Over the last 3 years, the advocacy organization Speech First has filed six lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of bias response teams on the grounds that they violate free speech. Bias response teams are university-wide committees that respond to reports of racially charged incidents on college campuses to promote institutional goals of…

In Europe and across the globe, academic freedom -- and its close relative, institutional autonomy -- find themselves increasingly under pressure. For the European University Association, it is essential to support universities as central actors in the protection and promotion of academic freedom. In this position paper, EUA offers concrete and…

This essay urges the field of applied theatre to extend its critical focus to examine how whiteness differentially shapes our institutional homes, scholarship, and creative practice. Drawing from Sara Ahmed's (2012) notion of 'institutional life', the essay takes readers into my academic home at the University of Missouri, a predominantly white…

Responding to the call for papers on "The Future of College Student Mental Health," we analyze the current "crisis" in college student mental health, and we discuss how it is co-constructed by our students and we who are the faculty and the administrators. We identify three factors: (1) A shift from offering value-based…

In this article, Richard Hill addresses the topic of China supposedly undermining Australia's national security and way of life, and causing ructions on university campuses. He writes that Chinese infiltration, or so it seems, is everywhere, from excessive housing investments and land buy-ups to dodgy dinner dates with ALP officials; and from…

This essay outlines how Black placemaking, a sociological framework used to study Black residents in urban contexts, might be used to study Black students' experiences at historically White institutions (HWIs) of higher education. Black placemaking engages with the intersection of Blackness, place, structure, and agency. The author argues that…

This essay encourages research on the presence of guns in college classrooms. Readers are asked to consider that around 11 million individuals have concealed carry permits (Crime Prevention Research Center, 2014), and roughly 20% of states allow concealed guns on campus (e.g., Anderson, 2016). Given the centrality of guns in our culture, and…

Given how China has been the top source of international students worldwide, there has been growing media and research interest in Chinese international students. However, much of the narratives tend to focus on their struggles. In this commentary, I draw upon insights from my personal experience as an international student and, consequently,…

This statement affirms the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC)'s position that academic institutions have a responsibility to protect and support minoritized and marginalized faculty. The statement includes best practices to use in cases where minoritized and marginalized teacher-scholars are threatened, harassed, or…

Gameful pedagogy is "an approach that takes inspiration from well-designed games to create learning environments that support student motivation" (Holman, 2018, p. 1). According to Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), students are intrinsically motivated when their basic psychological needs for autonomy (the need to make…

The author was able to hear Stanley Fish speak at the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities in January 2004. Fish, a literary critic, had become dean of arts and sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)--a position he has now vacated. Fish has published widely, usually upholding the ideals of our…

Heated battles over free speech have erupted on college campuses across the United States in recent months. Some of the most prominent incidents involve efforts by students to prevent public appearances by speakers espousing controversial viewpoints. Efforts to silence offensive speakers on college campuses are not new; in these endeavors, one can…

The author, chairman of the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming, examines how the proportion of students who participate in schooling as a real--as opposed to a virtual--undertaking has shrunk through the growth of online courses. This situation could be a tragedy or it could be acceptable. At the moment,…

In this commentary, author Barbara Holland reflects on her 1999 "Journal of Public Service & Outreach" article, "Factors and Strategies That Influence Faculty Involvement in Public Service" (EJ589785) reprinted in this 20th anniversary issue of "Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement." In the late…

A tension exists on college and university campuses across America today concerning how to pursue liberal, rational, open learning and, at the same time, celebrate a spirit of academic community--in short, how to exercise free expression and maintain civility. In this article, the author begins with an exploration of the boundaries of free speech,…