I have watched as administration has harassed senior faculty (tenured) because they don’t like them speaking out on a variety of issues. I can attest that if the administration (at least at UAS) could run this institution without faculty they would. The UA system can be a very hostile place for a faculty member.

I agree that this is not the only place that has issues with academic freedom. It occurs in many, many different issues. I myself had to ‘rephrase’ statements in my thesis because it could have been portrayed as offensive to a major corporate donor of the institution. It is happening in many places and it should be of concern to us. Academic freedom exists for a reason and we need to be working to reign in corporate control of all of our public spaces.

This situation is not unique to Alaska, nor is it a new occurence. Across the country Academia has been led by ever hungry wallet. The heads of these higher places of learning are continually scrambling for cash. States cut funding to U’s as they feel the nation’s economic crunch. Meanwhile the college administration fees rose and funding for paid internships, school supplies and research projects fell. The corporations come in and offer a building or two, a huge grant, scholarships, fame & fortune and well padded desk jobs after post Doc work or retirement from the U. All they have to do is just keep their proffessors quiet and producing mindless lackeys and do research that is only pro-industry.

I’ve watched this happen for the last 30 years and was one of my primary reasons for not pursuing a Master’s. Especially after watching my peers go for their higher degrees and enter the academic environment. Watched them go gray over surpressed findings and twisted research results. Watched them loose their ideology and hope to make a difference in the world with their research. Watched them grow angry and cynical when they are shown how their work is manipulated for purely profit-driven reasons. But they slog on to feed their families, keep a roof over their head and continue to teach and learn what they can. Very few have the gumption and resources to make a stand the way Steiner is doing.

We MUST remove the influence of big corporations from not only our government and political election processes, but also from our places of higher learning.

Back in 1999 when Bush was running to become President, an article appeared in the Madison, WI newspaper. Mid-Western Governors holding a conference in Chicago with large energy producers. Their mission was to convince the large energy producers to back Candidate George Bush. The deal was that Bush’s “Clear Sky Initiative” would gut the clean air and water act. Deregulation would allow unlimited pollution emmisions, and thus record profits. Not wildly reported is that Bush’s “Clear Sky Initiative” would lead to 60,000 to 80,000 premature deaths per year.

Throughout Bush’s two term we endlessly heard of how he was a science denier, installing political appointees to head Gov agencies, to silence the scientists at EPA, NASA, FDA, CDC, NOAA and other agencies.

Besides denying global warming, we found our pets dying of tainted food. Patients dying of pharmaceuticals being made in China Chemical Plants without any regulation and safety controls. Citizens dying of feces in our meats and vegetables. Tainted baby food. Homes built with toxic dry wall. Toys and bedding tainted with dangerous chemicals. Municipal drinking water laced with 50 or more traces of pharmaceuticals and industrial waste.

And this same philosophy, that Government is bad and that free markets can best take care of themselves (pro-business) led to the deregulation of banking and financial industry.

In 2008, unbridled greed and deregulation came home to roost with systemic failure and a world economic meltdown.

In fact, I found it very informative to have oil experts there who showed all their maps and answered all kinds of questions about their proposed plans and procedures at Bristol Bay.

I will never support oil/gas development in Bristol Bay because of the dangers it poses to the region’s fisheries. (Ditto Pebble MIne) But the conference was extremely worthwhile and again, was not biased toward Shell.

It was also unfortunate that Mr Steiner ‘ambushed’ the conference the day before it occurred with very sensationalistic media alerts – and many of the ‘facts’ he used were inaccurate.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/california-agribusiness-pressures-school-to-nix-michael-pollan-speech.html

Harris Ranch is a huge feed lot on 5, that you can smell for miles and miles on the drive between the Bay Area and LA. The University President caved immediately to a big business donor and forced Pollan to be part of a panel instead of giving a lecture.

It’s so typical of right wingers to be afraid of anyone with alternative ideas.