Send us a link

Subscribe to our newsletter

Ensuring the Pandemic Doesn't Negatively Impact Women in STEM, Especially Those of Color

Ensuring the Pandemic Doesn't Negatively Impact Women in STEM, Especially Those of Color

The pandemic will negatively impact the careers of women in STEM, particularly those of color, and failure to respond could jeopardize years of progress toward faculty equity. 

College Librarians Prepare for Looming Budget Cuts, and Journal Subscriptions Could Be in for a Trim

College Librarians Prepare for Looming Budget Cuts, and Journal Subscriptions Could Be in for a Trim

University librarians are preparing for tough times ahead, even though the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to be fully understood. Could big deals with publishers be on the chopping block?

#COLA4ALL Shuts Down UC Santa Cruz

#COLA4ALL Shuts Down UC Santa Cruz

Graduate students at the University of California, Santa Cruz, shut down campus Thursday as part of their ongoing strike for a cost of living adjustment, and all other system campuses saw their own one-day protests. Santa Cruz graduate assistants went on a grade strike in December, then a full labor strike this month. Tensions mounted last week when the university fired or disqualified 80-some grads from spring assistantships for continuing to withhold undergraduate grades. Graduate assistants blocked all entrances to the Santa Cruz campus before dawn, forcing the university to cancel classes, except those offered online. Many faculty and undergraduate supporters joined the picket lines on that campus and across the UC system starting midmorning. As of last week, graduate assistants at the Santa Barbara campus are also on a labor strike for a COLA, and assistants at the Davis campus are on a grade strike. Systemwide, graduate instructors make about $2,400 pre-tax, per month, for nine months out of the year. Strikers say that they need between $1,400 and $1,800 extra per month to be able to secure housing in California's expensive rental markets and have anything left over for utilities and food. The United Auto Workers, with which UC's graduate workers are affiliated, has urged the university to reopen their contract to bargain for a COLA. This week it authorized a systemwide strike vote for April on the grounds that the university has committed unfair labor practices. The university has filed a similar claim against graduate workers. The system said in a statement that it "values all our graduate students, including academic student employees (ASEs) who are essential to UC's teaching mission, supporting the university as teaching assistants, readers and tutors. However, that mission is in jeopardy when ASEs refuse to fulfill their teaching obligations." The system noted that these assistants are striking in violation of their union contract, negotiated in 2018, and said it's "unfortunate that the UAW has resorted to announcing a strike authorization vote as the university continues pursuing opportunities to engage productively with graduate students on housing affordability and other issues."

Underrepresented Faculty Members Share the Real Reasons They Have Left Various Academic Institutions

Underrepresented Faculty Members Share the Real Reasons They Have Left Various Academic Institutions

When Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt asked a large group of underrepresented faculty members why they left their higher education institutions, they told her the real reasons for their departures -- those that climate surveys don't capture.

Avoiding Disgruntlement and Burnout from Too Much Service Work

Avoiding Disgruntlement and Burnout from Too Much Service Work

People who do too much service can take longer to advance in their careers, are often unhappy with how service is distributed in the department and are more likely to burn out or leave the academy, write Rachel McLaren and Anthony Ocampo, who offer tips for avoiding that.

Racial Inequality, at College and in the Workplace

Racial Inequality, at College and in the Workplace

White Americans still disproportionately outnumber their African American and Latino counterparts when it comes to obtaining good jobs, regardless of education they have obtained.

Sociologist Says Journal Rejected Her Paper Because She's Shared It Elsewhere As a Preprint, Against Its Own Pro-preprint Policy

Sociologist Says Journal Rejected Her Paper Because She's Shared It Elsewhere As a Preprint, Against Its Own Pro-preprint Policy

Sociologist says journal dismissed her paper because she'd shared it elsewhere as a preprint -- even though the publication had a pro-preprint policy. How often does this happen?

Ph.D. Students Resent Expectation That They Bring Food and Drinks to Their Thesis Defenses

Ph.D. Students Resent Expectation That They Bring Food and Drinks to Their Thesis Defenses

As it turns out, many Ph.D. students resent the expectation that they bring food and drinks to their thesis defenses. UCLA's psychology department just said they shouldn't do it.

Council of Graduate Schools Data Show There's No One Way to Use a Doctorate

Council of Graduate Schools Data Show There's No One Way to Use a Doctorate

New data shows that many Ph.D.s switch jobs and employment sectors in their early careers and even into midcareer. So Ph.D. programs should help students navigate job opportunities and understand the value of their degrees across sectors.

California Bills Targeting For-Profits and Bundled Services Exception Advance

California Bills Targeting For-Profits and Bundled Services Exception Advance

California moves toward creating the strictest regulatory landscape for for-profit colleges in the U.S., but proposed legislation has already been weakened.