In January, Jane Shaw and I spoke before UNC’s faculty senate, and said some unpopular things. Jane gave them a list of common-sense suggestions that academia can do to stave off the nightmare should the higher ed bubble burst and to maintain its place of eminence in our society.
It probably wasn’t the most conservative audience in the world. They refrained from throwing rotten vegetables, but many in attendance were visibly and vocally not happy with our appearance and comments (They were less happy with me than with Jane). One assembly member drew applause for proposing that the federal government take over all higher ed and provide it to anybody who wants it for free or very nominal fees. (This should be known as the “Greek model of higher ed,” which we all know has worked so well for that economically booming nation.)
On the other hand, we did discover a few UNC faculty senators who see the same problems and solutions we did.
