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Timothy R Cain

@timcain.bsky.social
593 followers 140 following 644 posts

I teach about and study faculty, academic freedom, campus unions, student activism, and the history of higher education. I don't post about my amazing kid because it is their story to tell some day.

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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 10h
So... we are back to political sign stealing season. My Ossoff yard sign was stolen last night. My mistake for not buying multiple of them the first time. I had to buy 3 for Abrams and 2 for Warnock a few years ago, because some people want to steal elections, rather than win them.
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The EDU Ledger @theeduledger.bsky.social · 21h
A new paper published in @aeraedresearch.bsky.social's AERA Open identifies and publicly names 149 colleges and universities with high outcomes for Pell-eligible students.
theeduledger.com
Identifying Colleges and Universities with Low-Income Student Success
A new paper identifies and publicly names 149 colleges and universities with high outcomes for Pell-eligible students.
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Mary Anne Franks @maryannefranks.bsky.social · 11h
Should be lively!
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Dealing with page proofs is the worst part of the job, especially when you need to back out a few dozen inserted errors (and then likely miss other ones that were your fault). Also, this is the second time this year I have gotten page proofs without getting copy edits from the publisher beforehand.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Just watched the first 1/2 of the Mandolorian movie with my kid and it was worse than the reviews. It was like the creative team behind it watched Superman IV (the only movie I have ever walked out of a theater during in my life) and said, "hold my..."
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Mary Anne Franks @maryannefranks.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
A very good letter in the @chronicle.com by @lsiraganian.bsky.social & other JHU AAAUP members debunking the fake crisis of declining public trust in higher education and highlighting a real one: university administrators willing to collaborate with authoritarians. www.chronicle.com/blogs/letter...
Excerpt from article: Compact 2.0 relies on misleading rhetoric citing a lack of public trust in higher education. Ironically, public trust in higher education, including medical and scientific researchers, ranks higher than in all three branches of government, including the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court, as well as tech companies, according to Gallup data. Although polls show trust has declined over the past decade, this is part of a larger trend affecting all US institutions — not just universities. The mistrust in US institutions is, in part, a symptom of the Trump administration’s erosion of democratic norms and the rule of law and use of anti-university, “adaptable authoritarian rhetoric” from Russia and Hungary. As the Brookings Institution notes, “targeting higher education is an essential tool in the autocratic playbook.” Beyond polls, data tell a different story. College enrollment is stabilizing or rising despite demographic decline and the unaffordability crisis. Most high school students want to attend college. Globally, students trust our universities to provide unparalleled educational and research opportunities. International student enrollment continued to rise until the Trump administration’s anti-immigration measures caused a decline. In the U.S. and around the world, millions of students and their families work hard to earn a spot in our classrooms and to save money to pay for it.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I have a chapter coming out in an edited book at a good press. I got an email from the editors in early February that the full .ms had been submitted to the press for review. Next I heard about it was when I got page proofs late last week. Then a contract this. Seems like some steps were missed.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I am assuming futures markets have odds on River America and Pond of America.
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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 28/08/2026
The Trump administration is limiting international students' ability to take on internships while in college, an effort that is likely to widen the trade deficit by discouraging prospective students.
wsj.com
Trump Limits Internships for International College Students
Hands-on opportunities are key to gaining a toehold in the job market and are a reason many young people come to the U.S.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
As someone who studies unions in higher education, I fundamentally disagree with almost all of this (maybe all I stopped reading by the end).
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Harvard Education Press @harvard-ed-press.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
THE POSTLIBERAL UNIVERSITY by Barrett J. Taylor and Brendan Cantwell serves as an urgent exploration of the political and social conditions that shape contemporary higher education governance. Pre-order this book here: bit.ly/4bdwG3s
Image displaying the cover of "The Postliberal University"
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
It is late, but today (August 18) is Stephen Lenton’s birthday. You probably don’t know that name but should. He grew up in a challenging environment, got to Berkeley, dropped out to join the Peace Corps, and became the youngest regional director in the history of the Peace Corps. (1/?)
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I saw that Kyle Monangai hyperextended his knee and I can’t get him out of my head
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Got a new phone for the first time in about 5 years. That always seems cool until you are on the same site as before, just holding a newer phone case.
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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Looking at academic life from both sides of the tenure system divide, a professor writes that the tenure/non-tenure tier system is simply a tool of managerial control and extraction. To preserve the mission of our universities, we need solidarity across tiers, stability for all
higheredlaborunited.org
Reflections on Solidarity and Zero-Sum Thinking from a Cross-Tier Nomad – Higher Education Labor United
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
I received a nice note thanking me for something that I wrote from a more senior scholar who I have never met but whose work I know. It surprised me and reminded me that we should be generous to each other. Most of us can feel fragile at times and small gestures are important (and maybe not small).
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AFT @aft.org · 04/08/2026
“As with [Trump's] first compact, the best path forward is for higher education workers to organize and demand that their administrations and governing boards reject Compact 2.0. There is every reason to believe we can do so again." - @rweingarten.bsky.social & @aaup.org's @proftwolf.bsky.social
aft.org
AFT, AAUP Respond to Trump Compact 2.0
WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten and American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson issued the following response to the Trump administration’s new higher education comp...
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
I lost my parking (which costs $360 per year). The lot I was in for 12 years was sold last year & I was transferred to a new lot a 7 minute further walk away. I found out today that that lot was converted to student parking. I am on the wait list for 5 of the 7 closest lots to my building.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
It is almost midnight on a Sunday in the summer. I am writing a P/T letter. Legislators, admins, and the public often think that faculty have cushy jobs and don't work hard. Trust me, they work hard.
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Mary Anne Franks @maryannefranks.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I joined @brandeismarshall.bsky.social to talk about the US's failure to regulate AI-facilitated abuse against women for this episode of @pbs.org's To the Contrary: www.pbs.org/video/how-ai...
pbs.org
To The Contrary | How AI Chatbots Could Fuel Violence Against Women | Season 35
How weak regulations and AI chatbot design choices fuel real-world violence against women.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
I had to read Bloom's "Closing of the American Mind" for a thing that I am writing and... oof. I had not read it since grad school and am worse off for re-reading it.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
I wasn’t worried
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Somewhere Tim Donaghy is asking questions.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
I wrote two op-eds to propose in response to Auburn's board actions. I am not sure which to submit: 1. Work to rule 2. Malicious compliance I had another in mind but it would have been about nine words and while my intended audience would have understood it, I don't think the board would have.
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Mary Anne Franks @maryannefranks.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Tomorrow evening at the Library of Congress, I'll be in dialogue with Above the Law's David Lat, legal scholar Eugene Volokh, and ACLU attorney Emerson Sykes about the current state of free speech in America. Free and open to the public (registration required): the-nxtlevel.com/campaigns/vi...
the-nxtlevel.com
A More Perfect Union: Free Speech, “DEI,” and America at 250
Light hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. You can read more about our panelists below.
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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Did your busy week make you miss important labor news? Sign up for our weekly round-up delivered to your email inbox every Friday morning. Top headlines plus arts, culture, and history from the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
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Lisa Fazio @lkfazio.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
More university boards overruling the judgement of expert faculty 🤮 www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
UNC-Chapel Hill Trustees Reject Hiring of Tenured Women’s Studies Professor
The rare move comes a year after the Board of Trustees delayed dozens of votes to confer tenure, sparking outcry from faculty.
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Adrienne Lu @adriennelu.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
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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Upjohn Institute @upjohninstitute.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Our annual award recognizing the best PhD dissertation on employment-related issues is still taking submissions! All academic disciplines are welcome, as long as it has a major employment and policy focus. The deadline is July 20th. Learn more: www.upjohn.org/dissertation... #econsky
upjohn.org
Dissertation Award | Upjohn Institute
FOCUS AREAS
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Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸 @rweingarten.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Our graduate workers at @uicgeo.org are striking for dignity, fair wages, and quality, affordable healthcare. It is past time for the University of Illinois to settle a fair contract. Please join us in supporting UICGEO, and in demanding full state funding for all of IL higher ed!
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AAUP @aaup.org · 12/05/2026
RIGHT NOW! As the SJU Board of Trustees meets, SJU-AAUP is rallying to make clear to Father Shanley, the SJU admin, & the entire Board of Trustees that unlawful attacks on faculty will not be tolerated & faculty are united in their fight. UNION BUSTING IS UNHOLY!
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 09/05/2026
the most anti free speech administration in this country’s history
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
This is interesting and I am very curious to hear what Cole will say. He has done important work (both scholarly and in practice) on civil liberties and free speech, which he could center.
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ashlee, mph @avs.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
UIC grad workers have been on strike for a week now and we have just learned that UIC admins are considering locking out grad workers in the summer (cancelling any contracts) and not hiring any TAs in the fall
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eraldo.bsky.social @eraldo.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
"our leadership has remained conspicuously silent when faculty members — disproportionately women and faculty of color — have had their scholarship and qualifications impugned by members of Congress and by right-wing outlets like Fox News..." www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...
thecrimson.com
The Faculty Are the Problem, Apparently | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
Those who want to diminish the faculty’s decision-making authority, or who think universities should be run more like companies, should be careful what they wish for.
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Gregory A. Wilson @gregoryawilson.com · 19/04/2026
Two days to this discussion on labor rights in higher education, with two professors and union organizers from St. John's University's branch of @aaup.org, a professor at BMCC, and the vice-president of the newly recognized faculty union at @michiganstateu.bsky.social. Please join us this Tuesday!
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Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸 @rweingarten.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Students are standing with the faculty & staff at UIS because they see who’s fighting for them. It’s time for Chancellor Gooch to come to the table & negotiate a fair contract! www.wcia.com/news/sangamo...
wcia.com
UIS strike: Faculty members say offers are ‘insulting’ as talks continue
SPRINGFIELD, ILL (WCIA) — Members of the UIS United Faculty at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) said their ongoing strike is taking an emotional toll, as negotiations over pay and wo…
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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
If you want to be focused on the next big higher ed problem, you want to be following accreditation news (and Eric is one of my go to sources for that info)
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
USC v. UCLA. It reads like a rivalry game...
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
When you have senior white male military officers willing to end their career by raising concerns about the blocking of Black and female officers, it feels safe to say this isn't about ending DEI: the better historical parallel is Wilson's resegregation of the bureaucracy bsky.app/profile/nbcn...
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Todd Wolfson @proftwolf.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
If you are in Oklahoma, join us as we fight for the future of tenure in the state!!! @aaup.org
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
I can’t wait for this. I have, based on reading a draft chapter and having a few conversations, already discussed it in class and recommended it as a book to look out for.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
The world is largely terrible, but I got to watch my alma mater's women's basketball team win a conference tournament in person this afternoon. It was a nice few hours to not think about everything else, and the joy of tournament winners (whomever they are) is good to see.
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Alliance For Higher Education @alliancehighered.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Next week!
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Mike Gavin @michaelhgavin.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Financial Aid is being positioned as a weapon to assert ideological control over higher education. The process is wonky and most of us don't pay attention to it. This year, we must. Consider attending. You will learn what is happening & what you can do. us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
us06web.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join the Alliance Webinar Series: Weaponizing Federal Student Aid to Control Higher Education. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the we...
This spring, one of the most consequential attempts to assert ideological control over the nation will potentially be thrust upon colleges and universities: the weaponization of federal student financ...
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
I'm rooting for Denver, but Jokic just getting an off-setting technical is ridiculous star protecting.
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AAUP @aaup.org · 24/02/2026
The public syllabi mandate can make instructors vulnerable to doxxing. “This institution doesn’t mind if you are picked off one by one. You’re not important to us in ways that make us do the hard work of getting good plans in to place.” —Abigail Hatcher, Interim VP of @unc-ch-aaup.bsky.social
wunc.org
Faculty Under Attack: How the public syllabus policy is seen as the latest weapon against academia
Faculty across the UNC System are expressing increased concerns that their safety is at risk following the new UNC System policy that all class syllabi be posted in an online database.
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Timothy R Cain @timcain.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
I'm hoping that I can attend this. My copy of the book arrived on Saturday and I read most of it this weekend. A thoughtful, inspiring, and at times difficult collection of essays (new and previously published). And, the panelists are great.
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AAUP @aaup.org · 14/02/2026
This is an excerpt of "Mounting Your Defense," an installment part of the "Faculty on the Front Lines" initiative in the AAUP's Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom. This installment features a conversation among Dr. Sang Hea Kil, Dr. Rupa Marya, and Dr. Henry Reichman. Full episode here👇
youtu.be
Faculty on the Front Lines: Mounting Your Defense with Sang Kil, Rupa Marya and Hank Reichman
YouTube video by The AAUP
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Mike Gavin @michaelhgavin.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Join us Tuesday, Feb. 17! The @alliancehighered.bsky.social will focus on the DOE’s decision to stop defending its 2025 Dear Colleague Letter, why it matters & how to move forward and rebuild. Tuesday, February 17. 12-1pm ET Register for the Zoom webinar here: bit.ly/4cldGRS
bit.ly
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Rebuilding After the Unlawful Dear Colleague Letter. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
On January 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education stopped defending guidance it had issued in February 2025 that accused colleges and universities of breaking civil rights laws simply for addressi...
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