Ronald Hartz
@ronaldhartz.bsky.social
Interim Professor at Europa-Universität Viadrina and Senior Researcher at Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany | organization studies | critical management studies | higher education he/him
“We’re going to be in the stars. We’re going to be in space. And all we need is to get rid of anybody who stands in our way as we seek to accelerate technology toward this speedy, violent, God-like transcendence”. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
‘If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future’: the journalist taking on the ‘tech fascists’ of Silicon Valley
As Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and their peers have grown richer and more influential, Gil Durán argues they have all but abandoned democracy – and found the perfect government to enable them
theguardian.com
Hi, I'm being made redundant by the University of Southampton at the end of this month. I'm desperately looking for work. I'll consider all offers but have particular skills in policy, strategy and research. I also have a consultancy service I offer. Please let me know if you hear of anything
Detentions of International Scholars at Airports Raise Alarm A Johns Hopkins University researcher was detained at an airport by immigration officials and later released. Cases like hers make travel fraught for foreign scholars. https://bit.ly/4550wnx
"Journalism vanished ... . Anthropology, philosophy, religion, music and art history went too. These weren’t spare stationery cupboards. They were parts of what made Kent a university rather than a collection of courses selected by sales forecast." #HigherEd #UKHE shepwayvox.org/2026/08/05/u...
University of Kent Financial Crisis: Cuts, Consultants and Merger with Greenwich
For six years the University of Kent cut jobs, closed subjects, sold financial breathing space and promised recovery. It spent £29.4 million restructuring itself and awarded at least £1.9 million o…
shepwayvox.org
The University of Greater Manchester’s vice-chancellor George Holmes has left his position amid an ongoing police investigation into alleged financial irregularities at the institution. Tom Williams reports #highered #edusky https://ow.ly/C6HQ50ZwGPT
Governments and universities across Europe and the Middle East are invoking counter-terrorism, national security and community safety to “justify” restrictions on freedom of expression and academic freedom, according to a new report. Seher Asaf writes #freespeech #highered https://ow.ly/C2Nc50ZwFEQ
Happy note change day in 70 year long Part 1 of 639 year long John Cage organ piece to all who celebrate. The next change will be in October 2027
As Slow as Possible - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
This is such a grotesque attempt to make it impossible for trans people to exist in public. To do it in the name of "equality and human rights" is especially cruel. Solidarity to all UK trans friends and colleagues facing this collective madness. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ehrc-gu...
EHRC guidance on single-sex spaces a ‘big shift’ for universities
New code confirms trans people can be excluded from facilities on basis of biological sex but experts say that does not make grappling with competing responsibilities any easier
timeshighereducation.com
Every censorship campaign starts with a justification. Today it's "return on investment." Tomorrow it's sociology, political science, history, or any field that teaches students to critically examine society. newrepublic.com/post/213446/...
Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees
Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.
newrepublic.com
This is happening loads! Piles of your cash is being spent on research projects that are being derailed by redundancy or the threat of redundancy. There's no joined-up thinking or planning anywhere. Your money? Expendable mate, don't bother working and paying taxes.
The Material Culture of Wills Project@materialwills.bsky.social · 13h ago📢PROJECT UPDATE📢 You may have seen the news that the University of Exeter, home of the wills project, has placed 500 academics at risk of redundancy. The project leader Prof. Jane Whittle & project co-investigator Dr Laura Sangha are both at risk, alongside almost all of the History department. 1/
Following up on this, were I *only* a bean-counting Gradgrind type my university recommendations would be:- *Close your medical school *Close Chemistry *Move central ops to a really cheap country online *Move pensions to a subsidiary company *Classes shd be no fewer than 60 students... (1/2)
Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 12h agoUniversities cannot make money teaching home undergrads or doing funded research. Indeed, those run at a large loss. Only teaching international students make sense in any way. The logical endpoint is taking only international students, reducing research and moving many ops out of the UK altogether.
Nicht zu fassen. Wowereits Satz von 2001 "ich bin schwul - und das ist auch gut so" war sein öffentliches Coming out - das erste eines schwulen dt. Spitzenpolitikers. Sich da dranzuhängen, sich als Konservativer zu einer unterdrückten Minderheit zu stilisieren, der sich mutig "outet", ist ekelhaft.
Murderous heat, an endangered food supply, decimated landscapes: embrace the Mediterranean life | George Monbiot
Murderous heat, an endangered food supply, decimated landscapes: embrace the Mediterranean life | George Monbiot
As climate disaster stares us in the face, the radical right says ‘Embrace the Mediterranean life’. Embrace death, more like it, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
"Unlike in Hungary, India, and Türkiye, where academic freedom declined gradually over many years, the U.S. deterioration unfolded in just six years, showing how quickly university autonomy can erode." Mapped: Which Countries Have the Most Academic Freedom? www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-which...
Mapped: Which Countries Have the Most Academic Freedom?
Academic freedom is declining worldwide. Explore the latest rankings and see where the U.S. stands among its peers.
visualcapitalist.com
NEW on Wonkhe: Jim Dickinson reads the Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment on David Miller's dismissal – and finds one half setting out what a university can't touch, and one what it still can buff.ly/qWgf9yw
Bundesregierung: "Hitze können wir nicht verhindern." Es fällt mir schwer, das noch als Social-Media-Inkompetenz einzuordnen, und nicht als bewusste Provokation aller Menschen, die seit Jahrzehnten vor der Klimakatastrophe warnen. Unfassbar.
Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf@rahmstorf.bsky.social · yesterdaySie verstehen es immer noch nicht. 🤯
Die AfD steht bei 41% in Sachsen-Anhalt. Im Bund bei 28%. Ich kann nicht mehr. „Nach RND-Informationen soll sich die Bundeszentrale künftig unter anderem mehr als bisher um die Themen Linksextremismus und Islamismus kümmern.“
Fokus auf Linksextremismus: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung plant Kurswechsel
Der bisherige Präsident der Einrichtung, Sönke Rix, schied in der vorigen Woche auf eigenen Wunsch nach nur fünf Monaten aus. Die BpB will sich nun stärker auf ihren „Kernauftrag“ konzentrieren. Die B...
rnd.de
the amount of money that universities have given to management consultants is eye-watering. Where does that money come from? Have my son and daughter gone into terrible debt to fund this bullshit?
Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 2d agoBehind the bewildering transformation of British universities, are management consultants being paid millions Really proud to have this vital piece on our unis are being gutted from the inside by @jheathershaw.bsky.social on Democracy for Sale. Do read democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...
Really appreciated a piece that lays out the multiple horrors of UK HE in humane detail.
Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 2d agoBehind the bewildering transformation of British universities, are management consultants being paid millions Really proud to have this vital piece on our unis are being gutted from the inside by @jheathershaw.bsky.social on Democracy for Sale. Do read democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...
If we spend money supporting research, education and practice in areas we're actually good at, there might not be enough money to throw at the long shot of being 'world leaders" in AI.
Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 6d agoCreative & performing arts subjects received £16.8 million SPG 2024-25; £12.9 million in 2025-26; £ O million in 2026-27. The University of Creative Arts will thus lose half of its government funding this year; Art University Bournmouth 40.7%, Norwich U of Arts 40.4% and Leeds Arts U 30.3%. 1/2
Wo bleibt das europäische Krisentreffen, weil europaweit Wälder in Flammen stehen und Flüsse trocken fallen.
Can't think of a thing that will radicalize a generation faster than "you've gotta let that old man in the corner over there see what's inside those pants before you play Kindergarten volleyball."
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
Breaking: The Trump administration asked colleges on Monday to commit to a list of reforms by the end of 2026. Among the changes: cracking down on protests, hiring conservative faculty members, reforming admissions, and more. https://chroni.cl/3RwdVBT
Trump Has Released a New ‘Call to Action' for Universities. 4 College Presidents Helped Draft It.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter Monday imploring colleges to adopt a series of familiar-sounding reforms -- this time, in partnership with leaders in the Association of American Universities.
chroni.cl
Great reporting from our student journalists at the Duke Chronicle on increases for the most highly paid Duke employees in the wake of unnecessary massive layoffs: www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke...
As cost-cutting began, Duke’s highest-paid employees took big raises
Tax filings reveal administrators, including President Vincent Price and Provost Alex Gallimore, saw their compensation rise in fiscal year 2025. Managers of Duke’s endowment and standout athletics co...
dukechronicle.com
Brilliant piece from @hannahforsyth.bsky.social . Of course, nobody or almost nobody reads academic “outputs”. Their function is to get jobs, secure promotion, avoid redundancy, get better scores on dubious metrics. Which makes AI almost the perfect tool for the unscrupulous professor.
If you can't be bothered writing it, I can't be bothered reading it.
The producerist vision of AI seems to assume an endlessly expanding market for reading. And reading. Well. It is rather more than a market.
substack.com
Lowest number of graduate job openings since 2020. This is a core labour market problem that universities cannot fix, but routinely get the blame for.
UK graduate job openings fall to lowest level since pandemic
Indeed’s findings point to challenge facing Andy Burnham to boost youth unemployment and cut welfare bill
ft.com
In late 2023, the Society spent a day with Hertfordshire’s historians. We saw the quality, creativity and distinctiveness of teaching, research and engagement. We were told by a (now departed) senior manager that History was ‘a portfolio the university will guard very carefully’. bit.ly/4hLediN
Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 3d agoSo it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)
