Kathy Roberts Forde
@krforde.bsky.social
Co-director Stand Together for Higher Ed, journalism professor at UMass Amherst, historian of US press/democracy/political struggle, dog lover, reader, trekker. Southerner in New England. I do not speak for my university.
Faculty and staff cannot allow our college/university leaders to make these odious side deals with the federal govt. Please join us at Stand Together for Higher Ed: www.standtogetherhighered.org. It’s free. And we’re building collective power to stand together against this madness.
October 25, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Faculty and staff cannot allow our college/university leaders to make these odious side deals with the federal govt. Please join us at Stand Together for Higher Ed: www.standtogetherhighered.org. It’s free. And we’re building collective power to stand together against this madness.
❤️ this! You’ve met confidence intervals before — in polls:
“Candidate A 52% ± 3%.”
That ± 3% is the ring: we’re 95% sure the real number’s somewhere inside it.
Polls dance round and suppose.
The truth sits in the middle and declines comment.
#statssky #polling #academicsky
“Candidate A 52% ± 3%.”
That ± 3% is the ring: we’re 95% sure the real number’s somewhere inside it.
Polls dance round and suppose.
The truth sits in the middle and declines comment.
#statssky #polling #academicsky
Robert Frost was certainly more familiar with iambic pentameter
than he was with estimated parameters, but in 1942 he wrote a couplet that sounds very much like a poet's perception of a confidence interval: #statistics #statssky #academicsky
than he was with estimated parameters, but in 1942 he wrote a couplet that sounds very much like a poet's perception of a confidence interval: #statistics #statssky #academicsky
October 25, 2025 at 11:58 AM
❤️ this! You’ve met confidence intervals before — in polls:
“Candidate A 52% ± 3%.”
That ± 3% is the ring: we’re 95% sure the real number’s somewhere inside it.
Polls dance round and suppose.
The truth sits in the middle and declines comment.
#statssky #polling #academicsky
“Candidate A 52% ± 3%.”
That ± 3% is the ring: we’re 95% sure the real number’s somewhere inside it.
Polls dance round and suppose.
The truth sits in the middle and declines comment.
#statssky #polling #academicsky
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
Robert Frost was certainly more familiar with iambic pentameter
than he was with estimated parameters, but in 1942 he wrote a couplet that sounds very much like a poet's perception of a confidence interval: #statistics #statssky #academicsky
than he was with estimated parameters, but in 1942 he wrote a couplet that sounds very much like a poet's perception of a confidence interval: #statistics #statssky #academicsky
October 24, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Robert Frost was certainly more familiar with iambic pentameter
than he was with estimated parameters, but in 1942 he wrote a couplet that sounds very much like a poet's perception of a confidence interval: #statistics #statssky #academicsky
than he was with estimated parameters, but in 1942 he wrote a couplet that sounds very much like a poet's perception of a confidence interval: #statistics #statssky #academicsky
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
Meet our new scholar-mentor pair: Laurie & Michael!
Laurie is studying Biology at UMass Boston. She’ll be supported by Michael, a graduate student at UMass Boston pursuing his Master’s in Molecular Biology.
#AcademicSky #MentorshipMatters #HigherEd #StudentSuccess #EduSky #BostonNonProfit
Laurie is studying Biology at UMass Boston. She’ll be supported by Michael, a graduate student at UMass Boston pursuing his Master’s in Molecular Biology.
#AcademicSky #MentorshipMatters #HigherEd #StudentSuccess #EduSky #BostonNonProfit
October 24, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Meet our new scholar-mentor pair: Laurie & Michael!
Laurie is studying Biology at UMass Boston. She’ll be supported by Michael, a graduate student at UMass Boston pursuing his Master’s in Molecular Biology.
#AcademicSky #MentorshipMatters #HigherEd #StudentSuccess #EduSky #BostonNonProfit
Laurie is studying Biology at UMass Boston. She’ll be supported by Michael, a graduate student at UMass Boston pursuing his Master’s in Molecular Biology.
#AcademicSky #MentorshipMatters #HigherEd #StudentSuccess #EduSky #BostonNonProfit
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
📣 STHE wants to hear from you! Join us for one of our upcoming brainstorming sessions focused on how to respond to the White House compact. We would love to hear your thoughts and feelings on how our community should be responding. Register at buff.ly/R9VHdrm
#AcademicSky #Academia
#AcademicSky #Academia
October 20, 2025 at 4:22 PM
📣 STHE wants to hear from you! Join us for one of our upcoming brainstorming sessions focused on how to respond to the White House compact. We would love to hear your thoughts and feelings on how our community should be responding. Register at buff.ly/R9VHdrm
#AcademicSky #Academia
#AcademicSky #Academia
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
Many institutions, organizations, & individuals are standing together to say NO to the White House Compact. Faculty fellows at leading Institutes for Advanced Studies are adding their voice to the choir with a new open letter:
#AcademicSky #Academia
#AcademicSky #Academia
October 20, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Many institutions, organizations, & individuals are standing together to say NO to the White House Compact. Faculty fellows at leading Institutes for Advanced Studies are adding their voice to the choir with a new open letter:
#AcademicSky #Academia
#AcademicSky #Academia
So UVA rejects the Compact but still makes an odious side deal. We invite all UVA faculty and staff to join Stand Together for Higher Ed. It’s free, and we’re building community and strategies to stop this madness www.standtogetherhighered.org
UVA reaches deal with Trump administation that ends the government’s civil rights investigations. #AcademicSky #HigherEd www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
University Of Virginia Strikes Deal To End Federal Investigations
The University of Virginia has reached an agreement to end the Trump administration’s investigations of what the government alleged were various civil rights violations.
www.forbes.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:22 AM
So UVA rejects the Compact but still makes an odious side deal. We invite all UVA faculty and staff to join Stand Together for Higher Ed. It’s free, and we’re building community and strategies to stop this madness www.standtogetherhighered.org
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
#academicsky, particularly #Purdue, should you happen to be visiting #Boston for any reason in the near future, here's a little something you might consider doing on any Wednesday. #StandUpForScience.
Our 2nd #WednesdayWalkoutsForHealth site - in #CambridgeMA!
Join them every week 5-5:30 in Kendall Square!
Join them every week 5-5:30 in Kendall Square!
October 22, 2025 at 11:01 PM
#academicsky, particularly #Purdue, should you happen to be visiting #Boston for any reason in the near future, here's a little something you might consider doing on any Wednesday. #StandUpForScience.
🙌 Yes, this. The people, the lives, the health of our planet, the pursuit of just and fair outcomes and human rights and a better world. Legal storytelling helps us understand what is and imagine a better way. ❤️
Storytelling in legal education reminds us: behind every case is a heartbeat, behind every judgment, a life forever changed.
#lawyersky #academicsky
#storytelling
#lawyersky #academicsky
#storytelling
October 23, 2025 at 12:13 AM
🙌 Yes, this. The people, the lives, the health of our planet, the pursuit of just and fair outcomes and human rights and a better world. Legal storytelling helps us understand what is and imagine a better way. ❤️
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
Researchers at Duke Cancer Institute are looking at obesity's impact on breast cancer and whether GLP-1 drugs might help jump-start a more robust immune response.
🔗 Read more: https://medschool.duke.edu/stories/obesity-weakens-cancer-immunity-can-glp-1-drugs-turn-it-back
#AcademicSky #MedSky
🔗 Read more: https://medschool.duke.edu/stories/obesity-weakens-cancer-immunity-can-glp-1-drugs-turn-it-back
#AcademicSky #MedSky
October 22, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Researchers at Duke Cancer Institute are looking at obesity's impact on breast cancer and whether GLP-1 drugs might help jump-start a more robust immune response.
🔗 Read more: https://medschool.duke.edu/stories/obesity-weakens-cancer-immunity-can-glp-1-drugs-turn-it-back
#AcademicSky #MedSky
🔗 Read more: https://medschool.duke.edu/stories/obesity-weakens-cancer-immunity-can-glp-1-drugs-turn-it-back
#AcademicSky #MedSky
Fellows at Institutes for Advanced Study have issued a letter calling on universities to reject the Trump admin's Compact (loyalty oath). If you're faculty/staff at a US college or university, please join Stand Together for Higher Ed (it's free). www.standtogetherhighered.org/news-updates...
Faculty Fellows Release Open Letter to Leaders of US Universities — Stand Together
Below is a open letter that has been released by faculty fellows at leading Institutes for Advanced Studies in the U.S.: As American-based fellows at leading Institutes for Advanced Studies in the Un...
www.standtogetherhighered.org
October 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Fellows at Institutes for Advanced Study have issued a letter calling on universities to reject the Trump admin's Compact (loyalty oath). If you're faculty/staff at a US college or university, please join Stand Together for Higher Ed (it's free). www.standtogetherhighered.org/news-updates...
At a moment when higher ed as a pillar of democracy is under political attack in the US, we cannot allow college and university leaders to try to control the student press or any kind of student expression. www.standtogetherhighered.org
Reject the ongoing censorship of student media on our campuses!
“Administrative efforts to subordinate campus journalism to public relations are inconsistent with the mission of higher education to provide a space of intellectual exploration and debate”
—Hank Reichman, in a new Academe Blog post
“Administrative efforts to subordinate campus journalism to public relations are inconsistent with the mission of higher education to provide a space of intellectual exploration and debate”
—Hank Reichman, in a new Academe Blog post
October 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
At a moment when higher ed as a pillar of democracy is under political attack in the US, we cannot allow college and university leaders to try to control the student press or any kind of student expression. www.standtogetherhighered.org
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
MIT!!!!! YES!!!!!!! www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
MIT Rejects Proposed Federal Compact
MIT is the first institution to reject a proposal by the Trump administration that would trade preferential treatment on federal funding in exchange for far-reaching changes.
www.insidehighered.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:29 PM
MIT!!!!! YES!!!!!!! www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
Thoughts and prayers for Donald J Trump
'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize
October 10, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Thoughts and prayers for Donald J Trump
The federal govt is trying to take over US universities. This is called “authoritarian consolidation.” We CANNOT let it happen. Sign this @aaup.org petition. Say no to loyalty oaths. www.defendingourcampuses.org
Defending Our Campuses and Communities
The AFT and the AAUP are working with allies in higher education and the labor movement to defend and advance higher education that is accessible and affordable for all who want it, and to protect the...
www.defendingourcampuses.org
October 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
The federal govt is trying to take over US universities. This is called “authoritarian consolidation.” We CANNOT let it happen. Sign this @aaup.org petition. Say no to loyalty oaths. www.defendingourcampuses.org
Please repost: Sign this petition against university loyalty oaths. Then if you are faculty/staff at a US university, join Stand Together for Higher Ed (it's free!) at www.standtogehterhighered.org. We are doing great things together to defend and renew higher ed. www.defendingourcampuses.org
Defending Our Campuses and Communities
The AFT and the AAUP are working with allies in higher education and the labor movement to defend and advance higher education that is accessible and affordable for all who want it, and to protect the...
www.defendingourcampuses.org
October 9, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Please repost: Sign this petition against university loyalty oaths. Then if you are faculty/staff at a US university, join Stand Together for Higher Ed (it's free!) at www.standtogehterhighered.org. We are doing great things together to defend and renew higher ed. www.defendingourcampuses.org
PLEASE REPOST: An alumni petition you can sign whether you attended one of the 9 universities asked to sign a Trump admin loyalty oath. We are in dangerous times. And we must resist. Please sign and share widely.
STAND WITH YOUR SCHOOL: Trump attacks 9 universities. Sign the alumni petition now.
Are you an alum from one of the 9 schools the federal government just attacked? Sign this alumni petition now to support your school, defend democracy, and build a grassroots movement for campus freed...
alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org
October 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM
PLEASE REPOST: An alumni petition you can sign whether you attended one of the 9 universities asked to sign a Trump admin loyalty oath. We are in dangerous times. And we must resist. Please sign and share widely.
Are you an alum from one of the 9 schools the federal government just attacked? Sign this alumni petition now to support your school, defend democracy, and build a grassroots movement for campus freedom across America. alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org/petitions/tr...
STAND WITH YOUR SCHOOL: Trump attacks 9 universities. Sign the alumni petition now.
Are you an alum from one of the 9 schools the federal government just attacked? Sign this alumni petition now to support your school, defend democracy, and build a grassroots movement for campus freed...
alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org
October 9, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Are you an alum from one of the 9 schools the federal government just attacked? Sign this alumni petition now to support your school, defend democracy, and build a grassroots movement for campus freedom across America. alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org/petitions/tr...
Reposted by Kathy Roberts Forde
"It’s not the journalists’ burden to keep the government’s secrets for it," @seth-stern.bsky.social told @columjournreview.bsky.social. "That is the opposite of the press’s job, which is to tell the public what the government doesn’t want the public told."
The Pentagon press gears up for a fight.
“None of us are signing this pledge,” said one reporter.
www.cjr.org
October 5, 2025 at 12:10 AM
"It’s not the journalists’ burden to keep the government’s secrets for it," @seth-stern.bsky.social told @columjournreview.bsky.social. "That is the opposite of the press’s job, which is to tell the public what the government doesn’t want the public told."
Yes to all of this! Stand Together for Higher Ed is building a resistance strategy. Faculty and staff across US higher education: please join! It's free and we must all stand together. www.standtogetherhighered.org
Pressure to reject the compact should come from all sides:
Alumni, students, current employees, AND anyone who engages with people or work from the institution, high school students looking to attend, etc.
We say NO.
@standupforscience.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
Alumni, students, current employees, AND anyone who engages with people or work from the institution, high school students looking to attend, etc.
We say NO.
@standupforscience.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
October 2, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Yes to all of this! Stand Together for Higher Ed is building a resistance strategy. Faculty and staff across US higher education: please join! It's free and we must all stand together. www.standtogetherhighered.org
Please join Stand Together for Higher Ed if you are faculty or staff at these institutions--or any other higher ed institution in the US. We are building a campaign to resist. Joining is free. www.standtogetherhighered.org
Some problems have simple solutions. This new “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” is one. The answer is simply saying no.
Simple does not mean easy. But Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, Vanderbilt, Univ of AZ, UPenn, USC, UT Austin & UVA must understand what they’ll lose if they sign on.
Simple does not mean easy. But Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, Vanderbilt, Univ of AZ, UPenn, USC, UT Austin & UVA must understand what they’ll lose if they sign on.
October 2, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Please join Stand Together for Higher Ed if you are faculty or staff at these institutions--or any other higher ed institution in the US. We are building a campaign to resist. Joining is free. www.standtogetherhighered.org
We are organizing to resist The Compact. Faculty and staff at all US higher ed institutions: stand with us. It's free. www.standtogetherhighered.org #academicsky #highered www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
Trump Administration Asks Colleges to Sign ‘Compact’ to Get Funding Preference
www.nytimes.com
October 2, 2025 at 4:23 PM
We are organizing to resist The Compact. Faculty and staff at all US higher ed institutions: stand with us. It's free. www.standtogetherhighered.org #academicsky #highered www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
Are you frustrated that the NYT isn't covering the actions of this Trump administration as authoritarian consolidation? Consider reading my Substack posts on the subject. The NYT needs to cover democratic erosion plainly and clearly. kathyrobertsforde.substack.com/p/more-on-wh...
More on Why the New York Times Should Create a Democracy Desk.
The consolidation of authoritarian power in the United States is the biggest political story of our era. When will the New York Times approach it that way?
kathyrobertsforde.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Are you frustrated that the NYT isn't covering the actions of this Trump administration as authoritarian consolidation? Consider reading my Substack posts on the subject. The NYT needs to cover democratic erosion plainly and clearly. kathyrobertsforde.substack.com/p/more-on-wh...
Mandami Momentum! @perrybaconjr.bsky.social Perry Bacon's political analysis of Mandami's campaign (and coalition-building skills!) is super smart. @newrepublic.com
Zohran Mamdani Is Threading One of the Trickiest Needles in Politics newrepublic.com/article/2009... via @newrepublic.com
Zohran Mamdani Is Threading One of the Trickiest Needles in Politics newrepublic.com/article/2009... via @newrepublic.com
Zohran Mamdani Is Threading One of the Trickiest Needles in Politics
For the general election, Mamdani has managed to expand his base while staying basically true to his primary-season beliefs. There’s a lesson in there for all Democrats.
newrepublic.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Mandami Momentum! @perrybaconjr.bsky.social Perry Bacon's political analysis of Mandami's campaign (and coalition-building skills!) is super smart. @newrepublic.com
Zohran Mamdani Is Threading One of the Trickiest Needles in Politics newrepublic.com/article/2009... via @newrepublic.com
Zohran Mamdani Is Threading One of the Trickiest Needles in Politics newrepublic.com/article/2009... via @newrepublic.com