Secretary’s Blog | Graduate Student Council

To Market, to Market. Daily Links.

by Anders | May 10, 2013 | Secretary's Blog

Nice Morning Edition piece summarizing the market revolution in higher ed, as it’s playing out in Texas.
A new Florida U plans to do away with tenure altogether, replacing it with renewable contracts. (Obvi, not everyone’s psyched. The comments section is pretty interesting).
A new U Penn report looks at the state and future of HBCUs, which have been attacked of late.
A Brookings report tried to finally answer the “should everyone go to college” question once and for all. Judging from the response, they failed to convince everyone.
In other news, in the wake of the Boston Bombings, student visas have become the focus of Homeland Security (even though neither suspect was on one). Unclear whether it’ll make it harder to study here, but some worry that the issue might get dragged into larger immigration debates.

Daily Links: International Edition

by Anders | May 8, 2013 | Secretary's Blog

Australia is (also) cutting dough for higher ed, and this writer worries about the health effects on the health of academics themselves.
From England, a young PhD student wonders why there aren’t more black women in the humanities. She holds up UNC as a favorable example of diversity. Speaking of which, here’s a spotlight on how CA is finding alternatives to affirmative action, as the practice seems threatened in the Supreme Court.
In Mali, scholars literally preserved knowledge by hiding away medieval manuscriptsfrom those who would destroy them.
And is Virginia a foreign country? If you’re trying to file a Freedom of Information Act request, it might as well be. A librarian’s take on how a quietly important recent SCOTUS ruling might affect academic research.

Daily Links: Sandel is a rock star; Support your local professor scene.

by Anders | May 3, 2013 | Secretary's Blog

First, go watch the amazing–I’m going to call it a trailer–for Harvard prof Michael Sandel’s mooc version of his famous course on “Justice.” (Part of me is so glad to see that ye olde pop lecture is still alive, and that edX hired some decent if somewhat dorky shooting and editing to make learning look cool. Another part of me is creeped out). Next, read this cogent yet passionate open letter to Sandel from the philosophy faculty of San Jose State, explaining why it would be unjust for them to submit their students to his online course. Third, read Sandel’s response. It’s not much, but I’m assuming his hands were somewhat tied.
This is really aimed at k-12 educators, but some compelling ideas here on using Pinterest for teaching, learning, and organizing projects.
apropos of nothing, here’s a good entry from Confessions of a Community College Dean, on how privilege means assuming your opinion matters. One of the things that makes Brown undergrads such a pleasure to work with is their precociousness, and this sheds light on where that may come from.

Are We Not Apprentices?

by Anders | May 1, 2013 | Secretary's Blog

The Dissertation is just an apprenticeship in research, says one grad student. She offers a list of what seems like very sound advice. But I wonder: as the academic guild continues to give way to a ‘creative industries’ logic, are we still at liberty to consider our dissertations as merely embroidery samplers, or do we need to be thinking about their market value right off the bat?
Amidst all the talk of alt-ac careers, someone finally took a poll. It reveals what we’ve been hearing around Brown: many grad students feel a lack of advisor support for non-faculty careers.
Meanwhile, here are three good arguments for pursuing a non-faculty career, especially in tech.
Speaking of actual data, here’s a rundown of the universities getting the most federal money.

May 1 GSC meeting, agenda highlights

by Anders | Apr 30, 2013 | Secretary's Blog

Wednesday night is our last meeting of the 2012-13 academic year. It’s a fairly light agenda, but we want to make sure everyone has a clear idea of the most important business.

So:

Elections for internal committees. We will be filling vacant seats on our internal committees. If you’re interested in rolling up your sleeves for Brown graduate students, this is your chance! Email gsc_secretary@brown.edu with any questions.
Resolution on Brown divestment from coal. Last month, members of Divest Coal presented their case to the GSC, on why Brown should divest from the 10 worst coal polluters. The Undergraduate Council of Students has already passed a resolution supporting this course of action, and we are putting this same resolution to a vote.
Corporation Breakfast. Remember to put your name in the hat for the May 23 Corporation breakfast, where we drink coffee and talk business with the people who make the big decisions about the long-term direction of Brown! Seats are limited.

That’s the tofurkey of it! View the full agenda here, and we’ll see you at 7pm, Graduate Lounge, Wednesday, May 1.