May 5th, 2011 by
Michael Kaufman
2011 SJSU Honors Convocation
Last Friday night, I had the honor of representing the Senate and the SJSU faculty on the platform for the 2011 Honors Convocation. If you haven’t been to this event (or if you haven’t been recently) I really recommend that you attend in the near future. Honors Convocation is the closest thing SJSU does to a small college graduation, and it is an amazing celebration of our best students.
This year, the Convocation included the presentation of an honorary doctorate to Steve Lopez, a graduate of the SJSU Journalism program, columnist for the LA Times, and author of “The Soloist.” Steve gave an impassioned speech about the state of the CSU and the starving of higher education in California.
You can read Steve’s thoughts on the honorary degree, the California budget, and funding for the CSU in his LA Times column. You can also watch his degree acceptance speech from the Convocation.
January 18th, 2011 by
Michael Kaufman
A University of Colorado student paid his tuition in $1 bills……. 30 pounds of them….. in order to highlight the growing cost of education. Note the $65/hour he calculated for class time!
Nic Ramos, University Of Colorado Student, Pays Tuition In $1 Bills VIDEO.
December 10th, 2010 by
Michael Kaufman
Today’s news is full of stories about the Prince of Wales’ car being set upon by student protesters after the British Parliament voted to increase tuition at public universities by a factor of 3. As usual, an isolated violent act with a “celebrity” tie-in got the attention (even in the New York Times). Lost in the reports about Charles and Camilla was the fact that huge protests against the tuition hikes took place throughout the U.K. The vast majority were a peaceful and visible expression of student displeasure with the increase.
Hmm. I wonder what would happen here if tuition were to increase by a factor of three?
CSU fees/tuition increases by a factor of three
December 10th, 2010 by
Michael Kaufman
A provocative piece about a provocative question: As there evidence that high-profile solutions for improving graduation rates are really the best way to go?
Unconventional Wisdom – Inside Higher Ed.
And as long as we’re looking at unique solutions for improving student performance, how about this fascinating result on values affirmation and it’s effect on closing the gender gap in science:
15-Minute writing exercise
November 29th, 2010 by
Michael Kaufman
At the Monday, Dec. 6 Senate meeting, VP for Administration & Finance Rose Lee will present the 2010-2011 University Budget report. A&F are to be applauded for pulling this together in time for the December Senate meeting – after all, the State budget was only approved some 6 weeks ago! You can read the budget report here.
Senator Lee’s presentation will concentrate on pages 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the report. Got questions about the report? Contact your Senator(s) in advance of the December 6th meeting.