Academic Freedom at Commuter Universities: Market Metaphors and the Public Interest

Abstract

This is basically the speech I gave in 1988, without updates but with a few revisions for clarity. A printed version appeared in The Democratic Communiqué 7.5-6 (1989): 12-14. Since then, many of the general conditions described here have worsened, although thanks to years of heroic efforts by several key people since I left in 1989, the specific situation of critical media studies at FAU has improved. Meanwhile, joined by dedicated students and staff, faculty at many institutions continue to struggle to offer critical educational experiences essential to democracy, social justice, and lives bountifully informed. At Florida Atlantic University, this struggle has long found a home in the United Faculty of Florida (now a Florida Education Association/NEA/AFT/AFL-CIO affiliate), as it does elsewhere in faculty associations and unions—organizations that do indeed help make us strong.