2-1: in the news

Collin College Pushes Out Another Professor
—Inside Higher Ed

     A second professor from Collin College in Texas said she was told her contract would not be renewed, with college administrators citing her criticism of the college’s COVID-19 reopening plan. A number of professors at the college have spoken out about its push for in-person instruction this academic year and its general handling of pandemic-related issues -- including the death of faculty member Iris Meda. But Audra Heaslip, professor of humanities, who helped draft a June Faculty Council resolution urging more online courses as coronavirus case counts rose in Texas, was accused of “bringing outside pressure” on the college to go 100 percent online, she said. Heaslip did speak to media outlets about the college’s reopening, but she never pushed for 100 percent online instruction during the pandemic.
     Instead of her comments about COVID-19, Heaslip suspects that it was her involvement as an officer of her campus’s fledgling chapter of the Texas Faculty Association that put her in the college’s crosshairs. Heaslip said she was effectively fired late Thursday afternoon. Earlier that day, the college’s provost called a meeting with Suzanne Jones, a longtime professor of education, to tell her that she was being nonrenewed for similar reasons. Jones was offered a three-year contract in August, only to see it revoked months later. Jones is also an officer with the college’s TFA chapter, which acts like a union but is not recognized, as Texas prohibits collective bargaining among public employees. The college has declined comment on personnel issues.

COVID-19's Impact on Academic Research
—Inside Higher Ed 

     NORC, a research institute at the University of Chicago, released the results of a survey of 208 senior officers from science master’s and Ph.D. programs on the impact of COVID-19 on operations. Findings suggest that while science have been severely disrupted due to the pandemic, some aspects of COVID-19-era instruction and operations are here to stay. Some 82 percent of institutions represented anticipated expanding the number of graduate programs offered in a hybrid format, for instance.
. . .
     "The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on graduate students and their graduate programs. Our research both documents that disruption and highlights a host of strategies undertaken in response,” said Debra W. Stewart, senior fellow in the Higher Education Analytics Center at NORC and president emerita of the Council of Graduate Schools. “As damaging as this experience has been, our research suggests a potential silver lining. Innovations are underway as graduate schools struggle to meet their students’ needs. Some of these innovations, ranging from broader use of digital technology to new research laboratory practices, will definitely strengthen the graduate student experience across STEM fields.”….

Northwestern Cheerleader Claims Harassment by Drunk Donors

—Inside Higher Ed

     A member of the cheerleading team at Northwestern University, in Chicago, has filed a federal lawsuit saying she was repeatedly groped by drunken fans and alumni during university-sanctioned events, the Chicago Tribune reported. The lawsuit alleges that the head cheerleading coach, Pam Bonnevier, told cheerleaders to socialize on their own during tailgates and donor events despite their requests to pair up.
     The lawsuit was filed by Hayden Richardson, now a senior at Northwestern. “It became clear to [Richardson] that the cheerleaders were being presented as sex objects to titillate the men that funded the majority of Northwestern’s athletics programs,” the lawsuit says. “After all, the happier these men were, the more money the university would receive from them.”….