Straws in the Wind - Part 302

From Inside Higher Ed: Students at Florida’s 12 public universities will no longer be able to fulfill their general education requirements by taking an introductory sociology course. ...The Florida Board of Governors unexpectedly voted to remove Introduction to Sociology from institutions’ general education curriculum offerings... “Sociology as a discipline is now social and political advocacy dressed in the regalia of the academy,” Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of the State University System, said at the board meeting at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. As a discipline, he added, sociology has been “ideologically captured.”

...In 2023, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 266, prohibiting general education courses from including topics that “distort significant historical events,” teach “identity politics” or are “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.” Then, in January 2024, the Board of Governors voted to remove sociology from the state’s approved core course requirements. One year later, the board removed hundreds of additional courses, including many focused on race and gender, from general education offerings at all state universities...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/03/30/florida-deals-another-blow-sociology.

Straws in the Wind - Part 289

From the Orlando Sentinel: A bill allowing professors and staff at Florida’s universities and colleges to train as “guardians” and carry guns on campus was approved by the Legislature on Thursday as an effort to increase safety. The bill (HB 757) expands the K-12 guardian program created after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 that left 17 people dead. Republican lawmakers pushed its expansion to the state’s postsecondary institutions after the shooting at Florida State University last April that left two dead.

The House approved the final bill 88-20 on Thursday, just one day after the Senate passed the measure. It will now head to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has already signaled his support. His December budget proposal included $6 million to implement the program at the state’s 12 universities and 28 colleges. The program would be optional for schools, and the college or university president would appoint the guardian. Guardians would need hours of firearms training before they could carry guns on their campuses...

Full story at https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2026/03/12/florida-approves-guardian-program-expansion-for-colleges-universities/.

Straws in the Wind - Part 265

From Inside Higher Ed: Beginning this summer, professors at Florida’s 28 public colleges must use a state curriculum framework to teach their introduction to sociology courses. Aligned with the state-sanctioned sociology textbook, the framework requires that the courses do not “include a curriculum that teaches identity politics” or one that “is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”

Jose Arevalo, executive vice chancellor for the Florida State College System, shared information about the framework with representatives from 26 Florida colleges during a call on Jan. 20... “The framework serves as a baseline—institutions can add to it but should avoid subtracting key elements or adding content that risks violating state statutes,” Arevalo wrote in [an] email. “Much of the framework language can be copied directly into syllabi, with supporting exercises and textbook chapters provided.” ...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/curriculum/2026/02/20/florida-hands-down-sociology-curriculum-state-colleges.

Straws in the Wind - Part 245

From Inside Higher Ed: Beginning next month, a new test will join the SAT and ACT as an admissions option for prospective students applying to the United States’ elite service academies: the Classic Learning Test, an up-and-coming exam that focuses on passages from the Western canon... For years, it was relatively niche, serving primarily as an academic progress exam for private classical schools, an educational movement that promotes the study of classic Western literature and other liberal arts. Some colleges and universities allowed it as an entrance exam, though many were test optional, meaning a student could submit their CLT score if they felt it bolstered their application... That changed in 2023, when the State University System of Florida’s Board of Governors began accepting the CLT—in addition to the better-known SAT and ACT—as an admissions exam for its public universities, which all require test scores for admission, as well as for its flagship Bright Futures scholarship program.

Now, more than two years later, Arkansas and Oklahoma have followed suit, allowing submission of the CLT for admission to their public institutions, and students in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Wyoming can submit CLT scores for state merit scholarships. In addition, the University of North Carolina System recently began accepting CLT scores for students who meet a GPA threshold. The test has also become a darling of the conservative right, whose members argue that it is more rigorous than its competitors and can “restore merit” in higher education...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/admissions/traditional-age/2026/01/29/clt-test-beloved-conservatives-continues-growing.

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From Inside Higher Ed: A collection of public school districts and university faculty members are challenging Department of Homeland Security policies that allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to conduct detainment activities on or near public education campuses. The complaint, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, comes in the wake of a surge of ICE presence in Minneapolis and Saint Paul and the killing of two American protesters, Alex Pretti and Renee Good. As the threat of immigration enforcement grows, the plaintiffs argue that ICE action at public K-12 schools and on college campuses is not only a violation of the rights of immigrants but also a disruption to the lives of U.S. citizens. 

Historically, federal regulations deemed public education institutions, churches and other religiously affiliated spaces as “sensitive locations” and therefore they were off limits to immigration enforcement teams, except in rare pre-approved circumstances. But on Jan. 21, 2025, President Trump revoked that policy, opening the flood gates to increased ICE activity in all spaces...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/02/05/ice-sued-over-policy-allowing-immigration-actions-campus.

Straws in the Wind - Part 232

From the Yale Daily News: The committee that makes recommendations to the Yale Corporation about the University’s investments last week rejected a proposal for Yale to divest from several military and natural resource companies, including the data analysis and technology firm Palantir. The Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility’s rejection email, which was posted on the Instagram page of the Endowment Justice Collective, a student group, said the committee decided to reject the students’ proposals to divest from the British oil company BP and gas companies Ring Energy and LNG because “neither topic meets criteria for a divestment recommendation.” ...Palantir has previously denied its involvement in surveillance operations but reaffirmed its “support of and solidarity with Israel” in April 2025.

...In the email he sent to students, [Committee Chair] Gillingham said that the proposals did not meet the criteria for divestment as outlined on the committee’s FAQ page, which references a “very high bar” for divestment drawn from “The Ethical Investor,” a guide written by Yale professors in 1972 for making investment decisions... 

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/investor-responsibility-committee-rejects-students-divestment-pitches.

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From Inside Higher Ed: All Florida public universities would be banned from hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas under a policy change that the Florida Board of Governors will consider next week. Next Thursday, the board’s Nomination and Governance Committee will consider adding to a policy a line saying the universities can’t “utilize the H-1B program in its personnel program to hire any new employees through January 5, 2027.” If the committee and full Board of Governors approve the addition, there will be a 14-day public comment period. The proposal... comes after Florida governor Ron DeSantis ordered the state’s public universities in October to “pull the plug on the use of these H-1B visas.” Fourteen of the Board of Governors’ 17 members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/01/22/florida-proposes-h-1b-hiring-ban-all-public-universities.

Straws in the Wind - Part 152

From Inside Higher Ed: Shootings at... historically Black universities... left campuses reeling. The incidents came at a time when students and staff were already on edge, after violent threats caused lockdowns at multiple HBCU campuses last month. HBCU leaders across the country have been ramping up campus security measures in response... Someone fired a gun on campus during homecoming weekend at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, killing a visitor from Delaware and injuring six people, including a current student and an alum. University leaders suspended classes... for a “day of healing and reflection.” Gunshots near Howard University in Washington, D.C., also left four individuals injured..., though Howard officials confirmed in a statement that no one involved in the confrontation, or hurt by it, was affiliated with the institution.

Earlier [last] month, three people carrying firearms—including one who fired his weapon—were arrested during homecoming at Southern University and A&M College in Louisiana, though no one was hurt. Shootings at South Carolina State University’s homecoming killed a 19-year-old woman visiting campus and injured another homecoming attendee. The victims and an individual arrested for possessing a firearm weren’t students, but the campus remained unsettled.

“This tragedy has deeply affected our students and we’re helping them work through the trauma,” said the university’s president, Alexander Conyers, at an Oct. 6 news briefing. Two shootings also broke out at Mississippi HBCUs, Jackson State University and Alcorn State University, during October homecoming events, killing one victim at Alcorn State. John Pierre, chancellor of Southern University and A&M College, emphasized that these types of incidents happen across higher ed. Shots were fired at a Louisiana State University football game this month, injuring two people. And a shooting at Florida State University last spring killed two people and injured six others.

...HBCUs tend to experience more regular threats than other institutions, said Lodriguez Murray, senior vice president of public policy and government affairs at the United Negro College Fund, which represents private HBCUs. A UNCF research brief found that HBCUs received 76 threats in the last three years, affecting 51 out of the 101 institutions in the country and disrupting campus operations on 77 different days...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/safety/2025/10/29/hbcus-ramp-security-after-threats-campus-shootings.

Straws in the Wind - Part 90

From Inside Higher Ed: Florida State College at Jacksonville has signed an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to allow its campus police department to enforce immigration laws... FSCJ joins more than a dozen other public institutions in Florida that struck similar agreements with ICE earlier this year, part of the state’s crackdown on immigration under Republican governor Ron DeSantis. While police agencies in a number of other states have signed on to participate in the federal government’s immigration enforcement actions, the only campus police forces to join the effort are located in Florida, according to an ICE database that lists partners that have finalized agreements with the federal agency.

College officials previously told the local news outlet Jax Today that they were under the impression that FSCJ’s police department was too small to be considered for an agreement with ICE. However, spokesperson Jill Johnson told Inside Higher Ed by email that is not the case. “Initially we thought that our police department was not large enough,” Johnson wrote. “This changed last week when we were notified that our officers were in fact eligible to go through the federal training necessary to be able to work with ICE officials, should the need arise.”

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/08/19/another-florida-college-signs-agreement-ice.

Things Change - Part 9 (the rumor mill)

From SFGATE: ...After the California schools' last-ditch campaign to join the ACC appeared to have stalled out earlier this month, a flurry of reports Wednesday evening suggested they could be headed to the Atlantic Coast after all. 

Twelve of the conference’s 15 schools have to approve new members. As of last week, there had been four reported holdouts: North Carolina, NC State, Clemson and Florida State. The rest of the conference and its leadership were apparently on board with adding the Bay Area duo (plus maybe SMU).

It’s not clear which of the four schools is flipping its vote, but all reporting Wednesday evening was pointing in the same direction. The Associated Press had the conference “making progress toward an expansion that could grab Stanford and California.” Yahoo Sports had the move as a “legitimate possibility” while also providing the clearest financial picture. Stanford and Cal, desperate for a major conference, offered to take shares that are just 30% of what existing members get, while SMU, which has deep-pocketed boosters, is offering to play for free, according to Yahoo.

If the ACC wants to add Stanford and Cal, it has all the leverage. After the collapse of the Pac-12, the Bay Area schools have frantically tried to find a major conference that would provide anything close to the tens of millions of dollars in football money both were accustomed to. Even at 30% shares, being in the ACC would be a better deal than reforming the Pac-12 with lesser powers or just swallowing their pride and joining the Mountain West or American...

Full story at https://www.sfgate.com/collegesports/article/cal-stanford-acc-football-reports-18328806.php.

Pay Cuts?

Will UCOP follow the state into using pay cuts or furloughs (which in dollar terms come to the same thing)? As the news item below indicates, what the state may do will depend on negotiations between the Democratic legislative leaders and the governor. In past budget crises, there have been cuts in take-home pay at UC - including faculty - through one means or another.

The State Worker Blog of Sacramento Bee:

Make a deal on pay cuts or wait? California unions face a choice as budget deadline nears

Wes Venteicher, 6-7-20

With a week left to reach a budget deal, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders in the Legislature stand on opposite sides of a $3.6 billion proposal to trim public employees’ wages.

Newsom plans to save the money by cutting state workers’ pay 10 percent and canceling raises scheduled for the next year. The Legislature isn’t counting on any wage savings in its plans to address a projected $54.3 billion deficit.*
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*Blog readers will know that yours truly has long lamented misuse in California budget-speak of words such as "deficit." Because the governor used the term, it gets picked up in news reports or gets repeated in terminology that is not found in accounting textbooks such as "shortfall" or "problem." Sloppy terminology can lead to sloppy thinking.
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Caught in the middle are the workers. Their July pay could grow or shrink depending on what happens between lawmakers, the governor and their unions in the days remaining before a June 15 budget deadline. 

Also in play is the state’s financial resiliency as it enters what is likely to be a prolonged period of uncertainty. Raises for workers would represent permanent new spending when lawmakers could soon be forced to find more ways to reduce expenses.

Newsom’s proposal, announced May 14, wasn’t pleasant for the state’s unions, but the table was set. His administration would attempt to bargain cuts with the unions, but if that failed, the Legislature would cut state worker pay unilaterally, likely by forcing workers to take two unpaid days off per month.

Senate leaders flipped the plan May 28, rejecting Newsom’s mandatory reductions. Assembly leaders followed suit last week. Legislators want the administration to keep negotiating with the unions over cuts, but their plan wouldn’t force any reductions and doesn’t presume any savings.

“What they’ve done has dramatically reduced (Newsom’s) leverage in negotiating with the unions,” said Michael Shires, an associate professor of public policy at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy.

TWO PATHS

One of the proposals, or a combination of the two, is going to be included in the final budget.

The uncertainty leaves unions to weigh two different paths in negotiations scheduled for this week.

They can negotiate agreements that are better than Newsom’s two unpaid days off but would still involve some pain. Or they can wait and see what happens and risk getting stuck with the two days.

Yvonne Walker, president of SEIU Local 1000, has said the state’s largest union is continuing negotiations.

“As a union, our job is not to merely respond to the crisis in front of us,” Walker said in an emailed statement. “Our job is to act. Our job is to lead. We cannot sit back, wait, and hope for a positive outcome.”

Walker said the union, which represents about 100,000 public employees, made a counter-proposal of one day of unpaid leave combined with other changes. The proposal would suspend the contributions Local 1000 workers make to a retirement health care trust fund, which will reach 3.5 percent of their pay this year.

Source: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article243323331.html

Another walk away

From Inside Higher Ed: Louisiana State University will terminate its “big deal” with publisher Elsevier at the end of this year, joining the growing list of U.S. institutions that have recently decided not to renew their bundled journal subscription deals with the publisher.

LSU is just the latest of several U.S. institutions, including the University of California system, Temple University and Florida State University, to announce its intentions to end its business relationship with Elsevier in the last two years.

“For decades, LSU has subscribed to a package of some 1,800 electronic journal titles from Elsevier,” Stacia Haynie, LSU's provost, said in a statement Monday. But “dramatic increases” in subscription costs have made the deal unsustainable, she said...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/05/24/lsu-ends-elsevier-bundled-journal-subscription

We're waiting for Elsevier to sing a different tune: