Academe: Focus on the Humanities in Trouble

Academe: Magazine of the AAUP

The road to dystopia is paved with both small cuts and big budget holes. Some of the cuts seem tiny, almost invisible; some of the budget holes so big, you could drive whole programs into them.

The September–October issue is the second of a triptych of Academe issues devoted to universities in trouble. Our July–August issueaddressed organizing in hard times. This issueis devoted to the humanities. In November–December, guest editor Christopher Newfield will take on the escalating troubles at public universities.

Note that I’m not using the word “crisis.” Nonetheless, as historian Ellen Schrecker notes in her trenchant review essay, “The Humanities on Life Support,” the future of the humanities “looks grim indeed.”

And it’s not just in the United States. English art historian, novelist, and journalist Iain Pears writes, in “A Price above Rubrics,” that the humanities and arts are particularly vulnerable in Britain, where universities made a “Mephistophelian bargain” about their abilities to create and deliver quick economic solutions and are now paying a terrible price.

News: A Dissenter Is Fired - Inside Higher Ed

September 8, 2011

On Tuesday, the American Association of University Professors wrote to Erskine College, expressing worry about the treatment of William Crenshaw, an English professor who has been among the most outspoken critics of the role of religious conservatives in shaping the direction of the institution. While the AAUP didn't weigh in on the disputes over Erskine, it said that Crenshaw never should have been suspended and barred from teaching -- as he recently had been -- unless he met the college handbook's requirement of causing "immediate harm" by his presence.

News: A Dissenter Is Fired - Inside Higher Ed:

News: 'Under New Management' - Inside Higher Ed

"While higher education is often spoken of in terms of crisis, this concept might be better treated as a critical juncture or turning point rather than a terminus," writes Randy Martin. This sentiment appears in the preface to Martin's new book, Under New Management: Universities, Administrative Labor, and the Professional Turn (Temple University Press), and it serves as an accurate summary of his stance on many of the issues the book explores.

Under New Management covers matters that prompt much debate in higher education: the decline of faculty autonomy and the rise of administration; the ever-growing emphasis on outcomes and assessment; the increasing focus on professional preparation (generally at the expense of the liberal arts); the promises and pitfalls of interdisciplinary work; and the inevitable rifts between faculty and administration. But the book is distinguished by its use of the work of administration as the lens through which to examine higher education; by the wealth of connections it draws among cultural and historical trends both inside and far outside academe; and by Martin's inclination to see opportunities where many others often see only misdirection or plain disaster.

Inside Higher Ed conducted an e-mail interview with Martin, professor and chair of art and public policy at New York University, to gain a better understanding of the ideas detailed in his complex and ambitious book.

News: 'Under New Management' - Inside Higher Ed

Almanac of Higher Education 2011 - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Almanac of Higher Education 2011 - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Great Colleges to Work For 2011 - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Great Colleges to Work For 2011 - The Chronicle of Higher Education

See Who Made the 2011 List

The Chronicle asked faculty and staff to assess their employers as workplaces. Use our tool to discover which colleges excel.

What Makes a Great Workplace?

The colleges that made our Honor Roll have created an atmosphere where employees feel they can succeed. Find out how they do it.

Administrative Bloat at American Universities: The Real Reason for High Costs in Higher Education | Goldwater Institute

Administrative Bloat at American Universities: The Real Reason for High Costs in Higher Education | Goldwater Institute


“Enrollment at America’s leading universities has been
increasing dramatically, rising nearly 15 percent between
1993 and 2007. But unlike almost every other growing
industry, higher education has not become more efficient.
Instead, universities now have more administrative
employees and spend more on administration to educate
each student. In short, universities are suffering from
“administrative bloat,” expanding the resources devoted to
administration significantly faster than spending on
instruction, research and service.”

Vocationalism, Academic Freedom and Tenure - NYTimes.com

Vocationalism, Academic Freedom and Tenure - NYTimes.com