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Sometimes you just have to laugh…and use birth control. I wrote this one weekend when I just couldn’t take the actions of the Provost (now President) of Michigan State University any more. At the time I worked at MSU. The pseudonym was meant to protect my innocence, but the school paper wouldn’t publish it with…

I write this particular blog entry in fear. A few days ago I was dismayed to discover that transgender activist Andrea James has been invited to speak at Northwestern University, where I work. Although Ms. James and I appear to be on the same page in terms of believing in the rights of transgender children…

Now that I’ve stepped back a bit from full-time academia, I can’t help but notice a certain pattern in academic life. No matter where folks are in their careers, they seem to be depressed about the realities of that stage. I’m not blaming them—I know this scene well—but what gives, people? Before your graduate exams,…

This week the New York Times’ most emailed article, Professor@ University.edu, Subject: Why It’s All About Me, exposed professors’ growing frustration over undergraduates who expect their professors to be infinitely available. It’s true: students these days seem to expect us professors to be round-the-clock advice columnists, personal tutors, and career advisors. They email us 24/7 with inane,…

It’s hard not to notice that some university towns are just so fine—full of funky, owner-operated bookstores, clubs, and cafes—while others are just so, well, not fine. What, I used to wonder to myself, made Bloomington so hip, and West Lafayette so not? Why the major differences between Ann Arbor and East Lansing? Here’s my…