Excerpt: The University of Houston-Downtown is facing a lawsuit that claims a former dean discriminated against a black, gay staff member.
The lawsuit alleges that Carlos Gooden, the university’s executive director of graduate business programs, faced discrimination on the basis of race and sexual orientation from the former dean of the business school who hired him, Charles Gengler. A longtime friend of Gengler’s, however, argues the lawsuit is filled with unsubstantiated fabrications, and Gengler’s attorney has called the complaint a “sham.”
Excerpt: According to a new survey, a majority of college students believe that professors who say something "offensive" should be reported to the university.
The survey, from researchers at North Dakota State University, found that 74 percent of students overall supported reporting professors for offensive statements. While a majority of students from all political persuasions agreed with reporting professors, a higher percentage of liberal students were in favor; 81 percent of liberal students supported reporting professors, while only 53 percent of conservative students supported it.
Excerpt: On Friday, January 6, 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican of Florida, announced six new members to the Board of Trustees at New College of Florida, where I was serving as president. The announcement was not surprising. For weeks I had heard reports that appointments were likely, and everyone expected trustees with strong conservative backgrounds.
In the weeks leading up to the board’s first meeting on January 31 — at which I was fired as president — the logic of this militaristic rhetoric became clear. Far more than a political shift in the governance of our small liberal-arts college, New College had become the epicenter of a debate about the future of academic freedom, shared governance, freedom of expression, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Excerpt: Amid a pause in Florida Atlantic University’s search for a new president, leaders of a First Amendment group and a national higher-education association are pointing to a controversial new law shielding presidential candidates’ identities as harmful to public trust and academic freedom.
Johanna Alonso
Inside Higher Ed
Excerpt: When Suha Chowdhury started a chapter of the humanitarian aid organization Islamic Relief at the University at Buffalo, she envisioned joining with her peers to fundraise for global causes and help Buffalo-area nonprofits—all with the support of her university.June 22, 20231 min read
Johanna Alonso
Inside Higher Ed
Excerpt: When Suha Chowdhury started a chapter of the humanitarian aid organization Islamic Relief at the University at Buffalo, she envisioned joining with her peers to fundraise for global causes and help Buffalo-area nonprofits—all with the support of her university.
Excerpt: Faculty at the CUNY School of Law are calling on the university’s administration to retract a statement characterizing a student’s graduation address as “hate speech,” following criticism of her speech as antisemitic.
