My goodness, I’ve received so many bits of news over the weekend! We have here an update about the UCLA issue sent in by the ever-vigilant and righteously cantankerous author of Requiem Aeternam Deo (see blogroll, at right):

US university spying scandal prompts resignations Agencies Friday January 20, 2006

“A former US Republican congressman has resigned from the advisory board of a university alumni group after it emerged the latter was offering students money to police ‘liberal’ professors at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“James Rogan, who served two terms in office, sent an email on Wednesday to Andrew Jones, the head of the Bruin Alumni Association, saying he did not want his name connected to the group. Mr Rogan’s resignation follows those of the Harvard historian Stephan Thernstrom and the UCLA professor emeritus Jascha Kessler, who both resigned from the board once they learned of the group’s activities.

“The group has been offering students up to US$100 (£57) to supply tape recordings and notes from classes to expose professors suspected of pushing liberal political views on their students. The targeted professors have likened the effort to a witchhunt.

“‘Any sober, concerned citizen would look at this and see right through it as a reactionary form of McCarthyism,’ said Peter McLaren, an education professor whom the association named as No 1 on its list of The Dirty Thirty: Ranking the Worst of the Worst.”

It is becoming more and more clear that those of us who value the university environment must vigilantly protect it, even if it means voting with one’s feet. It also seems that proprietary universities, such as DeVry, are under some scrutiny in general because of various kinds of abuses. Judging by the reports of some of my far-flung colleagues, such unregulated abuses seem a bit, well, rampant. New York is taking steps to curtail some of that–it will be interesting to see if other states follow suit.

A blog doesn’t need a clever name carries a link to a key article about New York’s impending regulation, sent to me by the ever-alert Lisa: “New York Moves to Limit Colleges That Seek Profit. The freeze on commercial colleges comes as officials nationwide look to tighten rules on this booming sector of higher education. By KAREN W. ARENSON. [NYT > Education].”

And saving the best for last: the brand-new and very entertaining Blood and Treasure now features a caricature of me in its blogroll. I think it’s a terribly flattering one, and I’m also in good company. Plus, it’s the first-ever caricature of me that does not make me look like a Tex Avery cartoon. I feel so… respectable. Thanks, B & T!