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Kent Ervin

@ervinkentm.bsky.social
334 followers 362 following 356 posts

Hiker, snowshoer, rabblerouser in Reno. Retired Chemistry Professor.

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Reposted by Kent Ervin
The Nevada Independent @thenvindy.com · 08/10/2026
Retirees and certain groups of active employees enrolled in Nevada’s state worker health insurance program could see sizable premium increases next year. Eric Neugeboren reports on who’s affected and why there’s backlash: buff.ly/l8O5c6X
buff.ly
Big premium hikes possible for retirees in Nevada worker health insurance program - The Nevada Independent
Active employees will also likely experience premium hikes if their plan includes a spouse or their family. Active workers who are the only members of their plan will likely see modest premium…
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
State shifts health insurance costs to retirees and dependents while budgeted revenue is missing. #nvleg thenevadaindependent.com/article/big-...
thenevadaindependent.com
Big premium hikes possible for retirees in Nevada worker health insurance program - The Nevada Independent
Active employees will also likely experience premium hikes if their plan includes a spouse or their family. Active workers who are the only members of their plan will likely see modest premium decreas...
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
The Nevada Independent @thenvindy.com · 23/09/2026
Board of Regents candidates shared where they stand on issues facing Nevada’s higher education system such as tuition increases and workers’ rights. Read their responses here: buff.ly/yA47sT2
buff.ly
Here's where Board of Regents candidates stand on issues facing Nevada's higher education - The Nevada Independent
Ten candidates are vying for a spot on the Board of Regents to help shape the future of Nevada's system of public higher education.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
Matthew Boedy @matthewboedy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A North Carolina professor in the 2026 @aaup.org Faculty in the South Survey: "I have had a non-student with a gun enter my classroom to intimidate me. I have received an email death threat from a student.” Here are more voices from the region: 1/x lailluminator.com/2026/09/10/u...
lailluminator.com
University faculty in the South report culture of fear, doxxing and threats • Louisiana Illuminator
A survey of higher education faculty in the South found professors are concerned about the political environment around higher education
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Eric Dirnbach @ericdirnbach.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
"The measure, which has seen broad cross-party support in the Statehouse, would affirm workers’ right to organize and prevent lawmakers from easily reversing existing labor protections in the future." vtdigger.org/2026/09/07/v...
vtdigger.org
Vermonters will vote on constitutional amendment enshrining labor protections in November - VTDigger
The measure, which has seen broad cross-party support in the Statehouse, would reaffirm workers’ right to organize and prevent lawmakers from easily reversing existing labor protections in the future.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
JT Hume MIS Writer Podcaster @jthume.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
This will be the only obituary they will receive. The LCB at the #nvleg cut down most of the trees on south side of their east garage. They bloomed beautifully in the spring. Nevermore.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
Our Town Reno @ourtownreno.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Student is Angered UNR Opened for Fall Semester Amid Chaos of Hawk Fire www.ourtownreno.com/our-citizens...
ourtownreno.com
Student is Angered UNR Opened for Fall Semester Amid Chaos of Hawk Fire — Our Town Reno
A student's perspective angry that UNR was open for classes today despite the chaos caused by the Hawk Fire: "I’m a UNR student affected by the Hawk Fire, and I want to share what this situation has ...
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
Ian M Hartshorn @ianmhartshorn.com · 23/08/2026
I don't have a lot of folks from Nevada following me, but just in case: Please do not wait for a sheriff to show up at your door to tell you to evacuate from a fire. We don't have 'mandatory' evacs where they drag you out. Their office covers 6500 square miles. If the tv/radio says go, go.
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I recently unliked a certain skeet. Others could too, just saying.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
Ward Q. Normal (he/him) @wardqnormal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
138. Like all chemistry teachers, I love it when people ask me if I make meth like the guy in Breaking Bad. If you ever meet a chemistry teacher, make a Breaking Bad joke. They never get old.
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
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U.S. flag with 52 stars. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_United_States_%2852_stars%29.svg)
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
College athletics is a losing enterprise www.chronicle.com/liveblog/her...
chronicle.com
94% of Division I Athletics Programs Lost Money
Minnesota State at Mankato trims 60 jobs, U. of Alaska cuts out-of-state tuition, and visa limits pose revenue risk.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
Jim Kane @kanejim.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
“The way the proposal is structured, if you consider these factors — even if the decision you make doesn’t make any sense — you are protected from litigation through a safe harbor, and the court is supposed to give you deference.”
pionline.com
Why former EBSA head Phyllis Borzi says the DOL should scrap its 401(k) alternatives proposal
Former EBSA head Phyllis Borzi said the DOL’s proposal creating a safe harbor for 401(k) fiduciaries to incorporate alternatives should be scrapped.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
NFA at UNR @nfaatunr.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
What's a benefit of being in a union? You get the information first and from faculty you trust! Didn't get the emailed newsletter? You might need to update your contact information! Reach out!
Image with megaphone announcing release of August UNR NFA newsletter
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Saw #Odysseus today. Great movie, but it's an outrage that Nolan didn't cast Athena with an actual divine immortal being.
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
#NSHE employees would save over $56,000 per year in superfluous 403b investment management fees with this overdue regulatory fix.
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
It's past time. www.plansponsor.com/the-landscap...
plansponsor.com
The Landscape Around CITs Has Changed. It’s Time for Workers in 403(b) Plans to Benefit. | PLANSPONSOR
Changes in plan design, coupled with regulatory improvements and market evolution, mean concerns about collective investment trusts should no longer keep them from 403(b) plans.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
Bob Conrad @bobconrad.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The consequences of this lawsuit could be devastating to Nevada. If the judge sides with the #datacenter defendants, how much NV Energy could charge customers for data center energy use could be navigated in secret, through private arbitration—not at the PUCN.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
Will Jones @willpjones.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Time to revisit @aaup.org's 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure: Tenure benefits universities because it frees teaching and research of political interference and makes "the profession attractive to men and women of ability." It's a recruiting tool not a privilege.
aaup.org
1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure with 1970 Interpretive Comments
AAUP 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
NFA at UNR @nfaatunr.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Alright friends, we've been on Bluesky a bit, time to tell you who we are! First, we're the Nevada Faculty Alliance at the University of Nevada, Reno, the independent voice of the faculty. We represent our members at the local, state, and national level together with @aaup.org and @aft.org
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
AAUP @aaup.org · 22/07/2026
OUT TODAY, the AAUP just released the first comprehensive account of how the Trump administration has taken the same playbook it's used on law firms & foreign governments & turned it on American universities. US higher ed has, in effect, become a target of a massive extortion racket. 🧵
aaup.org
New Report on Extorted Compliance Charges “Massive Extortion Racket” Against Higher Ed
A new AAUP report, "Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance," exposes how the Trump administration has extended its pay-to-play approach to gov...
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 22/07/2026
A reminder that UC _faculty_ and Faculty Associations — not the universities themselves nor their administrators — are waging this battle in court, demonstrating great bravery and moral clarity.
apnews.com
White House admits it used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants
Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COV...
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
AAUP @aaup.org · 21/07/2026
Tenure exists to safeguard #academicfreedom, which is necessary for all who teach & conduct research in higher ed. When faculty members can lose positions because of their speech, publications, or research findings, they cannot properly fulfill their responsibilities to advance & transmit knowledge.
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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
“A brand new accreditor, called the Commission for Public Higher Education, or CPHE, has been created by and for the Southern states. Effectively, the states have concocted a way in which they can oversee themselves.” Texas is among impacted southern states. ⬇️
wlrn.org
Next in Florida's war on 'woke': Becoming its own higher ed watchdog
Accrediting agencies have long fought to keep politics out of higher education, but a new Florida-created accreditor could open the political floodgates.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
United Academics @local6741.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
What does "pre-contract unionism" mean? It means we become a union by acting like a union. Many of us don't have collective bargaining rights, but that doesn't stop us from coming together as colleagues and using our collective power to fight for ourselves and our students. @aft.org @aaup.org
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
United Academics @local6741.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Last night at @aft.org convention, delegates unanimously passed our resolution urging AFT to focus more of its incredible organizing power on non-collective bargaining workplaces, such as ours in @aaup.org advocacy chapters. President @mtmiller.bsky.social spoke for it w/ whole 6741 crew! 🧵
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AAUP @aaup.org · 12/07/2026
The deadline for comment on this disastrous proposal for America’s scientific research infrastructure is TOMORROW!
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
AAUP @aaup.org · 11/07/2026
Join us Monday @2PM to send a clear message to Congress: Protect our science infrastructure from partisan interference. Peer review, not politics, should guide scientific research. Slashing funding for science that does not conform to Trump’s ideological agenda will harm ALL Americans.
events.standupforscience.net
OMB Deadline Day Rally - The Fight is Just Beginning
OMB’s latest proposed rule, “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance,” would place political ideologues over scientific experts in federal research funding decisions. Say goodbye to cancer treatme...
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
NFA at UNR @nfaatunr.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
NFA-UNR joins our national organization @aaup.org in asking all members to consider submitting public comment against proposed OMB rule changes that threaten academic freedom. Learn more here: fight2win.standupforscience.net?utm_source=B...
fight2win.standupforscience.net
Stand up for Science
Stand up for Science
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Nevada PERS had strong investment performance again in FY2026, 12.5% versus the actuarial assumed rate of 7.25%. Many other factors go into contribution rates for the next biennium starting 7/1/2027, but this is good news.
Preliminary FY2026 investment performance report for Nevada Public Employees' Retirement System.  Overall return 12.5% for the year ending 6/30/2026, versus the actuarial assumption of 7.25% and the market benchmark of 14.0%.  3-year 11.9%, 5-year 7.7%, 10-year 10.1%. Private equity returns lag by 3 months and will be updated before the actuarial valuation and contribution rate-setting in November.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
⭐️⭐️ PRESS RELEASE: Today, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) + its Texas affiliate, Texas AAUP-AFT, sued Texas Tech University System Chancellor Brandon Creighton and members of the Board of Regents over two system memoranda issued in the past eight months. 1/2
aaup-texas.org
AAUP, Texas AAUP-AFT file lawsuit against Texas Tech System
Social: Bluesky @texasaaup.bsky.social
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
NFA at UNR @nfaatunr.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
AG Ford is putting forward a Workers First Agenda ✅ First point is supporting union workers ✅ Time to send him a bill that enshrines in law the right of faculty at the state’s public universities and colleges to collectively bargain!
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Ervin & Lineberger didn't always get it right, but this one is gratifying. Overly conservative error bars, perhaps?
Figure 2 from https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/wvxs-6wz5, shared under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  Figure showing the adiabatic electron affinity of C2- from recent low-temperature high-precision photodetachment threshold spectroscopy, compared with results from Ervin & Lineberger (1991) and Field and coworkers (2019).
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
@csncoyote.bsky.social reported salaries to the AAUP survey in 2024-25 but not this year. The other NSHE community colleges have not responded to the national survey despite a legislative letter of intent several sessions ago asking the Board of Regents to do so.
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Sobering. At Nevada's two R1 doctoral universities, @unevadareno.bsky.social and @unlv.edu, nominal average salaries for all faculty ranks actual declined by 0.7% from 2024-25 to 2025-26. After inflation, salaries are down by over 4%. Falling behind again.
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AAUP @aaup.org · 08/06/2026
Today, the AAUP released the Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2025–26. It is sobering. Full-time faculty salaries are down about 0.4% in real, inflation-adjusted terms. Average full-time faculty salaries remain 9.5% below fall 2019 & about 5.8% below fall 2008. 1/
aaup.org
Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession Now Available
This year's Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession finds that faculty salaries are still losing ground to inflation and expands data collection on part-time faculty pay.
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NFA at UNR @nfaatunr.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Sometimes folks toss around the idea of a 'faculty lounge' as shorthand for a disconnected elite. Here's the reality: there's no lounge and most college classes are taught by underpaid adjuncts and graduate students.
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Spring wildflowers at Sagehen Creek
Blue camas lily surrounded by grassHairy paintbrush, Castilleja pilosaLemon's onion
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
UAM-UMD @uam-umd.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Link to full article: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu... 3/3
insidehighered.com
The Danger of Silence When Academic Freedom Is Under Threat
Inaction from rank-and-file workers enabled government censorship during the Red Scares.
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Congratulations to Maryland United Acadmics AAUP-AFT for their big win on collective bargaining rights for non-tenure-track faculty!
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
. . . to ensure faculty *and graduate assistant and all professional employee* collective bargaining rights are in statute . . .
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NFA at UNR @nfaatunr.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Congratulations to our union siblings in the administrative and clerical positions of Nevada state gov on their decision to form a union with AFSCME 4041 in Nevada today! They’ll be working on a collective bargaining agreement…and we hope to follow their lead soon! UNR is a unionizing campus!
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NFA at UNR @nfaatunr.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Good morning Bluesky from the independent voice of the faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno! We’re organizing to defend higher education, academic freedom, and an accessible university that empowers students and faculty. The Wolf Pack works because we do!
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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Faculty at Pennsylvania State University voted to unionize by a 75% margin. The unit has both tenure and non-tenure system faculty. Campaign is affiliated with SEIU radio.wpsu.org/2026-05-14/p...
radio.wpsu.org
Penn State faculty vote 'yes' on unionizing
Penn State faculty voted overwhelmingly in favor of unionizing, in a closely watched decision that could have sweeping implications across the university.
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AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 12/05/2026
The Senate Banking Committee is considering the CLARITY Act, a bill that would open workers’ retirement accounts to volatile cryptocurrency, jeopardizing millions of workers’ retirement security. The Senate must stand with workers and reject this bill.
cnbc.com
Crypto legislation faces another hurdle: Labor unions
Major labor groups ask senators in a letter obtained first by CNBC to oppose a crypto bill over concerns retirement accounts could be harmed.
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Alaska's News Source @alaskasnewssource.com · 30/04/2026
Alaska Legislature approves bill to revive public pension system, now headed to Dunleavy’s desk. From the @AlaskaBeacon:
alaskasnewssource.com
Alaska Legislature approves bill to revive public pension system, now headed to Dunleavy’s desk
The Alaska House of Representatives voted to approve a revised bill to reinstate a pension system for all Alaska public sector employees, following passage by the Senate on Tuesday.
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Iran war wiped out $223B in public pension funding. www.plansponsor.com/iran-war-rel...
A pink, upside-down piggy bank.
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Reposted by Kent Ervin
AAUP @aaup.org · 24/04/2026
NEW today in the New York Times: In the face of unprecedented authoritarian attacks, the AAUP is building a powerful and militant resistance movement in defense of American higher education, the freedom to learn, and our democracy. Join Us!
nytimes.com
A Professor Union Grows Fast as It Ramps Up Its Fight Against Trump
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Kent Ervin @ervinkentm.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Time to go down the alphabet on down-ballot Regents races. nevadacurrent.com/2026/04/10/n...
nevadacurrent.com
NSHE regent known for anti-trans comments faces four primary challengers • Nevada Current
Four challengers—including a former state legislator, a mutual aid organizer and two educators—are hoping to unseat a controversial regent known for making past comments that have been condemned by st...
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Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance @protectwildutah.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
"The implications for Nevada—home to four national monuments—worry public land advocates like Friends of Nevada Wilderness executive director and former BLM employee Shaaron Netherton. lasvegasweekly.com/news/2026/ap...
lasvegasweekly.com
Congressional debate over Utah monument hits close to home for Nevadans
With President Trump back in office, the future of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument management plan is in question. and the implications worry public land advocates.
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