Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #AcademicFreedom
Most recents (24)
Today, the AAUP released our Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2022–23, which examines whether economic conditions in the academy have returned to “normal” after 3 years of pandemic.
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aaup.org/report/annual-…
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aaup.org/report/annual-…
The report finds that real average faculty salaries have declined sharply for 3 consecutive years, with a cumulative decrease of 7.5% from fall 2019 to fall 2022 after adjusting for inflation.
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In 2022-23, average full-time faculty salaries for women were 82.3% of those for men in 2022–23.
#GenderPayGap
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#GenderPayGap
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On the day FL governor DeSantis is to announce his bid for president, the AAUP has released a preliminary report on the impact of his unparalleled ideologically driven assault on higher education in the state.
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On the day FL governor DeSantis is to announce his bid for president, the AAUP has released a preliminary report on the impact of his unparalleled ideologically driven assault on higher education in the state.
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In January, after a number of alarming events in Florida, the AAUP established a special committee to review the apparent pattern of politically, racially, & ideologically motivated attacks on public higher education in the state.
aaup.org/news/special-c…
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aaup.org/news/special-c…
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After interviewing dozens of faculty members at multiple public colleges & universities in the state, our preliminary report concludes that #academicfreedom, tenure, & shared governance in FL’s public higher ed system are indeed under attack.
aaup.org/news/florida-h…
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aaup.org/news/florida-h…
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A new AAUP report published today concludes the admin of @HamlineU violated the #academicfreedom of Professor Erika López Prater after a student complaint on the presentation of images of the Prophet Muhammad during an online art history class.
twincities.com/2023/05/22/rep…
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twincities.com/2023/05/22/rep…
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The AAUP’s committee of inquiry found that Professor López Prater’s decision to display the historical images was not only justifiable & appropriate on both scholarly & pedagogical grounds but also protected by #academicfreedom.
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2 weeks prior to the class meeting in question, the department chair asked Professor López Prater about teaching a course in the spring '23 semester, writing “My students in your class have said nothing but wonderful things, so we would really love to have you back..."
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Now from @PostOpinions: the same by-the-numbers, empirically unserious column about #freespeech on #college campuses. So, my typical response…1/5 washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…
Low key, one of the most significant pieces of #misinformation about #collegecampuses that such columns popularize is the falsehood that an op-ed can meaningfully assess the state of #freespeech across nearly 5K postsecondary institutions in the U.S. It can't. 2/5
This latest example is an assessment of anecdotes--out of context and selectively retold--not a serious survey of the many different forums for free speech that exist in any given #university. 3/5
🧵“This escalating battle for control over free expression in education should worry us all,” said PEN America CEO @SuzanneNossel in remarks before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Higher Education & Workforce Development. pen.org/pen-america-th…
Nossel: "The university campus is the incubator of democratic citizenship and the breeding ground for leaders in every sector of society. If we don’t get free speech and open discourse right on campus, we won’t get it right in the media, the courts, or out on the streets." (2/x)
Nossel: "At PEN America we argue that the essential drive to render American campuses more diverse, equitable, and inclusive need not—and must not—come at the expense of robust, uncompromising protections for free speech and academic freedom." (3/x) #DEI #FreeSpeech #Education
The German Federal Minister @starkwatzinger's amendment proposals to the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act are an absolute slap in the face to everyone who's been invested in calling out current issues with German #academia and suggesting genuine solutions. #WissZeitVG 1/
For a start, much of the proposed "reform" is just hot air. E.g., Encouraging universities to give #PhD candidates an initial 3-year contract: Thankfully, most already do this and those that don't aren't going to be won over by a new "it would be nice if you could..." clause. 2/
Nothing about changing the fact that the 6-year cap on #PhD contracts applies regardless of whether the contract is 50%, 75% or 100% FTE. Thus effectively confirming that doctoral researchers on part-time contract are expected to complete their PhDs in their free time or quit. 3/
🔥podcast on Pharma billionaire Barry Sherman.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1…
As @kathleengoldhar @blandrea outline: this wasn't just about a violent death, but the consequences of #Pharma "partnering" with academia.
🧵on why this matters to any who may ever need a prescription drug.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1…
As @kathleengoldhar @blandrea outline: this wasn't just about a violent death, but the consequences of #Pharma "partnering" with academia.
🧵on why this matters to any who may ever need a prescription drug.
"Barry Sherman is the only person I have ever met with no redeeming features whatsoever":
🎯Dr. Morton Shulman in macleans.ca/news/canada/ba…
But this was not just a matter of an abrasive personality.
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🎯Dr. Morton Shulman in macleans.ca/news/canada/ba…
But this was not just a matter of an abrasive personality.
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In 1996, I identified problems in the safety of a drug in a clinical trial of *children*, a trial to which Sherman had provided minor funds to obtain patent rights.
He threatened 'all legal remedies' if I published.
I published anyway.
Decades of litigation were to follow.
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He threatened 'all legal remedies' if I published.
I published anyway.
Decades of litigation were to follow.
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I need the record to show the way
The State of Florida
treats me, a queer disabled woman
who is also cyborg,
thus gender nonconforming
bc cyborg is not gendered
#LetTheRecordShow #DisabilityTwitter
The State of Florida
treats me, a queer disabled woman
who is also cyborg,
thus gender nonconforming
bc cyborg is not gendered
#LetTheRecordShow #DisabilityTwitter
I am employed by @floridastate
On November 8, 2022, an employee of FSU kissed me WITHOUT MY CONSENT in front of another employee of FSU in the parking lot of Gaines Street Pies
On November 8, 2022, an employee of FSU kissed me WITHOUT MY CONSENT in front of another employee of FSU in the parking lot of Gaines Street Pies
As #DeSantisDestroysFlorida is trending (again), it behooves us to chronicle the many ways higher education in the state is under attack.
1: In 2021 @UF barred 3 professors from serving as expert witnesses in a voting rights case against the state ...
aaup.org/news/universit…
1: In 2021 @UF barred 3 professors from serving as expert witnesses in a voting rights case against the state ...
aaup.org/news/universit…
@UF The case targeted legislation strongly supported by DeSantis that inhibited access to the ballot. After the university's accreditor announced an investigation, UF reversed their decision & allowed the professors to testify.
npr.org/2021/11/05/105…
npr.org/2021/11/05/105…
When the attempt to use the power & pressure of the state to silence scholars w/ expertise failed, a new plan was hatched: change accreditors.
“These accreditation agencies have an inordinate amount of power to shape these universities,” DeSantis said.
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insidehighered.com/news/2022/12/1…
“These accreditation agencies have an inordinate amount of power to shape these universities,” DeSantis said.
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insidehighered.com/news/2022/12/1…
I applaud this principled, pro-knowledge stance.
A few stray thoughts.... #Hindu #Muslim #blasphemy #censorship
A few stray thoughts.... #Hindu #Muslim #blasphemy #censorship
#Hamline University recently egregiously infringed on #AcademicFreedom by firing a professor for showing devotional historical Muslim images that some conservative modern Muslims find offensive.
On fact value, the firing is outrageous.
Academic Freedom trumps religious sentiments, always. If it didn't, we couldn't teach the humanities.
But consider the other implications here...
Academic Freedom trumps religious sentiments, always. If it didn't, we couldn't teach the humanities.
But consider the other implications here...
🧵The Archives of Sexual Behavior recently published a special section on the difficulties scholars are facing in teaching, clinical practice & research in the area of sex & gender. Open access links to the 4 articles (including mine) are below. 1/
I described some of the trouble I’ve had at Harvard in response to speaking about the binary nature of sex, & I make some recommendations about how universities might better handle these kinds of situations in the future. We are telling our stories because #academicfreedom, 2/
particularly around #thescienceofsex, is under threat, handicapping ability to produce & communicate knowledge, discuss/challenge & ideas. This matters for lots of reasons, but especially because understanding the nature of problems we face is a crucial step in solving them. 3/
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill has reached committee stage in the House of Lords. This means that after much debate, peers now have the opportunity to propose amendments to the Bill. The FSU has been monitoring amendments put forward and these are our top 3...
1⃣ Lord Moylan’s amendment which provides a definition to the phrase “#freedomofspeech within the law” which is premised on common law philosophy: freedom = anything that isn’t expressly prohibited. Lord Hope would outsource the job of defining the phrase to Strasbourg.
It is better to have a clear, certain and strong definition of #freespeech — Moylan’s amendment does just that, even spelling out what is expressly prohibited (including Holocaust denial) and clarifies the relationship between free speech and other legal obligations.
BREAKING: The AAUP has authorized an investigation into the extraordinary summary dismissal of 33 faculty members at @emporiastate, most of them long-serving professors with tenure.
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aaup.org/media-release/…
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aaup.org/media-release/…
These termination decisions were apparently made w/out any meaningful faculty participation & w/out affording faculty members academic due process – both severe violations of widely accepted principles of #academicfreedom & tenure.
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As the AAUP wrote to the chair of the Kansas board of regents & the president of @emporiastate on 9/29, “It is difficult not to construe what has happened at ESU as a direct assault on tenure & #academicfreedom..."
aaup.org/sites/default/…
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The FSU has been demonetised by @PayPal for daring to stand up for #freespeech.
Thank you to all who stand in solidarity with us – existing members, supporters, and the many new members joining us today.
Here's a thread about who we are and what we do.
Thank you to all who stand in solidarity with us – existing members, supporters, and the many new members joining us today.
Here's a thread about who we are and what we do.
The FSU supports members that have been sacked, cancelled, penalised, harassed or attacked by outrage mobs simply for exercising their legal right to free speech, whether in the workplace or the public square.
You can find out more about us below.
freespeechunion.org
You can find out more about us below.
freespeechunion.org
The FSU gets an average of 50 requests for help a week, and at any one time we have around 100 'live' cases. We can’t always publicise our successes due to privacy (and security) concerns, but here’s a selection of some of our highest-profile cases from the past six months.
#LaborDay thread on #academic labor.
Renewed @AAUP chapter at #Wesleyan @WesleyanAAUP has compelling hist of fac/admin relations & negotiations ca 1916-2000
TL;DR
--AAUP key but not strongest tool for labor
--instead Junior fac self-org & info sharing
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static1.squarespace.com/static/62d6fa6…
Renewed @AAUP chapter at #Wesleyan @WesleyanAAUP has compelling hist of fac/admin relations & negotiations ca 1916-2000
TL;DR
--AAUP key but not strongest tool for labor
--instead Junior fac self-org & info sharing
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static1.squarespace.com/static/62d6fa6…
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Acc. to this hist, key contexts for #Wesleyan’s AAUP:
-- a rich lib arts college into #highered “experimentation”
-- a “Little Uni” w/ PhD progs in sciences
-- square circle: low tenure density & high contingency
-- longstanding Junior Faculty Org (JFO) addressed contradiction
Acc. to this hist, key contexts for #Wesleyan’s AAUP:
-- a rich lib arts college into #highered “experimentation”
-- a “Little Uni” w/ PhD progs in sciences
-- square circle: low tenure density & high contingency
-- longstanding Junior Faculty Org (JFO) addressed contradiction
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@WesleyanAAUP hist notes contradictions in 1915-17 statements of @AAUP prez John #Dewey & co-found Arthur Lovejoy:
profs + trusteees collab on everything to do w/ education (curriculum to budget to donations);
admin there to "implement".
Nonetheless: profs salaried employees.
@WesleyanAAUP hist notes contradictions in 1915-17 statements of @AAUP prez John #Dewey & co-found Arthur Lovejoy:
profs + trusteees collab on everything to do w/ education (curriculum to budget to donations);
admin there to "implement".
Nonetheless: profs salaried employees.
A tenured professor of 40+ was allegedly fired by @okchristian for inviting a gay guest speaker to class.
While Oklahoma is a private religious university, the school makes repeated promises of free speech and academic freedom.
go.thefire.org/oklahoma-chris… #academicfreedom
While Oklahoma is a private religious university, the school makes repeated promises of free speech and academic freedom.
go.thefire.org/oklahoma-chris… #academicfreedom
The university says it's “committed to the highest ideals of Christian education,” but it also says its mission “demands freedom of inquiry and expression”?
The result?
Faculty may be blindsided by punishment for speech they had every reason to think was protected.
The result?
Faculty may be blindsided by punishment for speech they had every reason to think was protected.
And OC's policy regarding outside speakers?
"A faculty member may invite speakers of all political ideologies to speak in their classes on topics relevant to their subject matter."
But the school also adds this ambiguous caveat:
"A faculty member may invite speakers of all political ideologies to speak in their classes on topics relevant to their subject matter."
But the school also adds this ambiguous caveat:
NEW REPORT:
For the second year in a row, we documented more than 100 scholars targeted for punishment due to ideological disagreement.
This # is up from 30 in 2015.
go.thefire.org/report-at-leas…
#freespeech #academicfreedom
For the second year in a row, we documented more than 100 scholars targeted for punishment due to ideological disagreement.
This # is up from 30 in 2015.
go.thefire.org/report-at-leas…
#freespeech #academicfreedom
More than 60% of targeting attempts resulted in some type of sanction, including investigation, suspension, or termination.
This includes 28 investigations, 18 suspensions, and 14 terminations.
This includes 28 investigations, 18 suspensions, and 14 terminations.
As in previous years, the topic of race was more likely than any other topic to spark a targeting incident.
A sorry story about the state of free speech at UNC:
In September a freelance writer interviewed me at length for a Carolina Alumni Review feature "about #AcademicFreedom and #FreeSpeech at #UNC, going beyond the @nhannahjones saga to explore larger issues." (freelancer's words)
In September a freelance writer interviewed me at length for a Carolina Alumni Review feature "about #AcademicFreedom and #FreeSpeech at #UNC, going beyond the @nhannahjones saga to explore larger issues." (freelancer's words)
The topic of the interview was the @UNC_System Bd of Governors' booting me from long service on the governing board of the UNC Press last summer because they didn't like my public commentary on law, race, & the university.
My situation was just one of several the freelancer was profiling in the feature.
In October, the UNC General Alumni Association brought on a new editor at the Carolina Alumni Review. The academic freedom story languished.
In October, the UNC General Alumni Association brought on a new editor at the Carolina Alumni Review. The academic freedom story languished.
If professors at @UW want to include a land acknowledgment statement on their syllabi, they must parrot the administration’s viewpoint or shut up.
thefire.org/university-of-… #academicfreedom #FreeSpeech @uwcse
thefire.org/university-of-… #academicfreedom #FreeSpeech @uwcse
张俊华 for DW：From "world class universities" to one voice: can an intolerant CCP possibly coexist with #academicfreedom on any level? Even @HuXijin_GT recently acknowledged the need to protect "academic space" (学术空间）for inquiry 从一流大学到一种声音 p.dw.com/p/44aMQ?maca=z…
On 17 Dec., XJP presided over the 23rd meeting of the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, which reviewed & approved several documents emphasising #China's need to build world-class universities with top-class disciplinary divisions...
The mtg overlapped w/news of the firing of Song Gengyi, a lecturer at Shanghai Aurora Colleage, allegedly for "causing a serious teaching incident that resulted in severely bad social impact." Song had pointed out...
立場新聞: Last night, #CUHK demolished its Goddess of Democracy statue, claiming that no organization was responsible for its maintenance; #LingnanUniversity also dismantled its Tiananmen Square Massacre relief as a legal or security risk. thestandnews.page.link/VUs7BBJ2JyDKqu…
Chen Weiming, the sculptor of the two works, issued a statement claiming that what the two #HongKong universities destroyed were #freespeech & #academicfreedom; Chen reserves the right to pursue legal proceedings against both #HongKong universities. #香港
thestandnews.page.link/VUs7BBJ2JyDKqu…
thestandnews.page.link/VUs7BBJ2JyDKqu…
#CUHK students erected a paper replica to commemorate the missing statute that was destroyed by fire hoses by the university administration on Christmas Day. #academicfreedom #freespeech #HongKong #香港 民女、浮雕作者陳維明發聲明：清除的是言論和學術自由 thestandnews.page.link/VUs7BBJ2JyDKqu…
In my letter to @thetimes I call on British universities to adopt the Draft Model Code of Conduct (DMCC) developed by @AFI_WG. This would show that 🇬🇧 Higher Education institutions are serious about enhancing transparency and accountability in their cooperation with 🇨🇳 China /1
The biggest danger facing British higher education institutions now is complacency. When it comes to critically re-evaluating universities’ ties with 🇨🇳 China, students, academics, service professionals and vice-chancellors all have skin in the game. The time to act is now /2
British universities agreeing to adopt @AFI_WG’s Draft Model Code of Conduct (DMCC) would be a game changer. Taking such a step would stand universities in good stead with the government, and adopting the code could help to prevent heavy-handed state regulation in the future /3
In response to the announcement of AAUP’s investigation into @BORUSG’s removal of due process protections, the acting chancellor responded that “it will not be necessary for an investigation into the removal of due process as it clearly has not been removed.” 🤔
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To clarify: the due process being referred to is the procedure the AAUP requires to dismiss a tenured faculty member. It consists essentially in an adjudicative hearing of record before an elected faculty body in which the burden of demonstrating… /2
…adequate cause for dismissal rests with admin. This academic due process is essential for tenure as the AAUP defines it: an indefinite appointment that can be terminated only for cause as demonstrated in such a hearing. /3
🧵: The executive director of the AAUP has authorized an investigation of the @BORUSG regarding their adoption of a post-tenure review policy that makes it possible to release a tenured faculty member without a dismissal hearing. /1
Prior to the @BORUSG’s vote, AAUP president Irene Mulvey characterized the board’s potential action as “an attack on tenure and #academicfreedom” & warned that, if the board acted to decouple tenure protections from post-tenure review, the AAUP would investigate. /2
The purpose of tenure is to protect #academicfreedom indispensable for the quality of teaching/research in higher ed. In order to ensure that dismissals are not based on considerations that violate this, most colleges/universities require admins to demonstrate adequate cause…
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