The State Universities Annuitants Association
isn’t just for Retirees!
If you have a STAKE in Illinois pensions, you need a STAKE in SUAA!.
Current employees need SUAA
Thinking
of stepping up
in UPI Leadership?
Then join us June 27-30 at beautiful Lake Lawn
Resort in Delevan, Wis,. this summer at AFT's Great Lakes Union Leadership
Institute. Download
a 12-page brochure.
Click
to email Kathy McConnell to ask about UPI support for this rewarding
workshop. But hurry. The deadline is June 20.
Read
the May 8 edition of the IFT Legislative Update Senate
unanimously approves higher ed campus security bill
>> See
also: IFT Legislative Tracker for news of interest to higher education
Read
the IBHE's The Friday Memo for May 9. Find
out more about the Public Agenda Task Force and give your comments.
Read
the IBHE's News Digest
Read the May 9 Legislative
Update
Read
the April 21 Friday Alert from the Alliance for Retired Americans
AAUP
Releases Annual Report on Faculty Salaries “Where
Are the Priorities?” — After
a short-lived recovery in 2006–07, faculty salaries are lagging
behind inflation again this year. Yet the salaries paid to head football
coaches, presidents, and other top administrators do not seem to reflect
an economic downturn. See
the American Association of University Professors info.
Walk
the Walk: Be an activist
• Use
union hotels Get listings of union hotels and job actions at
the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) web site. JUST
CLICK
• Buy
a union-made car, at the UAW web site. JUST
CLICK
• Look
for all kinds of other services and products, like a union printer,
musician or contractor, among others check on the Chicago Federation
of Labor web sit. JUST
CLICK
Free
Exchange on Campus; Fighting for the free
exchange of ideas on campus
ILschools
NIU
ceremony honors shooting responders — More than 200 people
were honored at NIU for their role in responding to a campus shooting
spree earlier this year. (Springfield State Journal-Register, May
14)
Mistakes
of 'ignorance' turn up in CSU audit -- A top official at Chicago
State University admits a state audit to be released today reveals "embarrassing''
mistakes that reflect "ignorance'' of rules and "wrong''
actions taken by school staff. (Chicago Sun-Times, May 15)
At
ISU, lost state aid means 10 percent tuition increase (Bloomington
Pantagraph, May
12)
CSU
hires interim president to replace Daniel -- Frank Pogue Jr. will
replace the school's embattled leader Elnora Daniel, who announced
earlier this year she was stepping down amid criticism of her spending
practices. (Chicago Sun-Times, May 7)
Cole
Hall renovation and new building decided (Bloomington Pantagraph,
May 9)
ILnews
Judge
sets paperwork deadline in special sessions court case -- Ten
months after Gov. Rod Blagojevich sued Illinois House Speaker Michael
Madigan over who gets to call special legislative sessions, the case
is finally coming to a resolution. (Springfield State Journal-Register,
May 14)
Sponsor:
Civil union bill would help seniors -- “What it will do
for gay and lesbian couples is important,” said Reo, Greg Harris,
sponsor of a measure that would legalize civil unions. “But
there are 10 times the number of seniors in Illinois currently. And
if you look at the next generation, there are going to be 30 times
the number of seniors that are going to benefit from this legislation.” (Springfield
State Journal-Register, May 14)
Union,
district agree on contract -- The Springfield Education Association
reached
a tentative agreement with the district in a bargaining session that
began at 6 p.m. Friday and ended early Saturday. (Springfield State
Journal-Register, May 13)
Student-led
effort lobbies online for civil unions bill -- When Phil
Miatkowski created an online group to support civil union legislation
in Illinois, it was meant to be just an easy way to keep friends
informed. (Chicago Tribune, May 9)
Corruption
Case (read: 'Rezko'] Taints
Rising Political Star [read: Blagojevich] -- As the corruption
trial of the political fund-raiser Antoin Rezko winds to a close
in Chicago, testimony about power-brokering at the highest levels
of state government has battered the career of an Illinois politician
who once had his sights set on the White House. (New York Times,
May 12)
College Administration
Colleges
Foot a Large Share of Athletics Expenses, New NCAA Data Show (Chronicle
of Higher Education, May 15)
How
States Make Use (or Not) of Community Colleges -- New analysis
shows significant gaps in percentages of enrollments at 2-year institutions,
as well as in growth rates and tuition policies. (Inside Higher Ed,
May 15)
Barack
Obama and Affirmative Action -- The Democratic candidate and
the country may benefit if he speaks out more on his unconventional
views on one of higher education's most contentious issues. (Inside
Higher Ed, May 12)
Colleges
Express Concern About State Laws That Require Them to Fight Online
Piracy (Chronicle of Higher Education, May 9)
Safety
A
Mental Health and Public Safety Primer -- American Psychiatric
Association symposium covers broad issues that have re-emerged since
Virginia Tech. (Inside Higher Ed, May 6)
Curriculum & Instruction
'Time
Out’ to Reconsider Core Changes -- A month after plans to
update Georgia's statewide curriculum sparked faculty discontent,
leadership backs off. (Inside Higher Ed, May 13)
Tuition
Rises as Spending on Instruction Slows -- (Chronicle of Higher
Education, May 9)
Faculty
Students
Fail — and Professor Loses Job -- Steven Aird gave out a
lot of D's and F's at Norfolk State University. Tomorrow, he will
be unemployed. (Inside Higher Ed, May 14)
Battered
Academic Egos -- Three assistant professors in Northern Illinois
University's College of Education are chronicling their first year
on the tenure track. (Chronicle of HIgher Ed, May 14)
Treatment
of Adjunct Faulted at U. of New Haven -- AAUP finds that university
unfairly dismissed instructor as she was on the verge of obtaining
job security. (Inside Higher Ed, May 15)
‘On
Course’: New Guide to First Semester of Teaching (Inside
Higher Ed, May 14)
Searching
for Strategy in Tough Times -- Course redesign, more merit pay
and expanded outsourcing are among the ideas administrators and experts
consider for how to manage colleges through economic uncertainty.
(Inside Higher Ed, May 12)
Students
Student
Writers Fight to Keep Their Work off the Web -- Hoping to keep
their theses available for eventual commercial publication, creative-writing
students at some colleges raise objections to policies that would
allow open online access to their work. (Chronicle of Higher Education,
May 14)
The
Lectures Are Recorded, So Why Go to Class? (Chronicle of Higher
Education, May 15)
Teach
for America Sees Surge in Popularity -- The program that recruits
top college graduates to teach for two years in public schools that
are difficult to staff will place 3,700 new teachers this fall, up
from 2,900 last year, a 28 percent increase. (New York Times, May
14)
Half
of courses in Grades 9 to 12 will be delivered online by 2019 -- Virtual
schools see strong growth, calls for more oversight (Christian
Science Monitor, May 14)
Blunt
Federal Letters Tell Students They’re Security Threats --
Rejected applicants for an ID card meant to guard against acts of
terrorism received a letter from a security administration official
that warned: “I have determined that you pose a security threat.
(New York Times, May 13)
Planning
a Web Site, Publisher Buys a Harvard Alumni Magazine -- Plans
for 02138, a magazine for Harvard alumni, include expanding it into
social networking and event sponsorship, and then duplicating the
operation for each Ivy League school. (New York Times, May 13)
Pentagon
Balks At New G.I. Education Bill Defense Department
Worries Expanded Scholarship Benefits Would Hurt Retention Rates (CBS
News, May 13)
More
[Chicago Public Schools] grads heading off to college New
numbers show 6.5% increase (Chicago Sun-Times, May 13)
College
Degrees A Waste Of Time, Money (Tampa Bay Tribune, May 11)
U.S.:
Colleges may admit illegals Federal officials
say N.C. schools aren't required to consider students' status U.S (News & Observer
North Carolina, May 10)
Student
Loan Landscape Changing For The Better In Some Ways, But Not Others,
Says Ray Martin, Who Offers Guidance (CBS News, May 9)
Behind
college raid, rising drug use on campus -- This week's massive
bust at San Diego State highlights the rise in university cooperation
with law enforcement. (The Christian Science Monitor, May 9)
Academic Freedom
Academic
Freedom Violations Found at Hunter Report says
that unusual arrangement in which corporate interests sponsored a
course put professor in untenable position and compromised curricular
standards. (Inside Higher Ed, May 13)
U.
of Delaware Approves New Diversity Discussions for Students --
The new, voluntary program will replace one tossed out last fall after
coming under criticism as "thought reform." (Chronicle
of Higher Ed, May 13)
College
Official Fired for Column on Homosexuality -- A University of
Toledo administrator has lost her job because she wrote a newspaper
commentary that questioned whether homosexuality is a civil rights
issue. (Cybercast News Service, May 12)
Tell
Cal State: Stop violating religious freedom and freedom of speech --
An instructor of American Studies and Women' Studies was fired by
Cal State Fullerton because she wouldn't sign a "loyalty oath" without
being able to add a note explaining that her religious views would
prevent her from taking up arms. (People for the American Way)
Fired
Teacher Calls on Calif State University to Change "Loyalty Oath" Policy (People
for the American Way, May 9)
The labor movement
Save
the date: Congress Hotel strike five-year anniversary rally is June
12th (IFT, May)
Invasions
of Privacy -- Burger King spies on the Student/Farmworker Alliance
and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. (The Nation, May 11)
SEIU
Spreads Its Wings, Ruffles Some Feathers --- Two thousand members
of the Service Employees International Union are are setting the group’s
next four years of strategy and policy. But senior SEIU officials
are applying most of their effort these days trying to press their
influence on another big convention this summer, the Democratic gathering
in Denver. (CQ Politics, May 11)
A
Resounding Win for Adjuncts at Henry Ford (FACE
Blog, May 7)
NEA
Higher Education Almanac -- Salaries, liberal education,
bargaining, funding and much more. (National Education Association)
Health care & pensions
Reading
the Health Care Tea Leaves for 2009 (CQ Politics, May 13)
What
Social Security Isn’t Meant to Do (EDITORIAL: New York
Times, May 12)
Caregivers'
Resources -- Find help providing care, government benefits, legal
matters and end-of-life issues. (USA.gov)
Medicare
Rights Center -- Ask Marci: (Medicare
Rights Center)
Health
Care and Elections -- This
Kaiser Public Opinion Spotlight on Health Care and Elections examines
recent public opinion data and historical trends to give insight into
the potential role health care might play as an election issue.
AFTnews
AFT's
Organizing Committee Hears about Union's Impressive Recent Growth
-- The AFT is enjoying one of its best years ever when it comes
to organizing new members. "The news continues to be good," the
AFT's director of organization and field services said. In the last
year, the AFT has organized more than 40,500 new members. (AFT Leadernet,
May 15)
AFT
members speak out: Why is affirmative action
important for higher education? Hear what your AFT colleagues
have to say and participate in AFT Voices yourself.
HFCC
part-time professors unionize --Part-time professors at Detroit's
Henry Ford Community College overwhelmingly approved forming a union
in a mail-in vote. (The Detroit News, May 8)
USnews
Compromise
Higher-Education Bill Takes Shape in Congress -- Proposed legislation
would expand the amount of information contained in watch lists on
college costs and bar the secretary of education from dictating how
colleges measure student learning. (Chronicle of Higher Education,
May 14)
Who
Stole the American Spirit? -- OPINION: 'Our economic woes are
not serious enough to justify such pessimism. Something else is going
on - namely a cultural rut of pessimism that is draining our collective
energy, blinding us to possibilities, and eroding our position in
the world.' (Wall Street Journal, May 14)
Top
U.S. Higher Ed Official Resigns -- Less than a year after being
nominated and nine months after being confirmed by the Senate as assistant
secretary for postsecondary education, Diane Auer Jones is leaving
the Bush administration. (Inside Higher Ed, May 15
Emerging
Higher Ed Act Compromise -- With lawmakers still aiming
for May finish, draft bill circulates with abundant reporting requirements
and key issues -- on textbooks, state mandates and minority graduate
aid -- left unresolved. (Inside Higher Ed, May 13) |
