[iDC] Fwd:The Perfect Educational Storm

[Ryan Griffis]

i haven't looked at the report yet, but this looked like something of  
interest to those in US academia here...
best,
ryan

Begin forwarded message:

> A few months ago, the AAUP reported to its members on the results  
> of the largest investigation we have undertaken in half a century.  
> We were faced with fundamental violations of academic freedom and  
> tenure not just at one school but across an entire region. Under  
> the cover of unsubstantiated declarations of various versions of  
> financial exigency, university administrators at five institutions  
> engaged in a “nearly universal departure from (or in some cases  
> complete abandonment of) personnel and other policies.” It has been  
> called the storm after the storm, or the perfect academic storm. I  
> am referring to the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina on  
> universities in the New Orleans area.
>
> Many tenured faculty were fired with scant notice, no meaningful  
> due process, no stated reasons, and no appeal save to the very  
> administrators who released them. Faculty were not consulted about  
> these actions or given an opportunity to suggest alternatives. Some  
> found out they had already been taken off payroll and health care.  
> Departments and programs were closed without appropriate review.  
> While a number of institutions had suffered serious damage from the  
> hurricane, we found no justification for this wholesale abandonment  
> of due process and shared governance. Indeed, as the report  
> eloquently declares, this is exactly the kind of challenge that  
> requires wide consultation and full participation by the faculty  
> before drastic actions are taken.
>
> We believe all members of the higher education community need to  
> know the story of how the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina was  
> unnecessarily compounded by administrative fiat. That is why we are  
> sending this e-mail.
>
> The report is a warning to all of us about how not to handle a  
> crisis, a warning as well about the dangers we face if our shared  
> governance guarantees are not strengthened. Four administrations  
> were censured at our annual meeting in June because of their post- 
> Katrina actions. Negotiations continue in order to gain justice for  
> New Orleans faculty and restore due process to the region.
>
> The full report is available online.
http://lyris.eresources.com:81/t/1138419/1947781/794/0/