Higher Education

<p>By Susan KrumholzPresident, UMass Dartmouth Faculty FederationAny one who teaches--K-12 or college--has heard any number of family and friends tell them what a "cushy" job they have--after all they have the summer off. Perhaps everything about this subject that could be said has been said. But when I woke up the other morning at 4 am with my head spinning thinking of all the work I still needed to do--with three weeks until the semester begins-- I knew I needed to revisit the topic.I don't deny that we do have wonderful jobs! During the school year, interactions with students feed my soul.</p>

By Susan KrumholzPresident, UMass Faculty FederationI am writing this month about something that may not directly concern the union, but is vitally important to the future of our students (and also my field of study). Two bills before the Massachusetts legislature, Senate bill S.842 - "An Act decriminalizing non-violent and verbal student misconduct" - and Senate bill S.297 - "An Act further defining the role of school resource officers" - both sponsored by Senator Pat Jehlen, could begin that process. It is time to reduce the number of students whose educational experience is brought to a

By Dan Georgianna

Political Director, UMass Faculty Federation

  After writing On Campus for over 20 years, not writing the column was easy. I’m a slow writer and was having trouble meeting deadlines. I also thought that my column had become preachy and stale.

My replacement, Susan Krumholz, the current President of the UMass Faculty Federation, is in touch with the campus and is also an excellent writer who is willing to take on difficult topics. I applaud her work and recommend it to everyone.

Like most professors, however, I find it difficult to give up the floor. So, when I was invited to

By Elizabeth R. Lehr

Director CAS First-Year Success Program

Lecturer, Department of English

Faculty Program Coordinator - Navitas

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

A February 24, 2016 article written by Katie Lannan and published by the Massachusetts State House New Service calls our state colleges and universities to task for failure to redefine our mission by thinking not about “college and career readiness,” but about “college and career success.” The article, titled “Needs of Students and State Forcing Shift in Higher Education,” reported on an appearance by Massachusetts Commissioner of

By Susan Krumholz

President, UMass Faculty Federation, Local 1895

The University of Massachusetts has been in the news an awful lot in the last few weeks.  Since mid-May, I have read numerous articles about student debt, enrollment, admission policies, and the expansion of the university's research mission. 

A few weeks ago, UMass Boston announced that, with a potential budget deficit of $22.3 million, they would put 400 adjunct professors on notice that their contracts may not be renewed in the fall.  The possibility of layoffs is present on the other UMass campuses as well. 

According to a

By Susan Krumholz

President, UMass Faculty Federation, Local 1895

The entire University of Massachusetts system is facing cuts and, much to our chagrin, our students will see tuitions increase.  I could write here about the value of a properly-funded state university or the importance of offering affordable education, but I have done that in several columns. Instead, I am going to write about something near to my heart - prison education.

Despite the fact that crime rates have steadily fallen since 1993, incarceration in the US increased to 1,508,636 in 2014 at an estimated national cost of $52

By Susan Krumholz

President, UMass Faculty Federation, Localk 1895

What will higher education look like in four years?  As I see it there will be four areas that need to be explored:  leadership at the Department of Education, tuition, grants and student debt, unions in general, and research funding.

We now know that the nominee for education secretary is Betsy DeVos.  In a recent editorial (pelase see page 2), AFT President Randi Weingarten said about DeVos, “She is the most ideological, anti-public-school nominee for secretary of education since the U.S. Department of Education was created”

By Susan Krumholz

President, UMAss Faculy Federation, Local 1895

As I am writing this, we are barely a month into the new school year, and it is already a particularly busy one. National, state, and local matters are challenging us all at the same time.  And that is no coincidence.

The upcoming elections are dominating the news, as they are consuming our time and energy. At this moment the Presidential election looms large, and the consequences are no less than the future direction of the Supreme Court (and I could go on?!). Statewide, we are all working together to defeat Ballot Question Two