by Michael Burawoy | Nov 2, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
Yes, tomorrow is election day. Yes, this could be a fateful election. Yes, things are not going to be decided tomorrow. Yes, there could be a battle royal that could go on in the courts and in the streets for months, as the contest in “swing” states is bound to be...
by Michael Burawoy | Oct 26, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
Last week the administration announced that the campus Distinguished Teaching Award is being replaced this year by up to 25 awards for “Extraordinary Teaching in Extraordinary Times”: The award is intended to honor UC Berkeley faculty, staff, and graduate student...
by Michael Burawoy | Oct 19, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
The University We Are For State support for public higher education in California has declined for decades: it constituted approximately one-third of the UC budget in 1990 and is about 10 percent today. As the UC has been systematically defunded, campus leaders have...
by Michael Burawoy | Oct 12, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
In his latest blog, Chris Newfield laments the absence of an adequate plan to save higher education generally and the University of California in particular. Reflecting on the latest Regents’ meeting, Newfield observes that UCOP and the Regents are feeding each...
by Michael Burawoy | Oct 5, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
The intermittently dormant “Faculty Budget Forum,” a listserv established during the (last) financial crisis of 2008-9 as a place for faculty to exchange concerns and ideas, lit up this weekend with an exchange about Intercollegiate Athletics. If ever there was a...
by Michael Burawoy | Sep 28, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
As we learn about President Trump’s tax returns, we are reminded once again – as if we need to be reminded– of the arrogance of power. Regent Richard Blum demonstrates the point – claiming he did nothing wrong in directing his letters of recommendation to the...
