George Mason University President Ángel Cabrera acknowledged this month that his school gave the Charles Koch Foundation “some influence” over hiring and evaluating faculty as it accepted millions of dollars for its free-market research center, the Mercatus Center. This news rankled the academic world, but it perhaps didn’t come as a surprise. Many scholars saw this as just the […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
What’s wrong with secret donor agreements like the ones George Mason University inked with the Kochs
College students slutting it up
A century ago, our culture respected “college boys,” kids who not only graduated high school, but managed to get accepted into college. Yes, “college boys” tended to be wealthy, so there was certainly some elitism here, but the fact remained that going to college was considered an honorable, respectable, achievement, and a sign of future […] … learn more→
Debate: Should we close the management schools?
For more than a century, critics have been blowing on business schools. Whenever a crisis takes its toll, censors make a sentence of pillory schools accused of all the ills: the bankruptcy of such an enterprise, the oppression of women, the increase in global inequalities through the global ecological devastation. Why, on the contrary, should […] … learn more→
Choosing the unicorns – An ECR’s perspective on grant reviews
The other day, I read the guest blog on Research Whisperer by Adam Micolich about capturing unicorns, a.k.a landing your first successful grant application. I found it really helpful for early career researchers such as myself, and wanted to offer another perspective on the funding process: that of a grants reviewer. I recently had the pleasure […] … learn more→
The ghost of the ideal scholar
Are we seeing a new moral panic brew around reading? When I was growing up, in the 70s and 80s, TV had been around for more than a generation, but the early 80s saw the glorious invention of the videotape machine. No longer at the mercy of the TV Networks and their schedules, my generation […] … learn more→
Publishing from the phd – make a publication plan
There are two ways to approach publishing from your PhD. One is to write the first thing that interests you. Or the recent thing that you presented at a conference. Or write the thing that someone very important has invited you to put in an expensive edited collection. All of that is fine of course. […] … learn more→
Education schools: The source of campus anti-white racism
The massive student loan scam is slamming our kids into a lifetime of debt slavery, but this fact just can’t seem to get into the news. On the other hand, scarcely a day goes by without one more “racial” scandal in higher ed, usually with another faculty or administrator coming out against the “epidemic” of […] … learn more→
Does Higher Education have what it takes to adjust to market conditions?
In our new book, How to Build a College: A Practical Guide for Trustees, Faculty, Administrators and Policymakers, Dr. Joey King and I argue that the sky is not falling around higher education. By and large, colleges and universities are nimble and resourceful institutions, most of which will prosper in the 21st century. However, college and […] … learn more→
Linking impact factor to ‘open access’ charges creates more inequality in academic publishing
The prospectus SpringerNature released on April 25 in preparation of its intended stock market listing provides a unique view into what the publisher thinks are the strengths of its business model and where it sees opportunities to exploit them, including its strategy on open access publishing. Whether the ultimate withdrawal of the IPO reflected investors’ doubt […] … learn more→
Improve your grades to perfection: 5 benefits of a College GPA calculator
If you’re hoping to improve your grades, you can do this by using a college GPA calculator. There are a few different ways to do this. This can leave you with a handful of benefits and help you out with your college success. Let’s look at a few of the benefits that you can get […] … learn more→