Some months back, I received an email asking me for an academic reference. With it came a request that, in writing the reference, I pay attention to my unconscious gender bias and try to limit it. I am glad that universities are responding to the disparities in the kinds of recommendation letters that men and […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Men should not become the explicit standard in reference-writing
Low funding for universities puts students at risk for cycles of poverty, especially in the wake of COVID-19
Post-secondary education has consistently been linked to the promise of a better life. Graduating from post-secondary study has been identified as the single most important factor affecting intergenerational mobility. Yet, several factors at play today show how this function of post-secondary education is in crisis in Canada. Shrinking government funding is behind higher university tuition fees. Government […] … learn more→
Beginning the #phd – start writing at the start
Writing, and its alter ego, reading, are the backbone of academic work. The practices that make scholarship what it is. In the PhD there are multiple places and purposes for writing. We often focus on the final text, the thesis, the writing that communicates what we claim to know, that explains the research we […] … learn more→
US fraternities must be required to disavow their racist roots
At one time, the biggest problems associated with college fraternities were raucous house parties, puerile pranks or grim hazing ceremonies. This year, far more controversial issues have confronted these staples of US campuses – and of light-hearted Hollywood comedies from Animal House to Old School and Neighbors. And these issues have challenged the popular notion […] … learn more→
The best student experience possible right now is online
I recently attended a departmental meeting where our head of school declared our single most important objective to be the “student experience”. I agree wholeheartedly. But are universities brave enough to have a completely honest discussion about how their staff can deliver the best experience while this pandemic continues? Moreover, are institutions willing to entertain […] … learn more→
Abusive male interviewers undermine universities’ gender equality efforts
Having worked in higher education for nearly 20 years, I’ve been through many interviews. While most – regardless of the outcome – have been positive experiences, a few have not. And, during an interview last week, it finally dawned on me what they all have in common: an older, male academic who seems to go […] … learn more→
UK plans on student visas fail to empower entrepreneurialism
Well-educated immigrant entrepreneurs often play a crucial role in dynamic economies. In a famous 2006 study, The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy, AnnaLee Saxenian of the University of California, Berkeleystudied the impact of highly skilled immigrants in Silicon Valley. Chinese and Indian scientists and engineers were running nearly a third of the […] … learn more→
Doing this one thing helps community college students transfer to a 4-year university
Elizabeth has always wanted to be a doctor. While a high school senior, she was hoping to achieve her dream through attending the state’s main university campus, but she was put on a waiting list. A friend talked her into taking a path less traveled, by starting out at a local two-year college and then […] … learn more→
Campus lockdowns? I didn’t join university security to jail teenagers
When my mates ask me how we university security guards prepared for the return of 15,000 students to campus during an ongoing pandemic, my answer is a strange one. We did it by removing a giant penis. Our campus had been mothballed for four months and the local kids had sprayed the offending organ across […] … learn more→
Style, tone and grammar – native speaker bias in peer reviews
Peer review is a central part of academic publication. The process of back and forth between authors and reviewers is meant, in part, to ensure the quality and novelty of articles. Many journals use what is known as a double-blind process in peer review – neither the authors nor the reviewers know each other’s names. […] … learn more→
