Author: James A. Bacon
-
Charlottesville Schools Ban Student Cell Phones
by James A. Bacon The Charlottesville public school system has banned the students’ use of cell phones. Superintendent Royal Gurley decries students’ “addiction” to the mobile devices, and teachers have complained that the phones have become a tremendous disruption in the classroom, reports The Daily Progress. The restrictions, school officials hope, will “increase connectivity between…
-
Student Vets Win Back Their Space
by James A. Bacon The Student Veterans of America (SVA) at the University of Virginia notched up a small win Friday when Student Affairs officials reversed a decision to expropriate some of the Veterans Center space at Newcomb Hall. But the veterans’ battle for recognition and respect at UVa is far from over. What they…
-
The Rats Return
by James A. Bacon Good news from the Virginia Military Institute! After seeing a drastic falloff t0 374 entering students last year, 491 students matriculated this fall. Last year’s decline capped off years of disastrous public relations stemming from a campaign by The Washington Post and the Northam administration to depict VMI as a racist,…
-
The Real Deal
by James A. Bacon Who do you think provides the more authentic insight into the mindset of the American working class: elite media, which filters its portraits of blue-collar Americans through the cultural and ideological lenses of its Ivy League reporters, or a home-grown balladeer like Farmville resident Oliver Anthony? Anthony (real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford)…
-
Correction
by James A. Bacon In two recent stories about administrative bloat and faculty bloat at the University of Virginia, I published inaccurate information. I stated that annualized full-time-equivalent student enrollment between fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2022 increased 1.1%. The correct figure was 8.8%. The result of the error was to exaggerate the degree to which…
-
Faculty Bloat at UVa
by James A. Bacon A key cost driver at the University of Virginia is the increasing size and declining teaching productivity of its faculty. The topic appears to be taboo. The Board of Visitors hasn’t discussed it, and there is no indication from publicly available sources that the university administration has engaged in any introspection.…
-
Hard Numbers on Administrative Bloat
by James A. Bacon A number of University of Virginia Board of Visitors members have expressed concern about UVa’s runaway costs. Administrative bloat has swollen the university’s cost structure, they say, and higher costs have been cited in turn to justify tuition increases. So far, the fiscal hawks have been unable to force a discussion…
-
Balladeer of the New Class War
Oliver Anthony, a Farmville musician, has racked up 1.8 million views on YouTube for his song, “Rich Men North of Richmond.” He lives with his three dogs on a plot of land he hopes to turn into a small livestock farm. If you want to understand the “deplorables” and “bitter clingers,” don’t listen to…
-
More News from the Berkeley of the South
The fun never ends in the People’s Republic of Charlottesville. Rather than subject readers to excessive content about the University of Virginia, I’ll boil the latest two stories down to their essence and provide links for those who wish to read more. The Curious Case of the Missing Podcasts. Walter Smith delves into the 2019…
-
An Investigation… into an Alleged Attempt to Discredit a Student Newspaper… that Criticized the VMI Administration
by James A. Bacon There appears in the minutes of the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors meeting of July 13, 2023 an abbreviated mention of a very hot topic: Mr. [Thomas E.] Gottwald raised concerns about the administration’s continued conflict with The Cadet newspaper. Five news articles have been written regarding a challenge to…
-
Ryan Ignored Board of Visitors in Formulating Admissions Policy
by James A. Bacon When University of Virginia President Jim Ryan and Provost Ian Baucom announced the university’s new admissions policy last week, they made a point of saying that they had sought input and guidance from “leaders across the university,” including members of the Office of University Counsel. But one key group was not…