roommate did not know what was going on. There are no groups involved in the Kirk shooting according to the evidence, but it is still "round up the usual suspects"

As a reminder, until this year, the largest settlement of this type was a $14 million fine for Liberty University after a 2-year investigation involving repeated violations of the Clery Act with Title IX implications.

Kevin Bazner and I contributed a piece to the latest issue of the American Historical Review on using digital archives to study the histories of HSIs. At a time when MSIs are losing hundreds of millions of $ in federal funds, looking to the past reminds me that history is never a straight line.

This is going to be an amazing conversation. Come join. @aaup.org @sfndhe.bsky.social

PEN America: “We are witnessing the death of academic freedom in Texas." https://pen.org/press-release/swift-removal-of-academic-leaders-at-texas-am-signals-the-death-of-academic-freedom-in-the-state-warns-pen-america/

Looking forward to this conversation with @hebagowayed.bsky.social, Zoé Samudzi, and Vineeta Singh, hosted by @journalspectre.bsky.social @haymarketbooks.org Come join us!!

It is amazing to me, with all that is happening, that we still have a holiday celebrating pregnant people. Happy Labor Day to those who celebrate. (Also, power to unions.)

Read this. I have assigned it in two classes and I have mentioned it to reporters and encouraged them to contact Brendan and Barrett.

“Historically the best & brightest in the world came to the US to study. Now under Trump’s destructive policies, the best & brightest are fleeing the country. We need to reverse course & reclaim the values that made this country a beacon of research & free inquiry.” — Todd Wolfson, AAUP President

This is bad. Tenure has never provided as much security as faculty assume and administrators have often violated the norms of shared governance on program closures. Worse, admins have often weaponized closures for political/personal purposes. Even considering that, this seems brazen.

@aaup.org Youtuber Hank Green (with 3.94 million followers) has made a video about Trump and higher ed. He's provided a link to the AAUP. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQwh...

Associate professor & JD student looking for members of general & legal counsels at higher education institutions for a study on navigating free speech, equity, & the law. Past staff members who served in the past 5 years are also eligible! Learn about the study here: tinyurl.com/LegalCounselEquity

Being a reporter is tough and sometimes things are cut by editors, but I really hate to be quoted in the press without the important parts. If I say "So, for example, someone might say X," it should never appear as Tim Cain said "X." Versions of this have happened twice this week.

First day of classes at UGA. After a dozen years, it still feels too early. But, the semester is afoot and my classes will wrap up before Thanksgiving.

PEN America on White House review of exhibits at the Smithsonian: "The administration’s efforts to rewrite history are a betrayal of our democratic traditions and a deeply concerning effort to strip truth from the institutions that tell our national story." Full statement: pen.org/press-releas...

SB 37 took a hatchet to faculty rights in Texas, despite a hard fight from @texasaaup.bsky.social This is just the beginning

“This and other executive orders eliminating federal funding and forcing faculty to end legally permissible work will deprive students of opportunities for educational advancement and economic flourishing.” —Todd Wolfson, AAUP President Read full press release and response to Trump’s directive👇

Thanks to Cassie & @mhs1791.bsky.social for asking about the children that created America's public schools. If you'd like to take 25% off your copy of the book version, use code HSUM25:

This is like firing the rooster because it’s morning. www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

9th Cir. stays injunction against Trump's order excluding federal workers at ~40 agencies/departments from collective bargaining. Reasoning is that the EO said the magic words: "national security." (Panel was 2 Trump appointees & 1 Obama appointee) www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/u...

The truth is what *he* says it is Not what data say Sowing mistrust of the numbers is a feature, not a flaw, of the authoritarian strategy