Kansas Board of Regents Wins Muzzle Award; Revised Social Media Policy Wins Praise

The reviews are in, and they’re good. The Social Media Policy Workgroup‘s revision to the Kansas Board of Regents’ social media policy has won near-unanimous praise. People are saying things like: “reasonable” – Chuck Epp, co-chairman of the Workgroup and Professor of Public Affairs, University of Kansas (he is summarizing the response thus far). “entirely appropriate” – Susan

Five on the Hour: Freedom of Speech

This is an open letter to our colleagues at the Regents universities in Kansas (Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, University of Kansas, University of Kansas Medial Center, Wichita State University), but anyone who would like to participate is welcome to do so! Dear Colleagues, As the Kansas

Enlightenment vs. Ignorance

Freedom of Speech is under attack in “public” higher education, from the Kansas Board of Regents deeming any speech a fireable offense, to the South Carolina Legislature cutting funds from the College of Charleston (in retaliation for recommending Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home as a summer read). Offering a more subtle version of the South Carolina model,

What Can’t You Say in Kansas? An Experiment in Civil Disobedience

Governor Appointed Regents who set KU’s administrative policy seem to think that avoiding bad press on Twitter is more important than preserving academic freedom – graffiti, University of Kansas If you’re an employee of a university overseen by the Kansas Board of Regents, all speech expressed through social media (Facebook, Twitter, blog, any website) can

Kansas Board of Regents, Freedom of Speech, and Bad Faith

When the Kansas Board of Regents announced its new social media policy on December 18, I thought it must have made a mistake. After all, this Board of Regents had seemed an ally of higher education in Kansas. Unlike previous Boards, this one had – for instance – been asking the Kansas Legislature to fund the state

Distinguished Professors from KSU and KU: Open Letter to the Kansas Board of Regents

Dear Kansas Board of Regents, As University Distinguished Professors at Kansas State University and Distinguished Professors at the University of Kansas, we write to express our continued concern about the new social media policy. We appreciate that the Board has invited representatives from the universities to review the policy, and to offer recommendations for amendments to said

Kansas State University Distinguished Professors: Open Letter to the Kansas Board of Regents

23 Dec. 2013 Dear Kansas Board of Regents, As University Distinguished Professors at Kansas State University, we write to call for the immediate repeal of the new social media policy, and to ask that you instead work together with elected faculty representatives and administration to craft a social media policy that best serves the interests of

Kansas State University Faculty Senate Responds to Kansas Board of Regents’ Social Media Policy

With permission from Kansas State University Faculty Senate President Julia Keen, I am posting the email she sent to the faculty and staff this morning. Dear Faculty and Unclassified Professionals: As you may have seen in the news or through other media outlets, the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) approved a new policy which defines

Higher Education is Not a Reality TV Show; or, How A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” Differs from the Kansas Board of Regents

On Facebook, a friend recently asked me how the recent controversy over the Kansas Board of Regents’ new social media policy differs from A&E’s suspending of Phil Robertson from the Duck Dynasty reality TV show. I see why she asks: The Kansas Board of Regents has rescinded faculty and staff’s right to free speech, just

Kansas Board of Regents Revokes Right to Freedom of Speech

As faculty grade their last student papers and exams before leaving town for the Christmas holidays, the Kansas Board of Regents quietly – and unanimously – voted to revoke their academic freedom and basic right to freedom of speech.  As the Lawrence Journal-World reports this evening, “The Kansas Board of Regents on Wednesday approved a policy that would