Last September, I missed my first All-Ireland Hurling Final in 20 years. I have loved the sport and the final since I was six years old. It’s the biggest fixture in the sports calendar and an annual gathering of most of my oldest friends. I probably won’t see some of my friends again until the […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Can you combine a PhD and a full-time job? Yes, but it can be challenging
Oxford extends math test time to boost women’s grades
The whole “women can do anything just as well as men” paradigm that’s driven our society of late has always puzzled me. Yes, absolutely, women should be allowed the same opportunities as men, I’ve certainly no problem with that, but there’s always been a strange hypocrisy to it that I’ve found troubling. Women joining the […] … learn more→
Ex-Communist Professor sues NYU
Recently I discussed a Leftist professor advocate of white genocide who implied the problem with our campuses is Leftism is being discouraged on our campuses, that voices like his are being silenced. Rubbish. My memory isn’t the best, but it sure seems like conservative faculty are the ones in the crosshairs, so I thought I’d […] … learn more→
The university: a guide for depressives
About once a month I dream what Freud called the “examination dream”: the one that requires me to resit my finals, having done no revision. The dream is presumably a manifestation of impostor syndrome – that nagging fear, known to many academics, that we will be found out. But on one subject I never doubt […] … learn more→
The case against free higher education: why it is neither just nor ethical
South Africa’s just-ousted Minister of Finance committed another R57 billion to higher education and training over the next three years. In his first (and last – he was removed from the portfolio less than a week later) budget speech, Malusi Gigaba followed through on former president Jacob Zuma’s controversial promise in December last year of fee-free higher education. The […] … learn more→
Six ways to bridge the gap between rich and poor at university
Theresa May’s year-long review of student funding offers a real opportunity to solve the big problems around tuition fees and financial support at UK universities. As part of our research on how young people from different places and backgrounds transition into university, we spoke with more than 180 young people from across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and each region […] … learn more→
Voiding faculty contracts by “vote”
I believe the sleaziest part of our higher education system is the community college. Yes, the “for profit” schools are arguably close, but I’m a firm believer in integrity, so I give the for-profit sector some slack for making their decisions with profit, and nothing else, in mind. Community colleges, on the other hand, are […] … learn more→
We must drop the ‘arts’ vs ‘science’ narrative
Education for the creative industries has been rapidly growing for many years. New and innovative further and higher education courses, such as creative coding and technology and creative business management, have been introduced to keep ahead of the exploding demands of the world we live in. However, debate around the government’s post-18 education review shows […] … learn more→
We need to talk about disability and chronic illness during the PhD
As we go through life (and for many of us, go through a PhD), we naturally accumulate adversities. When a new hardship rolls around I tend to respond in three steps: Step 1: Grieve. All seven stages. Step 2: Find a community of people also afflicted by my hardship, whether online or off. Step 3: […] … learn more→
This $75 million gift might make higher ed question its obsession with science and tech
During his unsuccessful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Marco Rubio made the dubious (and grammatically unsound) assertion that “we need more welders and less philosophers.” Bill Miller clearly disagrees with the Florida senator. Miller, a prominent investor who spent three years studying philosophy at Johns Hopkins University as a graduate student, recently gave that school US$75 million to […] … learn more→
