Canary: Higher Ed Issues Landscape Report 08/12

August 12th, 2024

• What we’re watching: Tim Walz, unions, Florida tenure, antisemitism
• College sports and the Olympic Games
• What we’re reading: new frameworks, comprehensible science, ChatGPT, future of higher ed

What we’re watching

Tim Walz

Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Having already reviewed the implications for Harris and JD Vance, we take a look now at what Walz could mean for higher education.

• At Mankato West High School, years before Walz joined the political scene, he taught high school geography and social studies, and coached a school football team. (BBC )
• Walz signed into law a free college program known as North Star Promise that covered the cost of tuition to any public college in the state for students from families making less than $80,000 a year. . . Under his leadership, the state launched a direct admissions program that guarantees graduating high school seniors a spot at participating colleges. (Inside Higher Ed )
• Walz’ spouse Gwen Walz, widely seen as his closest advisor, has been called a "champion" of higher education opportunities for prisoners, with a number of measures making their way into Walz's criminal justice agenda. (USA Today )

“His work with the Legislature last year led to the largest increase in support for public higher education in state history. This investment has made public higher education more affordable and accessible for Minnesotans from all backgrounds and will have a lasting impact on the vitality of Minnesota’s talent pool and economy.”- Minnesota State system chancellor Scott Olson (IHE )

Union contracts

University System of Maryland workers have secured a “historic” union contract that will up the minimum wage, increase annual leave days and establish new health and safety protocols. The deal was struck between the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council and USM administrators after months of negotiations.

“We fought for the rights of all of the workers who keep the university system running. We’ve set the groundwork for future system-wide contracts, and we won big for everyone!” - Kevin Carr, Union spokesperson (The Baltimore Banner )

“[This is] an agreement that supports the University System’s employees, values their hard work and contributions, and stewards our resources responsibly so that we can continue providing an affordable, exceptional education to Maryland students.” - Jay A. Perman, Chancellor (University of Maryland System )

Tenure at Florida

The University of Florida has completed its first round of newly state-mandated post-tenure reviews, with?21% of the 258 professors reviewed failing to meet eligibility criteria or choosing to give up tenure. The percentage of professors failing to meet expectations was higher at UF than at other Florida state universities.

Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis said , “The most significant deadweight cost at universities is typically unproductive tenured faculty.” However, the new tenure law is the subject of litigation by professors who say it chills speech and dulls intellectual inquiry on campus.

"[If] professors' speech is at risk of being chilled, the progress of intellectual inquiry will slow and students will not be exposed to cutting-edge or novel thoughts and ideas." - Hernandez, Willis and Novoa vs State University System of Florida (Tallahassee Democrat )

“There’s no mincing words: Tenure’s gone. It’s been replaced by a five-year contract. [It] really gives them [UF administrators] a chance to get rid of people they don’t like.” - Meera Sitharam, United Faculty of Florida union, UF chapter (Inside Higher Ed )

Antisemitism on campus

Three Columbia University deans, whose leaked text messages were alleged to have “touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” have resigned . The texts were exchanged during a panel discussion on antisemitism in May on Columbia’s campus. A student sat behind one of the former deans and photographed the text exchange as it happened, later leaking it to the press. The deans had been placed on leave in June by Columbia President Minouche Shafik. Neither Columbia nor the deans have so far commented on the resignations.

“I had already understood that they didn’t take our concerns seriously, but the overt disdain was really upsetting. It totally delegitimized the strategy of listening sessions. Not only did they not hear us, they saw our speaking as some sort of privilege.” - Elisha Baker, student leader of Aryeh, a pro-Israel campus group (NYT )

Separately, a coalition of Jewish groups announced a series of recommendations for campuses “aimed at combating antisemitism on campus in the upcoming school year.” According to a press release, the recommendations included:

• Clearly Communicate Campus Rules, Standards, and Policies:?Make clear to students what it means to be a member of the campus community, and ensure students, faculty, and staff are aware of school policies on protests and demonstrations.
• Support Jewish Students:?Prevent discrimination, unequivocally denounce antisemitism, ensure inclusivity, and provide antisemitism education and training.
• Ensure Campus Safety: Enforce university codes of conduct, maintain clear reporting avenues for antisemitic incidents, ensure campus staff are trained to address violations of campus rules, and reaffirm rejection of BDS and academic boycotts of Israel.
• Reaffirm Faculty Responsibilities: Ensure students’ academic freedom and a non-discriminatory learning environment in the classroom. Communicate and enforce policies regarding faculty who threaten to withhold students’ grades if faculty demands are not met or who cancel mandatory classes.
• Prepare for Oct. 7:?Anticipate and mitigate disruptions on the one-year mark of the Hamas attack on Israel, ensuring any protest activities do not interfere with campus operations or Jewish students’ rights.

“The unprecedented surge in antisemitism on college campuses last year was utterly unacceptable, and yet far too many administrations failed to respond effectively. We insist that all college and university leaders take significant steps to make Jewish students safer.” - Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL National Director (ADL )

College sports and the Olympic Games

American universities have a special relationship with the Olympic Games. Many colleges boast facilities that outstrip those of entire nations and student-athletes from all over the world come to America on athletic scholarships. This week, we take a brief look at how universities talked about (or were talked about during) the Olympics

“In the half-century since Title IX banned discrimination on the basis of sex . . . millions of American women have embraced vastly expanded opportunities in college sports. More subtly . . . thousands of women have competed on American campuses before joining national teams around the world.” (NYT )

“According?to the NCAA , 1,225 current, former and incoming?NCAA ?athletes are competing in the Paris Olympics. They represent 253 schools across 60 conferences, and while most of them are competing with Team USA, more than 100 other countries have an NCAA athlete on their team.” (The Athletic )

Leveraging the Olympics to build reputational capital

The Olympics have been a storytelling asset for many universities, and communications teams were quick to elevate the success of individual athletes within the context of their own communications. Not only did colleges celebrate the successes of current students and alumni, Olympic success created earned media opportunities as well.

Smaller universities were able to get in on the action as well, often with the help of athletes not competing on the U.S. national team.

In addition, colleges proactively offered professor voices to media as Olympic experts and utilized faculty knowledge and research to create owned content.

Finally, the NCAA has keenly leveraged the Olympics to bolster its own reputation:

Reputation-related vulnerabilities

The current political and cultural climate around higher education meant that universities also had to manage existing issues through the lens of the Olympics, specifically related to Title IX.

For example, Vanderbilt student-athlete Veronica Fraley caused a stir by posting on X that she could not afford her rent, even though she was competing at the Olympics. The story went viral when rapper Flavor Flav and Serena William’s husband, Alexis Ohanian, offered to cover her rent.

Fraley clarified later that her “irritation isn’t with the school itself, mainly the rules that bar me from making the amount I’m WORTH as a collegiate athlete such as NIL, which favors popularity over performance.”

In response, Vanderbilt issued a statement:

“Vanderbilt is committed to supporting our student-athletes as they pursue their full potential. We provided our student-athlete Veronica Fraley with the?**maximum financial aid consistent with NCAA regulations. We also help our student-athletes navigate name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities, acknowledging that these are completely separate and independent of the university by NCAA regulations and state law.” (Vanderbilt )

The episode speaks to the anxiety around how NIL might impact funding streams at universities, potentially reversing the Title IX-engineered flow of dollars from more lucrative college sports to those that are less so.

Additionally, Olympic conversation has at times spilled into wider cultural debates that touch upon university reputations. For example, conservative voices have connected controversies around women’s boxing and break dancing to things like new Title IX rules and research integrity.

?? What we’re reading

Forbes: What We Never Say Out Loud In Higher Education

Historically, education was not about the student; it was about the knowledge. That set the stage for the traditional college or university experience to be centered around the faculty and their role in the advancement of knowledge. Unfortunately, this has created a flawed framework that is not sustainable.

Inside Higher Ed: Scientists Owe Taxpayers Comprehensible Science

Scientists are often lauded as working toward the public good, so why are most scientific findings hidden within dense, jargon-filled texts? Federal agencies that fund science should hold researchers accountable for making their findings accessible and understandable to nonscientists.

The Wall Street Journal: There’s a Tool to Catch Students Cheating With ChatGPT. OpenAI Hasn’t Released It.

In trying to decide what to do, OpenAI employees have wavered between the startup’s stated commitment to transparency and their desire?to attract and retain users . One survey the company conducted of loyal ChatGPT users found nearly a third would be turned off by the anticheating technology.

UChicago Magazine: What is the future of higher education

As we know, there’s a backlash against higher education. Over the next five, 10, 15 years, how do this university and others continue to prove their value and demonstrate how important it is to continue to create these opportunities for young people?

#?? Trending on Social This Week

Sources:

• just matt (@questionableway )
• Sophie Fuji (@sophfuji )
• Jake Tapper (@jaketapper )

Legend Labs is a brand and communications consulting firm for the digital age. We help ambitious leaders create, grow, and protect their Legends. This analysis of reputation-related trends in higher education features insights from Meltwater and direct social media & web analysis.

For more information, email us at [email protected] .