Higher education: heal thyself ... or else?

A year ago, I blogged about the critique of higher education by Professors Hacker and Dreifus.  In the post, I noted how the university where I work made it to their list of the good ones, and also the irony of faculty and administrators alike explicitly disassociating from Hacker and Dreifus.  Oh, good times those were!

Now, it is time for the release of the paperback edition.  Timed with that, Hacker and Dreifus have authored this commentary in the Chronicle, where they write:

Whether one feels that a little or a lot needs fixing, what is missing are signs that colleges and universities see themselves as part of the problem. That is what's most disheartening of all, because if today's higher-education leaders won't take steps on their own, they shouldn't be surprised when outside forces step in—and that won't augur well for academic freedom. The responsibility is theirs to take.

As one who has also been saying this for years, I doubt whether colleges and universities will ever take that first step of admitting that they themselves are the biggest part of the problem.  Naturally, the pressure will come from the outside--and it will come really, really, soon, in the form of various restrictions on funding.  After all, money talks and everything else walks!

I don't ever expect colleges and universities to clean up the mess by themselves.   Unfortunately, it will then be maniacs like the Tea Party folks who will then force us to throw the proverbial baby and the bathwater.

Anyway, what do I get in return for my approach to this academic profession that I absolutely cherish?

In the latest annual evaluation report of my service, the Division Chair notes in effect that I am not a collegial team player.  I then had to file a rejoinder to protest his remark!

Am reminded of the advice that a friend/ senior colleague gave me back in California: faculty do not like anybody who threatens the status quo that works well for them, and all the more so if the dissenter from the ranks is a non-White.  He knew it firsthand and, he too, was from India :)

Oh, BTW, the bizarre reaction from my colleagues was echoed elsewhere too; Hacker and Dreifus write:

At one point, we praised Earlham College for putting students first and playing down research; the college's reaction was immediate and incensed. 

Muahahaha :)