Scholars for a New Deal for Higher Ed

Series: Forgotten Pasts, Alternative Futures
"How to Build a College: Experimental Alternatives in History of Higher Ed"
M 3/16
4:00-5:30pm ET/1:00-2:30 PT
Co-sponsored w @aaup.org Center for Def of Acad Freedom, Critical Legal Collective
REGIST >
@higheredlabor.bsky.social
@rooseveltinstitute.org

‘We will hold institutions accountable,’ top US education official vows At the American Council on Education’s annual conference, Under Secretary Nicholas Kent promised changes to accreditation and other policies.

Trump higher ed priorities - an overhaul of accredit, more civil rights investigations, continued efforts to stamp out diversity, equity initiatives.
Ed Dept continues to work on Trump higher ed compact: fed research funding in exchange for sweeping policy changes with fed govt’s goals.
@aaup.org

Why supporting a shelter for women is now 'kind of radioactive' That's how researcher Beatriz Garcia Nice describes the new U.S. stance under the Trump administration to programs addressing gender-based violence.

That's how researcher Beatriz Garcia Nice describes the new U.S. stance under the Trump administration to programs addressing gender-based violence. n.pr/46Ds6JJ

Lawmakers and Universities Push Back on Loan Caps Politicians from both sides of the aisle sharply criticized the Education Department’s narrow interpretation of the legislation, which limits the number of students with access to large federal loans.

Grad students shouldn’t be punished for pursuing the degrees our communities depend on. Capping federal loans while tuition soars just drives borrowers to predatory private debt. We need more public funding, not backdoor austerity in #HigherEd.

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Oklahoma legislature advances bill that would remove tenure at OU, public universities The Oklahoma legislature advanced a bill Tuesday that would remove the possibility of tenure for OU faculty, limit contract agreements to five years and require each state institute for higher

“Abolishing tenure cripples scientific & creative research...

This sends a strong message that top-tier academics seeking employment at Oklahoma universities should look elsewhere immediately. Why pursue a job here under such a repressive climate?”

— Michael Givel, OU AAUP President

How PFAS harm our health — and why they're everywhere - Horizons What do non-stick pans, firefighting foam and many of our couches, carpets and cosmetics have in common? They’re all made with PFAS. The so-called forever chemicals helped spur innovation, but they’re...

PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," helped spur innovation. But they're also insidious to human health. https://to.pbs.org/4qRXD2m

AAUP critiques The New School’s restructuring, offers counter solutions in open letter to board of trustees - The New School Free Press The New School Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-TNS) wrote an open letter to the board of trustees on Jan. 19 criticizing the university’s plans to cut faculty and pr...

The New School AAUP slams the university’s plans to cut faculty & programs & offers solutions to increase collaboration between trustees, administrators, & faculty.

@newschoolaaup.bsky.social

Series: Forgotten Pasts, Alternative Futures
"How to Build a College: Experimental Alternatives in History of Higher Ed"
M 3/16
4:00-5:30pm ET/1:00-2:30 PT
Co-sponsored w @aaup.org Center for Def of Acad Freedom, Critical Legal Collective
REGIST >
@higheredlabor.bsky.social
@rooseveltinstitute.org

Register here >>>>
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Register here! us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Defending the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with Tyler Creighton In this episode, we speak with Tyler Creighton about the ongoing struggle to save the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from defunding and closure at the hands of Russell Vought in the se…

DEFENDING THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

UNC-CH Will ‘Scrap’ New Recording Policy, Chancellor Says The move comes less than three weeks after the controversial rules were enacted.

Congrats to @ncaaup.bsky.social & all who fought against this surveillance policy that would've allowed admin to hijack microphones in the classroom for secret recordings.

This move would've chilled classroom discussion & suppressed students' willingness to ask questions & take intellectual risks.

Years ago our admin did a red and black report. It took salaries & how much $ each instructor made in tuition $ for classes we taught-you were in the red or black. They released numbers once & shut it down bc humanities were producing huge $ for uni & engineers, business and scientists were losing $

The reality here is that universities would love to hire visible and capable conservative scholars. That they have to create separate centers, and then hire people who would never make it in an open search, underlines the fact that its not anti-conservative bias, its a lack of strong candidates.

Imaginative aspirations for new higher ed must grapple with material realities: funds, faculty and staff employment, land or online infrastructure, students, and accreditation. This webinar will examine past examples of how others organized to make their alternative ideas into tangible reality.

SAVE THE DATE
Upcoming webinar in the series Forgotten Pasts, Alternative Futures
"How to Build a College: Experimental Alternatives in the History of Higher Ed"
Mon 3/16
4:00-5:30pm ET/1:00-2:30 PT
Co-sponsored with @aaup.org Center for Def of Acad Freedom and Critical Legal Collective

Neuroscientist resigns from Columbia amid revelations about Epstein ties Nobel laureate Richard Axel announced resignation as co-director of Columbia University’s neuroscience institute

And another one bites the dust.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

We brought the fight for fair taxes and a state we can all afford directly to the halls of power. #TaxTheRich

Larry Summers Resigns from Harvard Amid Epstein Ties, Capping Controversial Academic Career Harvard confirmed that Summers will retire at the end of the current academic year, remaining on leave until that time.

Elites of all fields -- finance, law, real estate, digital technology, and academics -- tied into Epstein after he was legally guilty.

If you have federal student loan debt, here’s what experts want you to know Eventually, the changes will streamline the system and reduce the number of repayment options, but right now, trying to understand what’s happening is a little like staring into a bowl of alphabet sou...

If you're among the more than 43 million Americans who have federal student loan debt, significant changes are coming. https://to.pbs.org/3OzHr7W

These are “low enrollment” majors but the classes are regularly at capacity. They changed the funding structure a few years ago here, switching the allocation from course enrollments to majors then blamed these departments for a structural, top-down change. This is entirely a political choice.

RIGHT NOW: The NC AAUP is at the UNC Board of Governors meeting fighting back against attempts to squash open inquiry & academic debate in higher education.

This political interference is part of a broader effort to restrict what faculty can say & do in their classrooms.
@ncaaup.bsky.social

Accreditation -- not only a bureaucratic snafu but now a means to interfere in higher education, learning, teaching, and research.
@higheredlabor.bsky.social

DHS on Columbia campus without any warrant shown.
@aaup.org

University community sounds alarm after decision to pause Pan-African Studies graduate program Many in higher education are sounding the alarm after a sudden announcement by the University of Louisville to pause the graduate program for the Department of Pan-African studies.

www.wkyt.com/2026/02/26/u...

North Carolina will have new "academic code."

Pittsburgh nurses are fighting for better staffing ratios — and the research backs them up As nurses in Pittsburgh and nationwide spotlight staffing shortages, better pay and workplace safety, labor negotiations have intensified. Here’s what’s at stake.

Nurses in Pittsburgh and nationwide are spotlighting staffing shortages, pay and workplace safety in difficult labor negotiations.

Netflix Backs Out of Bid for Warner Bros., Paving Way for an Ellison Takeover

The richest man owns X.

The second and third richest men control Google.

The fourth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The fifth richest man owns The Washington Post.

And now the sixth richest could soon take over both Paramount and Warner Bros.

See the problem here?

St. John's University says it no longer recognizes faculty unions after 56 years St. John's University in Queens, New York, notified employees on Feb. 19 that it will no longer recognize the two unions that have represented faculty members at the Catholic university since 1970.

"I'm just tremendously disappointed in the university's response. We're ready to get back to bargaining. That's what our goal has been, to get a good, fair contract. We do it to make the university stronger."

—Fred Cocozzelli, St. John's University AAUP President

Opinion | Universities are sending Trump a dangerous message Higher education is under attack. Drop the appeasement.

"When institutional self-preservation replaces moral leadership, universities abandon their core mission. This is a striking abdication of responsibility — particularly from leaders entrusted with educating the next generation of citizens."