North Carolina is one of the few swing states that turned red in the 2012 elections. The governorship, the General Assembly and the state Sensate all went to the Republicans, as Romney  by a narrow margin carried the state.  So it will  be a good  case of what Republican stewardship of a state  will amount to.

The new governor, Pat McCrory, indicated what that would mean for higher education  in a talk show appearance with Bill Bennett,  ex-drug czar, and one time humanist.  The  interview has been widely reported but it is hard to  catch its tone.   Some quotations, however, give a taste of it:

“[My funding plan for higher education is] not based on butts in seats but on how many of those butts can get jobs."

“I think some of the educational elite have taken over our education where we are offering courses that have no chance of getting people jobs…”

“….if you want to take gender studies, go to a private school and take it. But I don’t want to subsidize that if it’s not going to get someone a job.”

You have to hear the interview to believe it. McCrory shot himself in the foot by making it sound as if he wanted to  turn  two hundred years of UNC  excellence into a vocational training program: http://www.billbennett.com/michaelmedved/player.aspx?g=aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLnRvd25oYWxsLmNvbS90b3duaGFsbC9iZW5uZXR0L0dvdk1jQ3JvcnkxLjI5LjEzLm1wMw^!^^!^

The Governor clearly underestimated a potent force in NC politics --  the loyalty of NC citizens to the University of North Carolina’s long history of accessible, high-quality public education.   The reaction in the state and nationally was swift and strong – news articles, op ed pieces, letters to the editor  etc.  My own contribution,  entitled “The Gold Standard,  is at http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/02/10/2664770/w-robert-connor-gold-standard.html

Most dramatic has been the success of an electronic petition that at last count had over 12,000 signatures, and some  sharply wsorded comments:P http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/02/01/hundreds-tell-gov-mccrory-to-respect-liberal-arts-education/

No doubt McCrory fans like his bashing of the “elites” but so far his plan for vocationalizing public higher education seems to have blown up in his face.  Stay tuned.  I’ll report as I learn more. 

Do majors matter? They sure do to Eric Cantor, R-VA , who proposes cutting support for  fields  he does not like.  Carol Schneider takes him to task :

A Dangerous Assault.

"It is jarring indeed when a ranking national leader in a House of Representatives initially created to reflect the political will of the people proposes to do away with (or redirect, to be accurate) all research support for disciplines — including political science — that are patently basic to the fortunes of democracy and to Americans’ capacity for global leadership."


Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/02/08/essay-house-republican-leaders-attack-social-science-research#ixzz2KJoiBr5V

 Paul Krugman in the NYT on February 11 calls attention to  this plank in the 2012  Texas Republican Party’s platform condemning efforts to develop critical thinking skills because, it said, “such efforts “have the purpose of challenging the student ‘s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority”.   In fairness Krugman might have pointed out that the  Texas Republicans have backed away from this position  http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/texas_gops_2012_platform_accidentally_opposes_teaching_of_critical_thinking_skills.php

But they apparently did not back away from other parts of the plank, which reads

.

We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. (http://www.tfn.org/site/DocServer/20...pdf?docID=3201

After so many years when change in higher education  seemed incremental at best, all of a sudden things are happening --  fast.  So I decided to go back to blogging -- but with a difference.  While I won't hide my own opinions, I want most to  connect readers with important breaking news and fresh ideas.   Please help by sending me links to what you find most  important.