Dr. Sarah J. Zuckerman
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drszuckerman.bsky.social
Dr. Sarah J. Zuckerman
@drszuckerman.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Educational Administration: studies school improvement and community partnerships as collective action problems; increasingly interested in knowledge creation and use; expert cat mom; beginner quilter. All views are my own.
When I said I wanted to be a public scholar, I didn't mean having the press call me every time more bad news from the university hits in boxes
nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news...
UNL Chancellor reveals final budget reduction plan, cutting four programs instead of six
UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett unveiled the university’s final budget reduction plan on Monday afternoon. Some cost savings have been redistributed following the choice to spare two academic programs p...
nebraskapublicmedia.org
November 11, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Nov 7, 2025: today's cognitive dissonance is 2/2 AERA acceptance and walking my chair to meet with the Exec Leadership to give yet another round of alternatives to firing an entire department of people who are nationally recognized experts
November 7, 2025 at 7:19 PM
If you're in the top 8% of the higher Ed bond ratings and you are cutting programs that enroll hundreds of students, what exactly are you doing?
OUTSIDE LOOK: A new analysis indicates the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the NU system are “financially healthy,” leaving some UNL faculty asking why administrators want to trim the budget 1.8%.

From Zach Wendling:
Faculty question need for $27.5 million in cuts after report finds UNL ‘financially healthy’ • Nebraska Examiner
An external analysis indicates UNL is “financially healthy,” leaving some faculty questioning why administrators are seeking budget cuts.
buff.ly
October 30, 2025 at 6:12 PM
We had a financial analysis done in 2019 and again this year. The university is in fine financial shape. The decisions being made, less so. I'm tired of being gaslit and lied to.
October 30, 2025 at 1:49 PM
States I'm not applying to jobs in, despite a curiously large number of open positions
October 30, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Reposted by Dr. Sarah J. Zuckerman
The depth of the shame of a country this wealthy and abundant allowing its people to go hungry is impossible to measure. The fact that a handful of people could fix this by paying their fair share of taxes while still remaining obscenely wealthy makes it even worse.
October 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I keep wondering is one giant test and the administrators are going to turn around and say good job, you've won
a man in a purple vest and bow tie is smiling and saying `` you won ! ''
ALT: a man in a purple vest and bow tie is smiling and saying `` you won ! ''
media.tenor.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Totally unprepared to walk into the impressionist gallery at the PMA and burst into tears. It was like walking into a ghost of my former self and paths not taken.
October 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Maybe he could just do a peel and stick ballroom like a normal renter
October 20, 2025 at 10:46 PM
So is Gold. Did anyone come knocking about an AI program? Is it worth cutting my department where we have 300 grad students. They all need to get their shit together and pay actual attention to their campuses and stop chasing pretend money
I would point an interested reader and careful thinker to two things.

One, the university recently built another top-down school without student demand or sustainable funding. It isn’t doing so well.

Two, I would point out that sports dynasties are built over generations.
Well, the UNC Chancellor is out in Silicon Valley with an interview on this... techcrunch.com/2025/10/20/t...
October 20, 2025 at 1:56 PM
At our dept awards tonight, a student stopped to thank me for all my feedback and pushing him to be a better and more thoughtful leader. And for championing improvement science.
October 18, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Who asks for a service statement? Is this a statement about how much service I plan to do? Or a statement on my philosophy, which is wtf do women still do way more service?
October 17, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I can't even. I could handle one, but not the imminent destruction of both K-12 and higher
Education Department Layoffs Would Affect Dozens of Programs. See Which Ones: Entire teams that work on key funding streams may not return to work even when the shutdown ends.
Education Department Layoffs Would Affect Dozens of Programs. See Which Ones
Entire teams that work on key funding streams may not return to work even when the shutdown ends.
www.edweek.org
October 17, 2025 at 6:24 PM
I'm old enough to remember when Ted Carter backed Ronnie Green's anti-racism work.
Yup I know this conversation is happening in my state right now, too.
@dcollier74.bsky.social called this. This was a worry I had which mirrors when Louisana tried to ban Librarians from joining the American Library Association (ALA).

www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
October 15, 2025 at 3:48 PM
'Who needs those folks teaching how leaders should lead?
We’ve spreadsheets and slogans! That’s all that we need!”

Just an excerpt from what AI produced when asked to write a poem in the style of Dr. Seuss about cutting EDAD
October 14, 2025 at 4:59 AM
In the short term, yeah, maybe a points based reward system might work well enough to get you a WWCH mark if approval. In the long term, this is not going to cultivate a love of learning or develop a student's sense of curiosity
October 13, 2025 at 9:26 PM
There is no one quick and easy trick to fix anything in education. And anyone who says there is, they're just trying to sell you stuff
October 13, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Let's take education back to the 1860's but also make it make my tech friends rich
Meanwhile, ed tech companies are salivating--eager to sell "solutions" to families whose schools will now struggle (even more than they already have) to meet their kids' learning needs.

(Here are a few of the ed tech ads I've been tracking over the past few months)
October 12, 2025 at 3:13 PM
I need someone to explain why Ezra Klein thinks Dems need to be themselves but should also be excited that Dan Osborne us running again. Has he been checked for a brain work lately?
October 12, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Dear past me, I would like to speak to the manager. This 6:25 am flight landed 25 minutes before the next one to Utah. How did you manage to violate all of our work travel nopes?
October 12, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Well then, President Gold had better reject this nonsense when it finally gets down to NU
This is still a pretty narrow statement focused on research. Membership organizations that include red-state publics are being very careful about their statements, although the AAU has a bit of leeway because of its prestige.
October 12, 2025 at 10:54 AM
I bet ours look pretty good too.
Oregon has the nicest football uniforms. You would think they weren’t laying off professors.
October 11, 2025 at 8:04 PM
You cannot fire faculty and have it go unnoticed. the Chancellor, President, and Regents are on notice

www.klkntv.com/unl-students...
UNL students, professors hold demonstration as $27.5 million budget cut looms
Dozens gathered in the courtyard on Innovation Campus as the Academic Planning Committee held hearings about the proposed budget cuts.
www.klkntv.com
October 11, 2025 at 1:27 PM
We are all Stats and EAS this afternoon for the last APC hearing✊🏻
October 10, 2025 at 10:23 PM