Dave Larsen writes about higher education.
Kelly Mori writes about health and higher education.Home > Blogs > On Campus > Archives > 2008 > November > 06 > Entry
Obama administration has unprecedented ties to higher education
When President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, alongside his running mate, Joe Biden, it will mark the first time in history that a president, vice president and both of their spouses have worked in higher education.
Together, the Obamas and the Bidens have amassed decades of experience at colleges and universities, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992-2004, when he took office in the U.S. Senate. His wife, Michelle, worked in administration at the same university. She currently is on leave from her job as vice president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals.
For the past 17 years, Biden has taught as an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law. His wife, Jill, is an English instructor at Delaware Technical and Community College’s Stanton-Wilmington campus.
Obama campaigned on a platform that called for increased aid to students, a doubling of federal funds for basic research, and government grants to “successful community colleges” that train unemployed workers in emerging industries, the Chronicle noted.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment |
Comments
By Mary
November 6, 2008 6:41 PM | Link to this
I think they should be looking at controlling college costs, period, not just throwing more money at the problem. You should also mention Michelle Obama’s brother is a basketball coach at Oregon State. I wonder how much he, and Michelle Obama are paid compared to professors. Recently, the Dayton Daily News had an article about all the administrators at OSU being paid $200,000 salaries. Of course, they also have multimillion dollar coaches with multimillion dollar parachutes. These types of salaries are totally inexcusable at public universities.By Mary
November 8, 2008 8:30 PM | Link to this
Relevant to my previous comment, Channel 7 News will have a segment during Monday’s 5 PM news regarding the extravagant pay of college administrators. I hope they do not leave out the college coaches.By Clevo
November 10, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this
Why wouldn’t coaches be entitled to this type of pay? If you think not, then you have no idea of how much money is generated from college sports and how much money it brings to these Universities and the greater surrounding cities. Damn near like Pro sports. That’s why issues always come up about college players being paid.By Mary
November 10, 2008 6:44 PM | Link to this
Clevo, with all due respect, you sound a little clueless about the financing of big time college sports. As many books and news articles have pointed out, very few Division I athletic departments “break even”, even by their own accounting standards which are not yet standardized by the NCAA. Even thoughh OSU likes to claim it breaks even, I truly doubt it, when you consider some millions of state tax dollars were used to help refurbish the Horseshoe. I will bet the accounting books of the university and athletics are mixed back and forth when it is convenient for many miscellaneous expenses including the lawsuits when coaches are fired and get their multimillion dollar settlements. Maybe you should read the books “Beer and Circus” and “The Game of Life” to catch up on the realities of big time college sports finances. Also there are the tax code issues or “education” tax breaks for athletics donors that essentially rob the tax coffers of money that could be used for academics priorities and other important government functions. One news network included this tax code issue on college sports in its “fleecing of America” series about a year ago.By Steve
November 10, 2008 11:21 PM | Link to this
I agree that the costs in higher education needs to be contained but Athletics do more than just bring in income from their games and matches. Athletics is the front porch of a university. People don’t know about the law, medical, engineering, or education departments but they do know the BCS schools in the bowl games. That increases a schools applicants, allows them to improve their entrance standards and allows a school to be healthy financially, academically and athletically.By Mary
November 11, 2008 4:54 AM | Link to this
Steve, where do I begin on your comments? People hear about MIT without it being a “branded” sports school. Just “How stupid are we?” -also the title of a new book about American voters - if we rely on sports teams to tell us where to go to school? There are many quiet private colleges that students also seek out. How many schools or colleges are healthy financially, academically and athletically? I have not heard of many, and they all get tax breaks and subsidies. The increase in spending at college athletics departments have vastly outpaced academics at most colleges and universities. Most of these athletics departments rely on student and tax subsidies since they do not break even. Heard of any colleges lowering their tuition lately? The book Ivory Tower Blues discusses how too many students are going to college, incurring debt, dropping out, and diluting the academics in the classrooms. Many students take remedial classes. The book Beer and Circus and numerous articles and parents groups point out many students mainly are learning binge drinking, depression and suicides at big time sports schools. Major sporting events are hyped every day of the week now on college campuses. Sorry, no quiet time to study. Athletes get suites in the athletics dorm, trainers and tutors while students have no quiet place to study. I could go on.By Notyourfriend
November 11, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this
Mary, You COULD go on, but don’t. You are uninformed. I have been a tutor, and we did not have a problem finding a quiet place to study. Remedial classes? Yes, it is called Differentiated Instruction. We have to meet students where they are academically, not where we would like them to be. Occuring debt? Hmmmmmm, at least they have something (knowledge) for the amount of time they have spent in college, even if it isn’t something they will use. A car could be an even worse investment. You are so busy quoting books and articles, that it does not seem that you live in the real world.By Mary
November 11, 2008 10:25 AM | Link to this
Notyourfriend, I might not be informed, but I did not learn anything from your comments. I suppose you were a tutor paid to help an athlete whose tutoring costs were provided by the university or college funds raised from other students who do not get or could afford tutors for themselves. Seems to me, you are or were one of the financial beneficiaries of such a watered down education system. Keep people ignorant and drive them into a dysfuntional, ineffective education system so they need tutors.