The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Shades Of Profscam

Months off the job, guaranteed! What an offer! Hundreds of Minnesota college teachers take paid leave, or sabbatical, every year. Deciding who gets to exercise this option is not always based on merit. It's a guarantee some Minnesota colleges agreed to and you're paying millions for it. Watch the video! See more at:
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1236697.shtml?cat=206

Cheat In This Course And You're Going To Hell For Eternity

Frustrated over cheating allegations, one professor at Middle Tennessee State University took the idea of a traditional honor code in a controversial direction. Suspecting that one of his MBA candidates had just cheated on an exam, Professor Thomas Tang had each of them sign a pledge that said if they had cheated, they'd be condemned to an eternity in Hell. Some students had called the department chair and complained that they were asked to sign this honor code they found offensive." Professor Tang admits he may have overreacted. Read more at:
http://www.wkrn.com/global/story.asp?s=11445552

Students To Faculty: We're Not Impressed By Your Use Of Technology

According to new research released Monday, only 38 percent of students indicated that their instructors "understand technology and fully integrate it into their classes." Students also rated that lack of understanding as "the biggest obstacle to classroom technology integration." Despite this, 74 percent of higher education instructors polled indicated that they "incorporate technology into every class or nearly every class," and 67 percent said they were "satisfied with their technology professional development. Read more at:
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/11/03/students-unimpressed-with-faculty-use-of-ed-tech.aspx

Political Scientists Ponder Their Relevance

After Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, this month proposed prohibiting the National Science Foundation from “wasting any federal research funding on political science projects,” political scientists rallied in opposition, pointing out that one of this year’s Nobel winners had been a frequent recipient of the very program now under attack. Yet even some of the most vehement critics of the Coburn proposal acknowledge that political scientists themselves vigorously debate the field’s direction, what sort of questions it pursues, even how useful the research is. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/books/20poli.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Majority Of Faculty Just Not That Into Twitter

Despite the seemingly relentless barrage of hype surrounding Twitter, most faculty in higher education institutions are not using the microblogging service at all. In fact, according to a new study from Faculty Focus, most have never even tried it. In a survey of 1,958 higher education professionals conducted by Faculty Focus in July and August, 69.3 percent of respondents said they do not use Twitter in any capacity, and 56.4 percent haven't tried it at all. Some of the reasons faculty members do not use Twitter were that they don't see the relevance to education, that they think microblogging might contribute to poor writing skills, that they don't understand how to use it, or that they don't have time for it. Read more at:
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/08/26/most-faculty-dont-use-twitter-study-reveals.aspx

Is John Yoo Protected By Academic Freedom

When law classes began on Monday at the University of California, Berkeley, protesters gathered at the law school to call for the firing of John C. Yoo, a tenured professor and the author of Justice Department memos that critics say were used to justify the torture of terrorism suspects. The dean of the law school, Christopher Edley, has rejected calls for dismissal, saying Professor Yoo, who received tenure in 1999 before taking a leave to work for the Bush administration, is protected as a matter of academic freedom.Is the Yoo case an instance where academic freedom principles clearly come into play or does it raise other considerations? Read more at:
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/torture-and-academic-freedom/

This Faculty Member Helps Traffic Keep Moving

The co-director of UNLV’s Transportation Research Center is considered something of a genius by traffic engineers. The university lucked out when it got him. He came to Las Vegas two years ago from Virginia Tech only because his wife landed a job as a marketing professor at UNLV. He is also making a major difference where the rubber, literally, meets the road, experts say. He is using his deep and varied expertise in robotics, electrical engineering and mathematics to improve traffic flow throughout the valley. Read more at:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/26/unlvs-master-traffic/

Ok To Pay Me For The Course Professor Tells Students

The same FGCU associate professor suspended for touching a mannequin in a sexual manner has been fired for depositing university checks into his personal bank account. David Lounsbury, 56, was terminated July 14 after an internal audit found he collected cash and checks worth $15,210. Lounsbury is accused of asking students to issue checks directly to him, or pay in cash, instead of FGCU for an interview and interrogation course. Lounsbury argues he simply was expediting the reimbursement process for supplies he purchased for the criminal justice department. Read more at:
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090724/NEWS0104/90723061/1075

FAU Faculty Will Fight Their Layoffs

Florida Atlantic University professors have filed a formal complaint against the school, claiming the layoffs of tenured faculty members violates their union contract. FAU officials announced in May that the school's 2009-10 budget includes laying off 25 staffers and five tenured professors. All of the professors teach in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. The complaint, filed last week, is on behalf of four of the five professors who were told their last day would be in August. The fifth person chose not to be part of the grievance. Read more at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/education/story/1120391.html

Southeastern IHEs Spending Less On Faculty Salaries

Tennessee and Georgia colleges have contributed less to faculty salaries in the past decade than most states in the Southeast. Studies show at the same time, fewer tenured faculty members -- who usually receive the highest salaries -- are being hired and replacements are cheaper, part-time adjunct instructors. Over the last few years, landing better-paying jobs in higher education has been increasingly difficult as the percentage of tenured faculty shrinks. "(Adjuncts) are cheap labor," said Dr. Shela Van Ness, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and vice president of the UT faculty and staff union. "The university saves a lot of money, but the students are not getting the same thing they would with people with (doctorates)." Read more at:
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/29/college-ranks-split-over-part-time-less-costly/?local