Janus v. AFSCME Archives — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal

After Janus: Vindication and Hope

Jul 25, 2018 · Charles Baird · No Comments

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court took a significant step toward restoring individual liberty for all government employees, including faculty in public universities and colleges, with its decision in Janus v. AFSCME. Faculty members will no longer be forced to pay any labor union any fee for any purpose as a condition of continued government … Continue reading “After Janus: Vindication and Hope”

From Boys to Men? A Review of Alexandra Robbins’ ‘Fraternity’ Mar 13, 2019
Wars are rarely kind to the wide-ranging pursuit of the truth. The same goes for culture wars, including the war over fraternities. Harvard University’s recent decision to penalize students who join “final clubs” and other single-sex social organizations is one front in that war. In sober moments, opponents of all-male social organizations concede that they … Continue reading “From Boys to Men? A Review of Alexandra Robbins’ ‘Fraternity’”
Can a New Law Protect Intellectual Diversity on Campus? Mar 8, 2019
American colleges and universities lean left. Among faculty at leading U.S. universities, Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 11-to-one. The administration is even more skewed: there, Democrats outnumber Republicans by 12-to-one. Further evidence can be found by examining summer reading choices, non-academic campus programming, commencement speakers, and funding given to student groups. George R. LaNoue … Continue reading “Can a New Law Protect Intellectual Diversity on Campus?”
Former University President Nails Many of Higher Education’s Ills Feb 27, 2019
Often, the strongest criticisms of higher education come from insiders. One insider is Daniel Johnson, who retired as president of the University of Toledo in 2006 after an academic career that included several senior leadership positions. He has recently published a book, The Uncertain Future of American Public Higher Education, that illuminates many of the … Continue reading “Former University President Nails Many of Higher Education’s Ills”

Collegiate Esports Programs Are Here to Stay Mar 1, 2019
More money flows to arenas and building upgrades. The hunt for recruits gets more competitive. University presidents brag about how their new program will make the school nationally known. But the cause isn’t basketball or football. This time around, the athletics arms race on campus is for “esports”—competitive video gaming. And it’s a trend driven … Continue reading “Collegiate Esports Programs Are Here to Stay”
Don’t Hire the Illusion: Screening Candidates for UNC Chancellor Feb 18, 2019
When hiring new workers, one of the overriding concerns for a company is ensuring that they hire the right people with the right qualifications. It’s the same for higher education. True, universities are dedicated to education and research, not business, but they are often institutions with billion-dollar budgets and many people with access to funds … Continue reading “Don’t Hire the Illusion: Screening Candidates for UNC Chancellor”
Law Schools Need to Adapt to Big Data and Technological Change Feb 15, 2019
Law is experiencing a revolution. Several changes are occurring, but they are all tied to the impact of information and communications technology (ICT), which is altering the nature of law at a fundamental level. This has happened in the past. Before the commercial printing press, for example, law was mostly simple legal treatises and maxims. … Continue reading “Law Schools Need to Adapt to Big Data and Technological Change”

Why Postmoderns Train—Not Educate—Activists Mar 20, 2019
Here’s why indoctrinating children makes perfect sense to postmodernists. Postmodernism is a sprawling movement centered on the conviction that the modern world’s most distinctive achievements—among them the rise of science, technology, individualism, universal rights, democratic-republicanism, and liberal capitalism—should be treated with suspicion or outright contempt. Most of us encountered old-fashioned indoctrinators in our education. Indoctrinators … Continue reading “Why Postmoderns Train—Not Educate—Activists”
The Essential Ingredient for a ‘Deep Education’ Mar 18, 2019
About a year ago, Princeton philosopher Robert P. George came to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to speak about civil discourse and diversity of thought with the UNC system Board of Governors. He returned on February 8, but this time he came with Cornel West, a long-time friend and philosopher at Harvard University, as guest speakers … Continue reading “The Essential Ingredient for a ‘Deep Education’”
Life Among the Academic Radicals Mar 15, 2019
For almost a quarter century I have been a professor of economics at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. After years of working there, I have learned something about how my department’s academic radicals, who by dint of personality but not numbers have near-decisive control over many departmental decisions. WSU economics is a master’s-level department. … Continue reading “Life Among the Academic Radicals”

Why Postmoderns Train—Not Educate—Activists Mar 20, 2019
Here’s why indoctrinating children makes perfect sense to postmodernists. Postmodernism is a sprawling movement centered on the conviction that the modern world’s most distinctive achievements—among them the rise of science, technology, individualism, universal rights, democratic-republicanism, and liberal capitalism—should be treated with suspicion or outright contempt. Most of us encountered old-fashioned indoctrinators in our education. Indoctrinators … Continue reading “Why Postmoderns Train—Not Educate—Activists”
The Essential Ingredient for a ‘Deep Education’ Mar 18, 2019
About a year ago, Princeton philosopher Robert P. George came to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to speak about civil discourse and diversity of thought with the UNC system Board of Governors. He returned on February 8, but this time he came with Cornel West, a long-time friend and philosopher at Harvard University, as guest speakers … Continue reading “The Essential Ingredient for a ‘Deep Education’”
Life Among the Academic Radicals Mar 15, 2019
For almost a quarter century I have been a professor of economics at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. After years of working there, I have learned something about how my department’s academic radicals, who by dint of personality but not numbers have near-decisive control over many departmental decisions. WSU economics is a master’s-level department. … Continue reading “Life Among the Academic Radicals”