If you’re starting an online class, check to make sure your professor is alive
A college student Googled his remote instructor and found an obituary
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Three weeks into his online class on art history, Concordia University sophomore Aaron Ansuini had a question about one of the recorded lectures. He combed through Concordia’s portal, but couldn’t find his professor’s contact information. So he Googled his name François-Marc Gagnon and found an obituary.
At first, Ansuini thought it might be a coincidence. “I was like ‘That’s weird, he has the same name,’” he told
Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector
photo by: Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector
Gregory Cushman, an associate professor of environmental history at the University of Kansas, marched with faculty and students on Tuesday night to raise awareness about potential damage of administration plans to downsize the staff and eliminate degree programs to address budget problems.
Faculty and students at the University of Kansas stood in shadows of Allen Fieldhouse to blow the whistle Tuesday night on the administration’s plan to deal with massive budget problems by shedding tenured professors from the payroll, undervaluing work of graduate teaching assistants and jettisoning degree programs.
Kansas is making it easier to remove tenured faculty. What does that mean for academic freedom?
Recently, the Kansas Reflector reported on the Kansas Board of Regents’ endorsement of a policy that, for the next two years, would “mak[e] it easier for state universities to suspend, dismiss or terminate employees, including tenured faculty members, without initiating the process of formally declaring a financial emergency.”
The reasons why such a policy would be attractive to a public university system are understandable. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic keeping many students away from campus, many universities are experiencing enormous revenue shortfalls. (The University of Kansas, one of the six public universities under the Board’s jurisdiction, projects a shortfall of $74.6 million for the 2022 fiscal year.) Public finances have been shredded as well, putting additional pressure on public universities and higher education systems. As the Reflector notes, Kansas governor L
Educators look to the future with upcoming Miguel Cardona appointment miamistudent.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miamistudent.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Georgia professors bristle at questions from GOP lawmaker
By JEFF AMYJanuary 30, 2021 GMT
ATLANTA (AP) A Georgia lawmaker is trying to find out whether any of the state’s public universities are teaching about white privilege or oppression, part of a larger national debate over how colleges should teach about American history and race relations.
University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley asked the system’s 26 colleges and universities on Jan. 21 to research the information after state Rep. Emory Dunahoo, a Gillsville Republican, submitted questions on the topic to Wrigley following budget hearings.
Some faculty members are bristling at the questions, saying they intrude into a professor’s academic freedom and are part of an effort by Republicans to impose their vision of history and social relations. Conservatives, though, say they’re fighting left-wing indoctrination by professors.