Julian M. Rucker, Ph.D.

"Peaked in high school" is definitely the vibe 🫠

Right?! Playin in our damn faces.

Screenshot from article that reads: Emails of the board’s discussion that were obtained by Inside Higher Ed shed light on the months-long delay and why some trustees were hesitant to approve the tenure awards. For instance, Trustee Jim Blaine wrote Monday that he wanted to wait until July to decide because he wanted an in-person discussion and more clarity on the university’s “fiscal picture.” He objected to any “immediate reversal of the decision that was recommended to us in closed session two weeks ago.” He further said he didn’t want to reward “bad behavior.”

Screenshot from the article that reads: “It is not good governance to give your child a cookie every time they lay on the floor and scream that they want one,” Blaine wrote. “The optics on this are terrible and make the administration look weak and irresolute. The reversal of course appears responsive to public groaning and gnashing of teeth—bad behavior by a few members of the faculty.” Blaine added that he’d like “more information about who we are giving tenure to, how much demand there is for their classes, publications, and the majors they teach in, etc.” He also said that “regardless of my philosophical opposition to the outdated tenure model, I think we should proceed very cautiously and with full information before adding that kind of long-term, fixed cost.”

Screenshot of the article that reads: Ritch Allison wrote to his fellow trustees, however, that the “bottom line for me is that the people on the slate did what was expected of them over an extended period of time under long-established rules. I just do not believe that we should change the rules on them at the final hour.” “There is no doubt that this process has been flawed and going forward we need more information about where the administration wants to invest in tenure over the long-term,” Allison wrote, “but for me that is not a reason to upend the lives of the people on the slate.”

If you think the crisis is over at UNC, I've got bad news. Even the defenses of tenure in these communications feel weak. These fiscal "concerns" and whatever faculty "bad behavior" they are referring to will be brought up again.

www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Now let me take some calming breaths before my (untenured) self starts cursing people out...

I'm happy for my colleagues who finally got their tenure conferred (all of whom are BEYOND deserving), but those comments, man. To hold that position and have that much distain for the faculty (not to mention the grad students, staff, and others who make this place what it is) reveals so much.

No protests. No angry calls or emails. There was a reasonable letter asking for information about the refusal to hear the tenure cases…because the Board gave no information.

That’s what some of the trustees consider a childlike tantrum.

The child in this trustee’s scenario? Faculty. Who submitted their tenure files for consideration in accordance with the terms of their employment. Both sides have a responsibility in that contract, one to submit and one to review.

I hope everyone really hears this.

I am so delighted to share that this truly momentous amount of work is now out and available - free and online - to anyone! Grateful to these editors for committing to open access, and proud to have played a small part in this big volume. (thread)

Chapter 26: Race and Racism, written by Jennifer Richeson, Julian Rucker, and me is new in this edition. It was an honor to be asked to write on this important topic with those brilliant, wonderful people. @jaricheson.bsky.social @jruckpsych.bsky.social
openpublishing.princeton.edu/read/race-an...

We just discussed this in my lab meeting on Monday! It's such an excellent and timely review! Can't wait to add to my grad syllabus!

Our Annual Review of Sociology article on conceptualizing and measuring structural racism is now available.

Get it while studying racism is still legal. @tyson-brown.bsky.social @pahoman.bsky.social

(also, lots of great articles are in this volume).

www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

This is the only way to do it 😂😂

Hey y'all had a great run! Plus, now you can get a head start in switching your sports allegences to MSU haha!

Duke took an L and I just clinched the win in my bracket pool. Sometimes hatin' pays off lol

It’s important to say that academia/research is going to be significantly weakened and destroyed worldwide if Trump isn’t stopped. No, we all aren’t moving to Canada or France. Not even a critical mass of us. We are just not going to have our jobs or possibly be disappeared.

Remembering Psychology Professor Sam Sommers Sam Sommers, longtime professor at Tufts, studied the psychological causes and consequences of racism

Dr. Sam R. Sommers was one of those truly good people who also happened to be a total powerhouse. It is with deep sadness that I share the news of his death. Everyone who had Sam in their lives was lucky, and I am grateful for every moment he shared with me. ❤️💖💫 now.tufts.edu/2025/03/20/r...

Man...this is heartbreaking. A brilliant scholar and, somehow, an even better person. His research was an inspiration, as was the kindness and support he gave to so many, myself included. What a truly devastating loss. Thanks for everything, Sam.

Remembering Psychology Professor Sam Sommers Sam Sommers, longtime professor at Tufts, studied the psychological causes and consequences of racism

Social psychology lost a giant, and I lost a dear friend and collaborator. Still processing the loss of Sam Sommers, and probably will be for some time. Cherish the time you have with your people, folks.

now.tufts.edu/2025/03/20/r...

OSU banned departments from considering race in admissions two years ago -- we aren't allowed to know applicants' races, and diversity (of any kind) was removed from all rubrics. So to come after us now shows how useless & futile it is to comply.

It's like @schumer.senate.gov went into a lab to figure out how to make the Democrats more unpopular.

Pure cowardice and lack of any moral conviction.

no matter what the circumstances, democrats are always saving their energy for a mythical future situation where they will do something good

Yay!!! Congrats, Lyd!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

Congrats, Chris!!! We gotta celebrate at the next trivia night!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Woohoo! Great to see so many friends and scholars that I really admire getting their shine! Congrats, y'all!!!

MORE IF THIS PLEASE.

ICE On Your Campus Questions to Ask Your Administration 1. What is campus policy with regard to working with federal immigration authorities? 2. Who should faculty contact in the event that they are approached by ICE agents? 3. What private/limited-access spaces can you make available where ICE agents cannot enter unless they have a valid warrant? 4. Are you planning to communicate with students, staff, and faculty about their privacy rights? These rights include the right to deny immigration officers entry to their homes (including dorms) unless officers have a judicial warrant, and the right to not respond to the questions or statements of an immigration officer who is seeking to enter their home without a judicial warrant. 5. Are you planning to communicate guidance that, if a federal immigration enforcement officer seeks to enter a limited-access area on campus, students and workers should ask the officer for their name, identification number, agency affiliation, and business card, and inform the officer that they are not obstructing their process but need to contact the campus legal counsel for assistance? 6. What campus authority should students contact if they are contacted by ICE? What Chapter Leaders Can Do Now 1. Provide to faculty any campus plan or policy and any campus authority contact. 2. Create a list of immigration attorneys who can be contacted in case of emergencies day and night. 3. Distribute a family preparedness plan template to your members. Example: aaup.org/ILRC-plan 4. Conduct Know Your Rights sessions for your members; these do not have to be done by an attorney. Recommendations for Organizing on Your Campus Engage members via a petition, open letter, high-participation meeting, in-person demonstration, or other collective action to demand that your campus administrators: 1. Not comply with ICE to detain or deport students, faculty, or staff unless legally required to do so. 2. Ensure that noncitizens understand the difference between an …

From @aaup.bsky.social, what to do if ICE is on your campus.

remember stuff like this when they tell you that diversity means a lowering of standards

what would you do differently if you were trying to legalize discrimination?

This is a really ominous sign of all the things to come, particularly the restraints on academic freedom. Nathan and everyone deserve so much better than this.