Residential Spread

On August 20, Dr. Cornelia Lambert resigned from her lectureship at the University of North Georgia instead of teaching in unsafe conditions. We spoke with her about her decision, the ramifications of them, and how higher ed's response to the Delta Wave is a new low for the "neoliberal death machine." We also hear a bit about Dr. Lambert's plans for a course on the history of infectious diseases.

Relevant Reading:

"Two UNG Professors Resign Citing Lack of COVID Rules" (https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/education/two-ung-lecturers-resign-citing-lack-covid-rules/)

University of North Georgia Lecturers Resign instead of Teaching in Person (https://www.ajc.com/education/university-of-north-georgia-lecturers-resign-instead-of-teaching-in-person/XGCBWJJBRBE5FKUJQP7EEZW2ZI/)

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19LbUfx2LEM9lmD1GAH6PdZ8_01-lbr4gae73pYbr2NI/edit?usp=sharing

We "celebrate" Labor Day by calling attention to an important report on job loss in the University System of Georgia conducted in November of 2020 by the United Campus Workers of Georgia. What they found was that schools were not "chopping from the top." We talk job loss and disaster capitalism during the pandemic in our first bonus episode of the season!

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tyu8hM73xJ-fbRu4Rdw07d8_3R3PZqZNffuJVrem8f4/edit?usp=sharing

Perhaps the only podcast that ever wanted to become irrelevant is back for a third season. We kick off the fall with a discussion of the Delta Variant and what schools are and are not doing to mitigate spread on college campuses. 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pp7d1hDXLH8d748cXdKr3O0Czkpn8IBsXPWBCI7XS38/edit?usp=sharing

In our series finale, we talk about schools' efforts to return to "normal" in the fall. What does "normal" mean, after the past 15 months? And how did the pandemic expose the problems with business as usual in higher ed?

Georgia Department of Public Health Interactive COVID Vaccine Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/3d8eea39f5c1443db1743a4cb8948a9c

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lOivOKKeTolAhGy3_ikE9czDJqPkFisu9V4MD7sTTd0/edit?usp=sharing

This week, we start with a Temperature Check that highlights how few schools are requiring students to be vaccinated for coronavirus in the fall. But we use that as a jumping-off point for a broader conversation about the complexities of conversations about vaccines. That conversation starts with Eula Biss's On Immunity: An Innoculation, but it takes us to Greek myth, to eighteenth-century satirical prints, and to Lee Edelman's No Future. 

"100 U.S. colleges will require vaccinations to attend in-person classes in the fall.": https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/us/colleges-vaccinations-enrollment.html

On Immunity: An Inoculation: https://www.amazon.com/Immunity-Inoculation-Eula-Biss/dp/1555977200

"Miami school bars vaccinated teachers from seeing students": https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56905752

"The cow-pock,-or-The wonderful effects of the new inoculation!": https://www.themorgan.org/blog/cow-pock-or-wonderful-effects-new-inoculation

"No, We Don’t Know if Vaccines Change Your Period: We do know that researchers do not study menstruation enough.": https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/opinion/coronavirus-vaccines-menstruation-periods.html

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IWVyYXYVTFDtlDvzrc4q4OK3UDevXBMPfbGGdlKjZPg/edit?usp=sharing

This week, we discuss the "College for All" bill with Aimee Loiselle and Eleni Schirmer, members of the organization Scholars for a New Deal for Higher Education. The org is "a group of teachers and scholars who believe that generous government reinvestment in our system of higher education is a necessary foundation for a democratic, equitable, and just society."

Scholars for a New Deal for Higher Ed: https://scholarsforanewdealforhighered.org/

College for All Bill Summary: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/the-college-for-all-act-fact-sheet-2021-FINAL.pdf

College for All Bill Text: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/AEG21437-2.pdf

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LwBvf0QSUc2J0ZllNJJRgbWb15vjTlnEbLhcw_7ZQig/edit?usp=sharing

With limitations on travel during the coronavirus pandemic, many academic conferences went fully virtual over the past year. This week, we talk about our experiences attending and presenting our work at those conferences. What did we miss about the in-person experience? What did we like about digital conferences that we'd like to see more of when things return to "normal"? 

"Academic Conferences After the Pandemic": https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/learning-innovation/academic-conferences-after-pandemic

Tips for making a virtual conference more realistic: https://twitter.com/JuliaFtacek/status/1379765946840199169?s=20

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WVz8jnxloAo-g3Z8JyjhMtzxr6Burp8IfchmvXei7Qs/edit?usp=sharing

This week, Rick Hart and Alex Ames, student activists with the Students Against Sonny group, explain why the Georgia Board of Regents' reported plan to make Sonny Perdue the next chancellor is so dangerous. Shortly after we recorded this episode, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the board has paused the chancellor search. Listen as we discuss the historical origins of the notion of a politically independent chancellor in Georgia and Rick and Alex explain what they want from the chancellor search.

Sign their petition: https://www.change.org/p/sonny-perdue-students-against-sonny-protecting-the-future-of-georgia-higher-ed

"Sonny Perdue under consideration to lead Georgia's higher ed system": https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/sonny-perdue-under-consideration-to-lead-georgias-higher-ed-system/2I6E6D4EKBGUNFA5BTBYJBBJJE/

"The Jolt: "How badly do Sonny Perdue’s allies want him overseeing Georgia’s universities?": https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/the-jolt-how-badly-do-sonny-perdues-allies-want-him-overseeing-georgias-universities/ATWSHP254BG27C6UAX5G6DOTIM/

"Georgia Board of Regents Pause Search for New Chancellor": https://www.ajc.com/education/georgia-board-of-regents-to-pause-search-for-next-chancellor/XCZWFRVWJRBPXOMOULXCEKHJXE/

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u65niVVZwXMMhWT_vIvTs9bhr6kqbGjoD3BGdCPECRM/edit?usp=sharing

This week, we wrap up our budgets miniseries by talking about one last "revenue stream" for colleges and universities: students! We all know that students pay tuition, but as we learn this week, some students are worth more money to schools than others, and that impacts how schools recruit and who they admit. We also get into how the U.S. News and World Report college rankings incentivizes schools to solicit applications from students it has no intention of admitting, and connect that to the increasing anxieties for students around applying to college. 

"International Enrollment Drop to Hit Higher Ed's Credit for Years": https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/04/05/international-enrollment-drop-hit-higher-eds-credit-years

"University launches $750 million comprehensive fundraising campaign, ‘Time to Rise: The Marquette Promise to Be The Difference’": https://www.marquette.edu/email/today/campaign-4-08-21.php

"Duke admits record-low 4.3% of regular decision applicants": https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2021/04/duke-regular-decision-application-decisions-record

"Private Schools have become Truly Obscene": https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/04/private-schools-are-indefensible/618078/

"A Pandemic Financial Success Story?": https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/04/06/how-private-college-fortified-finances-amid-pandemic

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TjXxUevauZ9AxYiwcSkEgo85pSKOIkfuLNGDlFscCCA/edit?usp=sharing

This week, we return to the subject of Public-Private Partnerships (P3s). We are also checking back in with Corvias, the Rhode Island-based development company that operates many dorms across the University System of Georgia. Corvias's interactions with USG during the pandemic show one example of what can happen when the terms of a P3 deal stop benefitting the private partner.

‘Ethics and Best Practice’: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/10/new-documents-reveal-strained-relationship-between-u-system-ga-and-dorm-operator

"Corvias Campus Living Secures $548.3 Million In Private Financing For First-Of-Its-Kind Public-Private Partnership With The Board Of Regents Of The University System Of Georgia": https://www.corvias.com/news/corvias-campus-living-secures-5483-million-private-financing-first-its-kind-public-private

"As U.S. soldiers battle landlord, confidential records shine light on his lucrative business": https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-military-developer/

"School’s back: How the neoliberal “privatization of risk” explains the deadly decision to re-open campuses": https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/10/08/schools-back-how-the-neoliberal-privatization-of-risk-explains-the-deadly-decision-to-re-open-campuses/

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R0WzbUP9k_L8V6iToapSBJLfbH-F78enVsTUCw-c4gA/edit?usp=sharing