Mark Criley
LightNews LightNews
markcriley.bsky.social
Mark Criley
@markcriley.bsky.social
130 followers 170 following 11 posts
“Nothing bad can happen. It can only good happen.”
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Mark Criley
gipperfish.bsky.social
Happy to report that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign academic senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution against the federal “compact” all of us in higher ed have been offered, encouraging our administrators to keep opposing it. #MADC www.senate.illinois.edu/2025-2026/20...
www.senate.illinois.edu
November 11, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Reposted by Mark Criley
wunc.org
UNC-Chapel Hill's chancellor says the university will not sign on to a higher education compact from the Trump administration.

www.wunc.org/education/20...
After faculty raise concerns, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor says university will not sign Trump's higher ed compact
Lee Roberts called the "preferential treatment" proposal a clear infringement on academic freedom.
www.wunc.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
gregpak.net
If Schumer votes AGAINST this but enough Ds vote FOR it that it passes, he needs to RESIGN immediately.

He will have shown himself to be absolutely ineffective as a minority leader. He has to go.

Literally resign tonight.
November 10, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Reposted by Mark Criley
utaustinaaup.bsky.social
alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org/petitions/un...
University of Texas: Reject the federal government’s “Compact”
The federal government’s “Compact” will put the University of Texas at Austin under political control. Join with Longhorns for Liberty before the Board of Regents meeting on November 19-20 and tell Pr...
alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
cornellaaup.bsky.social
The Cornell AAUP chapter has consistently stated that any deal with the Trump administration would be strategically unwise and a betrayal of Cornell’s principles. This remains the case. At best, we can say that this deal could have been worse.

Read our full statement here:
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
The Cornell AAUP chapter has consistently stated that any deal with the Trump administration would be strategically unwise and a betrayal of Cornell’s principles. This remains the case. We ar…
aaup-cornell.org
November 7, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
dael.bsky.social
Congratulations to a lot of folks, but especially to all those at state universities in Virginia who continue to fight for honest truth and rigorous scholarship, even when those in power – governors, executives, boards of visitors – do not.
November 5, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Reposted by Mark Criley
wardqnormal.bsky.social
31 years ago tonight, I met an amazing guy named Steve Silberman, and we went on a wonderful journey together that lasted almost 30 years. Happy Anniversary, buddy. I love you, and I miss you terribly.

Photo: a sketch of us he made on an anniversary card ages ago.
A greeting card that reads "Today is a celebration of the wonderful life we share. Happy Anniversary my love." Above it are two cartoonish caricatures of us, drawn in black ink. Steve on the left with his longer hair and goatee, me on the right with short hair and bow die. Little hearts are drawn around us, although they might resemble capital Bs rather than hearts in a couple places. Steve loved to draw sketches of us on cards.
November 3, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
zgoldberg.bsky.social
If Kamala Harris or the DNC don't sue CBS News for "deceptive editing" and "election interference" then what are we doing here? It's the lowest of low hanging fruit.
November 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
brsoucek.bsky.social
Vicki Schultz and I wrote this in 2021. For some reason I've been thinking about it lately.
www.nbcnews.com/think/opinio...
Opinion | How Cuomo is exploiting public confusion over the definition of sexual harassment
As a legal matter, the sexualized definition of harassment most commonly provided and publicized is over 20 years out of date.
www.nbcnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
ncaaup.bsky.social
What on earth can UNC schools expect from an accreditation agency whose principal proponent espouses these kinds of destructive know-nothing policies? Don't get on a train that's heading for a fatal crash! @aaup.org
www.chronicle.com/article/flor...
Florida’s Public Universities Should No Longer Hire Foreign Employees, DeSantis Says
The Republican governor’s directive on H-1B visas comes as President Trump has initiated his policy of charging employers a new $100,000 fee to hire people from outside the United States.
www.chronicle.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
chantalalive.blacksky.app
The Jan 6 insurrection was successful, & now it gets to be preserved as a success by this administration it brought to power.
October 30, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
krisarmstrong1.bsky.social
October 30, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Reposted by Mark Criley
kenwhite.bsky.social
I would rather live next door to someone who speaks another language than live next door to someone who doesn’t want to live near people who speak other languages. I know nothing about Person A but I know person B is a shitbird.
factpostnews.bsky.social FactPost @factpostnews.bsky.social · 13d
Vance says it is "totally reasonable and acceptable" for people to not want to live next door to people who speak a different language than they do
October 29, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
brsoucek.bsky.social
Another strong post from UC's Academic Senate, this time on the personally identifiable information of students, staff, and faculty that UC is (or might be) turning over to the Trump administration.
STATEMENT FROM THE UC ACADEMIC COUNCIL REGARDING DISCLOSURES OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII) With unanimous resolve, the Academic Council addresses University of California President Milliken concerning the disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) of faculty, students, and staff to the federal government amid an ongoing investigation of UC Berkeley by the Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education into alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. President Milliken’s message to the UC community on October 3 describes the University’s actions as undertaken to comply with federal law, as written and interpreted, and refers to several months of anonymization efforts. The attendant FAQ further states that there have been prior federal investigations, demands for records, and PII disclosures by UC and many other institutions. Nevertheless, in this volatile climate—amid systematic and unprecedented federal actions designed to usurp control over U.S. higher education—universities must recognize that they can no longer rely on the ethos of collaboration and goodwill that has historically defined their relationships with the federal government. Consequently, we assert that the disclosure of PII can no longer be regarded as a standard procedural matter, irrespective of pre-existing agreements or interpretations of federal compliance requirements. These disclosures have already chilled academic speech and instilled fear in our community of punitive measures and targeted threats. Critically, named persons may not yet have had the opportunity to contest allegations, correct University records, or mitigate risks. These concerns are now amplified by press reports of expanded and unrestricted access to federal databases, raising the specter of misuse of sensitive information. While notifying affected individuals only after disclosure is preferable to silence, the post-facto timing has further eroded institutional t…
October 28, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
python.org
TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-...
🧵
The official home of the Python Programming Language
www.python.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
python.org
as a condition of funding, we were asked to affirm that we wouldn’t undertake any diversity, equity, and inclusion work, whether or not we used the government funds to do so. The PSF simply couldn’t agree to that statement,
October 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
bletiecq.bsky.social
This image aptly captures this feeling of the walls closing in, a shrinking of freedoms in the academy over 10 years.

We can’t let these ideologues win. If you’re not a member of the @aaup.org, we need you to join now and take up the fight for #academicfreedom.

academic-freedom-index.net
October 22, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
krisarmstrong1.bsky.social
Hey @durbin.senate.gov - what are you doing? Why in the hell would you vote for one of Trump‘s judicial nominees? Have you completely lost your mind?
senatepress.bsky.social Senate Press Gallery @senatepress.bsky.social · 21d
By a vote of 66-32, the #Senate invoked cloture on the nomination of Harold D. Mooty III to be US District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama.
October 21, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
marcc.bsky.social
Huntsville No Kings
October 18, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
marcc.bsky.social
Yeah, this is Huntsville No Kings!
Two T-rexes in space suit protesters
October 18, 2025 at 2:42 PM
markcriley.bsky.social
#NoKings in Bloomington IL.
No Kings rally in Bloomington, Illinois. Great sign held above the crowd: “My cat could run the country better!”
October 18, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
aaup.org
Join the AAUP and other allied organizations across the nation on October 18 for a day of peaceful and impactful protest as we come together to make clear: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people!

#NoKings #AAUP #AcademicFreedom #HigherEducation #DefendHigherEd #Education
October 8, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
sfndhe.bsky.social
As states like Florida and Texas gut tenure protections for university faculty, many assume the greatest loss is to academic freedom. But tenure is not just about academic freedom. It also is, and has always been, about labor protection.
@aaup.org @afthighered.bsky.social @lawcha.bsky.social
The Real History of Tenure
If academics want to protect the idea of tenure, they need to understand how and why it became the norm.
time.com
October 6, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Mark Criley
I am proud of MIT, where our branch of AAUP has voted unanimously to endorse this statement urging MIT leadership and the MIT Corporation to reject the Compact wholesale
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Letter Regarding Compact
MIT Chapter of the American Association of University Professors October 6, 2025 Statement on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” MIT has been invited by the federal governmen...
docs.google.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Reposted by Mark Criley
maxkennerly.bsky.social
If Yale were a person, it's $41.4B endowment would make it only the 23rd richest America. It's less than a tenth of Elon Musk's wealth, less than a sixth of Larry Ellison's.

So how come it's fine to put a wealth tax on Yale, but unworkable and economically destructive if applied to them? 🤔
Yale to Trim Budgets as Higher Endowment Tax Tops $300 Million
Yale University is cutting costs and offering retirement incentives as it prepares for higher US taxes on its endowment income and reduced federal funding.
www.bloomberg.com
October 3, 2025 at 8:13 PM