Good riddance to Gordon Gee

Gordon Gee, the recently resigned president of Ohio State University because of a series of intemperate remarks, symbolized the worst aspects of the corporatization of the university. He clearly saw himself in the CEO mold and was not shy about extracting the maximum personal salary, perks, and benefits for himself by jumping from job to job while universities in general are hiking fees on students and otherwise making higher education harder to achieve. [Read more…]

Teaching intelligent design in biology classrooms

William Jessup University in Rocklin, CA is a Christian evangelical institution that has as its mission to “prepare Christians for leadership and service in church and society, through Christian higher education, spiritual formation, and directed experiences”, so you can see that it is a religious institution through and through. What surprised me is that up until now it did not teach any of the sciences at all, an astounding exclusion for a university these days. [Read more…]

The debacle at the University of Virginia

Teresa Sullivan, the president of one of the most prestigious universities in the country, was summarily fired after just two years on the job and despite the fact that there was no hint of scandal or that she had done her job poorly. Kevin Carey argues that part of the problem lies in the fact that rich political contributors to winning candidates get rewarded by being appointed as Trustees to public universities. [Read more…]