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robtaber.bsky.social
Rob Taber
@robtaber.bsky.social
5.9K followers 1.5K following 1.6K posts
Historian of Haiti 🇭🇹 and democracy in the Americas at Fayetteville State.

Working for a welcoming + transformative UNC System & NC. Views my own.

Formerly US ED Partnerships.

Occasional live-poster of obscure panels and events.
Posts Replies Media Videos
robtaber.bsky.social
Solving the "male loneliness epidemic" one DnD game/roommate reunion at a time.*

*Commemorative t-shirts optional.
A selfie of six middle-aged (gasp!) guys wearing matching t-shirts that has a drawing of a creature coming out of a portal.
October 26, 2025 at 1:59 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
So apparently Trump's political team IS scared of @kimberlyhardync.bsky.social and knows David Rouzer needs backup. Help Kimberly win: secure.actblue.com/donate/nc07s...
Screenshot of Donald Trump truth social endorsement of David Rouzer in NC 7th District.
October 25, 2025 at 7:57 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
Ok, I need this frog to come to class and stand behind me when I lecture.
Picture of Rob Taber speaking with a frog standing behind him.
October 18, 2025 at 8:21 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
#NoKings #FayettevilleNC
Photo of Rob Taber speaking into a microphone with a person in an inflatable flag costume, a French flag, and a US flag behind him.
October 18, 2025 at 5:53 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
So a group of us from seven states started meeting to compare notes. That soon turned into FREA: Faculty for Responsible Education and Accreditation. While we have a range of opinions on CPHE, we all believe in good-faith conversation.
Screenshot from Chronicle piece, reads as follows: But faculty who have interacted with the commission have a more ambivalent take. One positive sign, Maki said, is that a group of UNC faculty were engaged in discussion at the early stages of the commission’s development, and faculty from the other states have formed an ad hoc group, called Faculty for Responsible Education and Accreditation, to monitor the organization’s efforts. Both groups provided written comments on the draft standards.
October 15, 2025 at 12:20 AM
robtaber.bsky.social
Tonight is Fayetteville Tech's annual Lafayette Lecture, which this year is a performance / interpretation by Dr. Sonny Kelly of James Armistead Lafayette, who helped win Yorktown by spying for the Marquis, who then advocated for his freedom.
Picture of a slide with the title "A Tale of Two Lafayettes" and paintings of the Marquis de Lafayette and James Armistead Lafayette
September 5, 2025 at 10:19 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
Never change, Fayetteville.
Billboard that reads "Have a bad tattoo? Call Carlos. Cover-ups so good, it's like it never happened."
August 31, 2025 at 11:51 AM
robtaber.bsky.social
Today in "Things I Read First in @rawsignal.ca"
Screenshot of Axios story on AI in the workforce, reads as follows: Why it matters: Few workers have figured out how to use these tools to work smarter and faster — yet that's the expectation. The disconnect is hurting employee well-being, and it's rattling investors who are pinning their hopes on AI.
August 28, 2025 at 9:25 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
Jeff Jackson, fired up to elect @kimberlyhardync.bsky.social to Congress!
Snapshot of Jeff Jackson in front of a Kimberly Hardy for Congress banner.
August 23, 2025 at 10:13 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
Raleigh / Triangle friends! I've got a do-nothing MAGA Congressman and you can help!

Come eat snacks, hear from @jeffjacksonnc.bsky.social and @kimberlyhardync.bsky.social, and help us flip this R+5! This Saturday in downtown Raleigh.
Flyer for a fundraiser for Kimberly Hardy for Congress with special guest Jeff Jackson and hosts NC Representatives Renée Price and Abe Jones. August 23rd in downtown Raleigh from 5 to 6:30 PM. Tickets start at $70, but tickets for school teachers, social workers, and nonprofit or public employees start at $50.
August 18, 2025 at 6:46 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
"Why are you focusing so much on helping NC farmers pivot to vegetable production?"
Screenshot from Axios about the sudden spike in fresh and dry vegetable prices.
August 17, 2025 at 2:08 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
The kitten prepares to pounce (2025)
Picture of a small grey kitten sitting upright, making eye contact with a very patient, very large, older Maine coon who has put up with a lot of wrestling with said kitten.
August 11, 2025 at 10:31 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
That moment in the all-hands when the Chancellor calls you up for a conversation about shared governance. #BroncoPride
Picture of three people seated on a stage in front of large blue letters that spell FSU. From left to right, the people are Roni Stearns, president of the FSU staff senate, Rob Taber, delegate to the UNC Faculty Assembly, and FSU Chancellor Darrell T. Allison.
August 11, 2025 at 4:53 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
I love how so much of the AI hype is about doing "PhD-level work" when it can't even do upper-level undergraduate work, especially if the source texts weren't scraped by the LLM.

Evaluating AI-generated "argumentative essays" like
Angry goose meme, with the goose say in the first panel: "You say there are social and political ramifications" and then asking in the second panel "What are the social and political ramifications?"
August 10, 2025 at 10:03 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
I am, of course, biased.
Logo for Kimberly Hardy for Congress, with eight stars representing the eight counties in NC 07
August 4, 2025 at 11:17 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
But but but he drives a beat-up car! (Among other vehicles, I imagine. 🙄)

And yup, from Kimberly's palm card:
Image from Kimberly Hardy palm card including her pledge not to take donations from corporate PACs and not to trade individual stocks.
July 31, 2025 at 12:41 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
This is the most AI-skeptical I've seen Axios be.
Screenshot: The big picture: Both Silicon Valley and the U.S. government now agree that we must invest untold billions to build supporting infrastructure for an error-prone, energy-hungry technology with an unproven business model and an unpredictable impact on the economy and jobs.
July 27, 2025 at 1:14 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
No way would wealthy students use pre-existing networks of friends to juice their rankings!
Screenshot: This fall, an expanding number of top schools — including Columbia, M.I.T., Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt and the University of Chicago — will begin accepting “dialogues” portfolios from Schoolhouse.world, a platform co-founded by Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, to help students with math skills and SAT prep. High-schoolers will log into a Zoom call with other students and a peer tutor, debate topics like immigration or Israel-Palestine, and rate one another on traits like empathy, curiosity or kindness. The Schoolhouse.world site offers a scorecard: The more sessions you attend, and the more that your fellow participants recognize your virtues, the better you do.
July 17, 2025 at 3:59 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
As a historian of family wealth creation, I appreciate this energy. (From Tim Gunn's Wikipedia page)
Screenshot: Gunn was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of six children. He is the brother of filmmaker James Gunn, actor and political writer Matt Gunn, screenwriter Brian Gunn, producer and former vice president of Artisan Entertainment Patrick, and a sister, Beth, who works as an employment attorney.
July 16, 2025 at 2:17 AM
robtaber.bsky.social
Right before a wrestle:
A small grey kitten prepares to ambush an extraordinarily patient Maine Coon, who is dutifully looking away so as to give the kitten a chance to practice his skills.
July 9, 2025 at 3:54 AM
robtaber.bsky.social
Ah, 1991 interest rates. (From Grisham's The Firm.)
Conversation about a law firm being able to arrange a mortgage at 7 or 8 percent instead of 10 and a half for a new associate attorney.
June 30, 2025 at 10:29 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
Meanwhile, a friend in North Carolina who does American Revolution re-enacting just shared this from today...
A man wearing sun glasses and a red coat uniform from the American Revolution holding a sign that says "Even I hate kings!"
June 14, 2025 at 6:32 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
When exams are finally over.
Picture of a Harris Teeter sales sign listing Celsius as "Buy 2, Get 3 free"
May 31, 2025 at 8:56 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
I appreciate a colleague getting this photo of me carrying the mace into the big arena for the first (and perhaps last) time. #Commencement #BroncoPride
A picture of Rob Taber in University of Florida doctoral robes, carrying the ceremonial mace for Fayetteville State University with FSU Chancellor Darrell T. Allison walking behind him.
May 10, 2025 at 11:01 PM
robtaber.bsky.social
but there's a BIG difference between a family income of $75,001 and $200,000 in being able to swing even $12,000 a year (roughly what $29k looks like after student work income + federal subsidized loans).
Chart from the University of Pennsylvania college affordability working group showing levels of aid given to admitted Penn students and total cost of attendance based on family income. Under $75,000, families pay nothing. From 75 k to 200 k, families pay $29,360 a year. It's variable for families making between 200 and 400 k, and then families making over that pay $92,288 a year
May 5, 2025 at 12:27 PM